The Third Trimester in All It’s Glory

The title of this post is colored with sarcasm.  While the third trimester is a special one (the light is dimly visible!), it’s much harder than I personally thought it would be (especially from around 32 weeks onward)!

Of course, every woman and pregnancy is different, but if I had to sum up the past few weeks in one word, it would be uncomfortable.  However, before we go down that road, let me share some of the highlights.

Third trimester highlights

• With every passing day, we’re closer to meeting our little guy.  It’s probably the hormones, but I literally tear up every time I think about holding/seeing him for the first time!
• Over the past few weeks, Baby K has gone from kicking/punching to rolling around.  At first, it felt a little strange, but now I look forward to experiencing his new moves.  It’s one of the coolest feelings ever.  I still can’t believe there’s a little human growing inside of me!
• Organizing all of the baby stuff we bought/were gifted was a lot of fun.  We’re a little behind on the nursery front, but we figure our little guy won’t be too mad about that!  We’ll get to it sooner than later.

Annnd…that’s pretty much it.  Ha!

Third trimester uncomfortableness

• Quality sleep is pretty much nonexistent.  On any given night, I wake up to use the bathroom four to seven times.  Or I wake up and stare at the ceiling unable to go back to sleep.  Or the baby decides he wants to beat around like a drum, so his movement wakes me up.  Fun times!  Because of this, naps, especially weekend naps, are a very real thing.  For example, I took three three hour naps over the course of this past weekend. While this should be a highlight, every long nap leaves me feeling a tad bit guilty.  There’s still so much to do!
• Third trimester hunger is a beast.  Over the past few weeks, I can’t seem to eat enough.  BUT, most foods give me heartburn.  It’s very much a double edged sword!
• Calf cramps creep up on me a couple times a week.  And boy are they painful!  My biggest fear to date was experiencing a calf cramp when Vishnu wasn’t home.  And guess what?  It happened this past Friday night when he was working an overnight shift.  I remembered some of the tips he shared and all ended up ok, but it hurt so bad!
• Swollen legs, ankles, and feet are the norm around here.  Elevating my feet, drinking lots of water, and wearing compression socks helps, but on some days it’s just unavoidable and scary looking!
• Lower back pain now occurs more during the day versus solely at night.  Standing for too long or sitting the wrong way will almost always bring on uncomfortable pangs of pain.
• Bending over for any reason whatsoever is an Olympic feat in and of itself and requires a ton of effort.  Putting on anything other than slip on shoes…forget about it!   I actually freaked out about hurting the baby from bending over.  But after Googling and reading multiple sources, I learned you can’t hurt the baby from tying your shoes or picking something up off the floor.  Phew!
• My memory is shot.  You guys, I couldn’t remember my OBGYN’s name for the life of me the other day.  Unless I write it down, there are no guarantees.
• My regular exercise routine has officially been interrupted.  I went from five heart pumping workouts a week to lots of walking, some weights, and maybe a couple of prenatal workouts (BodyFit by Amy of course!).  On days where a scheduled workout just isn’t doable, I try to walk to and from work (~2.4 miles total).  As it’s always been, staying active is my ultimate goal!
• I’m a little all over the place emotionally.  Just ask Vishnu!  Literally anything can set me off.  I mean, I teared up at the national anthem during the NBA finals.  I also don’t feel ready, even though I know anything we do from now until the delivery is a bonus.  My mama friends tell me I’ll never truly feel ready, and while it helps to hear that, I often get emotional because I’m overwhelmed.  Unlike anything else I/we have taken on thus far, this is one life change we can’t 100% anticipate or plan for.  Super exciting and nerve-racking at the same time!  The one thought that always helps is thinking about how people have been at this whole parenting thing for thousands of years.  Can’t be that hard, right?!  Humor me!

Obviously, I’ve painted a grim picture.  My excitement about being pregnant and meeting our little guy far exceeds any of the above.  In fact, I’d go through it all again if I had to!  But that doesn’t equal rainbows and unicorns.  Almost every pregnant woman will tell you the last few weeks feel like years!  And it’s so true because you’re uncomfortable in most every way possible.  A very small price to pay though!  And if I’m being honest, my overall pregnancy symptoms have been fairly mild compared to some.

But for the sake of keeping it real, you have this post with all of my third trimester thoughts and experiences (so far…#36weeks!).  You’re welcome!