Third Trimester Recap
Phew! It feels like AGES since I wrote my second trimester recap! Here we are though, in the final stretch. I'm writing this at 38 weeks purely…
Phew! It feels like AGES since I wrote my second trimester recap! Here we are though, in the final stretch. I'm writing this at 38 weeks purely because I have no clue what'll happen in the next few weeks... but really, if this guy wants to come early, that is FINE with momma! This trimester was a doozy. Let me expand...
Symptoms
Lightening crotch - He has been head down for a really long time, if not the entire trimester, so the pressure he puts on my nerves down there have been super noticeable.
Body aches and changes - yeah, I'm uncomfy. Backaches, puffy feet and sometimes hands, sitting just feels like you're squishing everything, standing makes your legs tired and back hurt, so I've actually found a lot of relief on those stupid exercise balls! I use it as a chair in the house and enjoy bouncing on it - haha! Our birthing class had us try them out, and I'm always such a skeptic about stuff like that, but I legitimately found it helpful, so we ordered one.
Boobs - sometimes I get a stinging feeling which is uncomfortable. Still leaking a bit.
Weird appetite - one minute I'm starving, the next I'm stuffed. I've been a little nauseous, too.
Tired - Some days feel like the first trimester all over again and I could just konk out for hours.
Bad sleep - I sleep like garbage now. Moving on....
Hemorrhoids - yep, no end in sight.
Peeing - only about a thousand times per day and night!
Clear skin - I love my skin right now. It's so low maintenance!
Braxton Hicks - such a weird feeling, and have had times when they're a little uncomfortable, but I don't mind them.
Sciatic nerve pain - oh boy is that a doozy. Pain from your lower back, through your bottom, and down your leg. No thanks!
Leg cramps - basically just Charlie Horse cramps sometimes at night. I've only had maybe three, but they always feel terrible!
Cravings
Honestly can't say I've had any this trimester.
30 weeks
Third Trimester Journal
I didn't keep track week by week this trimester (oops!), so I'll give you a thorough overview.
Weight gain has honestly been slow and steady. I've gained probably around 25lbs at this point? But to be honest, I don't really care about that and haven't paid much attention. To me, as long as it stayed within healthy parameters and didn't get out of hand, I'd be fine with whatever it ended up coming to. I haven't gained anything astronomical, so I seriously don't even care.
34 weeks
At our 20 week scan, they noticed one of his kidneys had a tiny bit of dilation to it, so they scheduled another scan around 34 weeks to see if it resolved itself or got worse. Well, it doubled, unfortunately, so I got sent to a high risk clinic so we could have them look at it to be safe. We've now had two appointments (and ultrasounds) there, and over two weeks, it went down a little bit. Thankfully, whatever it may be isn't anything we need to worry about and it's apparently very common in boys (10x more common, according to the doc), so since no one else is concerned, neither are we. They'll have it checked out once he arrives, but he's just a healthy little dude otherwise, so it's nothing urgent, and certainly not life threatening, so I'm not worried at all. He probably just needs to pee and hasn't quite figured that out yet ;) Oh and we got to see his hair in those ultrasounds, which is crazy!
35.5 weeks
At around 36 weeks, I got a sinus infection and had to be on amoxicillin to get that under wraps. I'm still completely stuffed up and can't smell or taste a thing, but between pregnancy puffing up my blood flow, and the terrible allergies, this is basically just my life now. I also found out at 36 weeks that I'm 1cm dilated and 50% effaced, and sadly it didn't go any further by the following week.
At the end of 37 weeks, baby measured 7lbs 3oz on an ultrasound. We might have a big guy!
During my 38 week appointment, my blood pressure had gone up a little from my norm, so my doctor told me to watch for more symptoms of preeclampsia (which is not real fun to hear!) and to call if I notice anything different.
Baby movement is still fun and consistent, but you can definitely tell he's running out of room! Tom and I love seeing my belly morph around when he's got the squirms.
We also took breastfeeding and birthing classes which were informative and also kinda funny (to us). Getting the hospital tour was fun, and getting a few ideas for pain management was useful. We finished some house projects, enjoyed a few dates, celebrated our 5th anniversary, I got my hair done, and packed a hospital bag.
37 weeks
I guess to sum up this trimester, I'd say it was the most apparent in terms of physical changes and the most difficult in terms of discomfort. For example, at this point, sitting in the car (let alone driving) is extremely uncomfy and I basically avoid it as much as I can. Everything feels like such a chore -- getting up from the couch or floor, bending down to pick up something I dropped, taking off/putting on pants or shoes, and getting out of bed a million times a night to pee. Even trying to do the dishes is proving difficult as my belly keeps me and my short arms farther and farther away from the faucet! Don't get me wrong, Tom and I have found a LOT of humor in my lessened capabilities, but it's definitely starting to get old.
It's also probably been the most nerve-wracking trimester. I'm usually a big worrier about medical things, but for some reason, pregnancy hasn't caused me much anxiety... until these last couple weeks. I'm stressed, Tom has an endoscopy, we have some loose ends to get in place before arrival, I'm really wary of a decrease or increase in movement or possible contractions, and I'm just generally nervous/excited. I've really hit the "done point" so I think it's time we get this guy out of my belly.
All that to say... we cannot wait to meet our little boy, and it's hard to believe it'll be so SOON! Keep your eyes peeled for the announcement!
I should also mention, that once he's here, you can expect far and in-between posts for a while as we figure out life with our new bundle, so I appreciate your patience, love, and understanding :) I'll be back to the blog, but I'm not going to pressure myself to jump back in. We have waited so long for this baby, and I know we will just want to soak him in. I'm sure you can all understand that. Just know I love you all and will SO look forward to being back when I'm ready!
First Trimester Recap
As you've probably heard by now, Tom and I are expecting our first baby in May! After two years of infertility and all the fun (sarcasm)...
As you've probably heard by now, Tom and I are expecting our first baby in May! After two years of infertility and all the fun (sarcasm) doctor's appointments and so on with that, we were somehow blessed with this little miracle. All babies are miracles, of course, but really... God is pretty darn awesome to have made this little baby possible. We have been singing His praises ever since, let me tell you!
Instead of doing the whole weekly bump-date thing that, (no offense) is a little overkill in my opinion, I'll just do them by trimester for those of you who might be curious about all things baby. I hope that didn't sound mean, but plenty of people have babies and each and every week isn't honestly that different from the next, or from each person. So I figured this would be more efficient. Anyways, here's what weeks 1 - 12 looked like. I'm going off my notes at this point, as I'm currently on week eighteen.
Symptoms
Nausea - everyday until after lunch! A few bouts of actual puking, but mostly just queasy all the time.
Tired - Oh was I tired. There truly is nothing like that early pregnancy exhaustion. I haven't been a napper for a few years, so it was really weird to suddenly start passing out all the time.
Sore boobies - Yup! So uncomfortable! As a tummy sleeper, this was sooo sad.
Dizzy - It may have been part of the sleepiness, but I would get crazy dizzy spells and need to sit down. Water intake was certainly helpful because it's so much easier to get dehydrated while pregnant too.
Food aversions - Europe was awful. Didn't want bread, pasta, coffee, pastries, etc.. so I basically lived off of yogurt, fruit, and crackers. Beyond Europe, meat and veggies were also not favorites.
Sensitive to smells - Europe, was again, terrible for this. Cigarette smoke makes me dry heave just thinking about it even now, perfume, farts (haha), dog food, leftover food in the fridge, etc...
Crampy - I have felt my uterus growing from the beginning. Maybe I'm just one that's more annoyingly in-tune with my body, but I always notice cramping (which feels like it's happening a lot). This has always alarmed me because they resemble period cramps sometimes. More water always helps!
Emotional - I'm not a big crier, but holy moly. Every slightly adorable/sweet/sad/whatever made me a sobbing mess. I had to switch to exclusively waterproof mascara early on.
Acne - womp! I had such annoying breakouts!
Vivid dreams - The weirdest, most vivid dreams! I'm not usually one to dream a lot or at least remember them, but I was having crazy dreams every single night. I actually loved this.
Cravings
I can't really say I had cravings in the first trimester, as much as I had moments when something FINALLY sounded good and we would take advantage. If I "craved" anything, it was always fruit. But really, I was so nauseous the first trimester, if a burger suddenly sounded good, we'd hop to it because it was usually short lived. Like a lot of women, I lost a few pounds in the first trimester because eating was hard. I ate a lot of grilled cheese, fruit, ice cream, granola, yogurt, cereal, cheese, and salad. Warm foods sounded far less appealing than cold.
First Trimester Journal
Weeks 5-8
We found out I was miraculously pregnant NINE days before our long awaited Iceland/Europe trip. The week we found out, I rushed in to the doctor for confirmation because this was so hard to believe. My bloodwork all came back normal and on par with gestational age, but to help support the pregnancy, my doctor did put me on oral progesterone. I'm super thankful she did, but it definitely heightens those pregnancy symptoms!
Also, to be transparent, we had actually planned this trip to get our minds off our infertility and take a break from doctors appointments.
SIDE NOTE: If you've never been through infertility, there are months where you honestly don't think about it much, and months where you do. You just take it a day, a week, a month at a time. It's always in the back of your mind, and many things can certainly trigger your thoughts and emotions, but you have to find distractions or you'll go crazy. Please do NOT comment below and tell me we got pregnant because "we relaxed" or "stopped thinking about it." We didn't think about it the first few months, and that didn't get us pregnant. We had an actual diagnosis and tests to prove there was clearly an issue, so please, spare me. Sorry, it's just another WRONG thing to say to people who go through this trial... I mean it in love and in hopes it helps outsiders understand.
Anyways, during our three week trip I was 6, 7, and 8 weeks pregnant. Basically the worst possible times to travel while pregnant and probably the most difficult (*see: tired, nauseous, and sensitive to smells). I. was. miserable. Grateful... but miserable. We saw nothing in Paris because it smelled so awful and I was so exhausted from our red eye. I had to take a nap break almost every day so I could function later, mornings had to be slow because of the morning sickness, and poor Tom had to be our legs and fetch me what few foods I could stomach. One of the times I puked on the trip, was in Northern Italy. I had opened our fridge to get some milk out for cereal, and caught a whiff of the leftover pizza. I had to RUN to the bathroom!
As a positive, though, I learned how to say "I'm pregnant" in Italian and it got me into a lot of restrooms without a hitch. Even in France, where we met a lot of rude people, once they figured out I was pregnant, they had a tendency to be more gracious and were suddenly willing to speak English..? The Italians were so cute when I'd spill the beans and were always super thrilled and happy. (I need to write about France and Italy, by the way!) Overall though, our trip had amazing "highs" and some yucky "lows" purely because that much travel at that particular time in pregnancy was not exactly enjoyable. Soooo many planes, trains, and cars!
Once we landed in the U.S. we stayed in a hotel with a luxurious king sized bed and slept (mostly) well (*see: jet lagged). I immediately felt better. So much so, most of my symptoms actually seemed to disappear and I felt a little worried. Thankfully, the day after we arrived home, we had our first ultrasound and baby was measuring right on track with a beautiful heartbeat! Shortly after that, I came down with an awful cold, and was down for the count for quite a while. But it was so good to be home!
Weeks 9-12
On week 10, I had my first OB appt. My blood pressure was high when I got there, and just fine when I was leaving. So they had me start checking at home. From checking at home, we narrowed it down to office nerves :) In that same OB appointment I got to hear the heart again. I thought it was just going to be blood work, so I had told Tom he didn’t need to come. He was bummed when he found out I heard the heartbeat - rookie mistake! They always listen to that heart!
During this time, Tom also accepted a job in Nashville (week 12) and we had to start the process of getting that moving. As it was early-mid November, it was looking like we’d be in house limbo during Christmas which was too bad, but we were so excited for these new adventures, it didn't rattle us. We had loved our visits to Nashville, and with a baby on the way, it was nice to be a few hours closer to family in the Midwest.
I stopped taking progesterone at the end of week 12. I remember being worried about this - as if it was my safety blanket - but my doctor assured me that the placenta would now have taken over! There was a little more cramping, but it soon evened out and I transitioned off of it just fine.
As many women have observed before me, the first trimester was not very fun! Things have been far better in the second trimester and I'm so glad for it. Those first weeks are mostly a game of figuring out how to manage your nausea and nap the day away while still continuing your life as normal. I dreaded Sunday mornings because I feared getting sick in church, and I felt so bad whenever Tom was eating something that stunk and I was gagging at him - haha!!
Of course, with the first trimester behind me, I'd gladly do it all again for the privilege to carry a life. We longed for, prayed for, and waited for this baby for seemingly ages, and we could not be more excited for him/her to arrive in May! Even on the hardest days of the last two years, God was good. He is good all the time - in the happy and the sad - but of course, we fail to see it in the sad, don't we?