Well hello, third trimester my old …friend?…
Sheesh, when I hit the third tri, I hit it HARD. For the first half of this trimester, this kiddo was extremely low and squashing my pelvic floor like crazy. But more on all the details in a minute.

Symptoms

Body aches - woof the aches and pains with this pregnancy hit me like a ton of bricks! Partly from running (waddling) after my 2 year old, partly from the hot Tennessee summer, and partly from the fact that I’m huge now. My back, ribs (hello tiny feet!), neck from awkward sleep, and feet from the extra weight are just blah.
Tired - Oh sleep, how I miss you.
Peeing - I know I should be drinking even more water right now, but that feels impossible with how much I’m having to pee as it is!
Weird appetite - I forgot about this one… one second I’m STARVING, the next second I’m stuffed. Also feelin’ that last trimester nausea. Ugh.
Clear skin - don’t mind this one! Glow up!
Braxton Hicks - So many of these every evening for hours on end with a few irregular contractions thrown in for good measure.

Third Trimester Journal

Weeks 28-37

Honestly, beyond feeling uncomfortable and huge, this trimester was fast and mostly uneventful, so I’m just gonna breeze over the main points!
I started prenatal chiropractic care this trimester, and that was helpful and really helped me relax my body. This was to help keep baby in optimal position for birth, and he really did stay head down the entire time, so I definitely give chiro care credit for this! I always left with great tips from Dr. Barton on some stretches and movements to do at home to help me along and they were so helpful. I had started getting sciatic pain, and I was always able to relieve it quickly with a few movements I had learned from her. That said, sleeping on my side was forever uncomfortable and it seemed that no matter how I tried to adjust myself, it never mattered and I woke up feeling crooked - haha - but not everything will be completely ideal in pregnancy, so oh well.

One odd thing for me this pregnancy was feeling this baby SO LOW for ages and ages, until near the end when he seemed to float up and the pelvic pressure I had felt for weeks and weeks just disappeared. More on that in my birth story, but that was frustrating in terms of my hopes for a VBAC.

At my 36 week OB appointment, I was 50% effaced and 1/2cm dilated. At my 37 week appointment, I was 70-80% effaced and still 1/2cm dilated. About two days later, my water broke. Actually, if you read back on my second trimester I had had a dream that my water broke in the middle of the night but I had actually peed myself hahaha… WELL this time, I woke up thinking I was peeing, and my water had DEFINITELY broken! More on that in my birth story, of course :)

Stayed tuned - birth story to come! (When I have another chance between feeding and caring for my toddler)