Why the THIRD Trimester is the Best

Everyone knows the first trimester of pregnancy sucks...you're exhausted all of the time, you feel like crap and if you're like me you have back pain you can't take anything for (my expanding uterus put pressure on my lower spine for the first few weeks until it rose up out of my pelvis). Not to mention the daily progesterone injections I was lucky enough to get through week 10. You feel bloated and pregnant, but you don't look pregnant--and many couples wait to tell anyone about their pregnancies so then on top of all the symptoms, you might not be able to talk about it.

Next comes the second trimester: the honeymoon trimester, as it is often referred to. I looked forward to this trimester! Once I got there I did not know what all the hype was about. My energy improved a little, but I was still feeling pretty tired a lot of the time. Sure, I wasn't feeling nauseous all of the time any more, but I also wasn't feeling my baby move yet for the first part--it wasn't until the last couple of weeks of my second trimester that I started feeling him move regularly. For me this trimester was hard because I was constantly worried if my baby was okay. At least when I was nauseous I knew it was a good sign he was still growing. The only exciting things to come out of the second trimester are that I started showing and we found out we were having a boy.

Now that I am in my third trimester, I am loving it. There is no longer any question as to whether or not I am pregnant, so I don't just feel fat, and it is kinda fun watching my belly get bigger from week to week. Our baby boy moves all over the place and I am not getting sick of it one bit. I love watching my stomach bounce and bulge and feeling the kicks and punches. Sure I get tired-I have days where I have absolutely no energy-but I had days like that in the first and second trimesters too.

Baby's shoulder poking out

Sleeping is hard, but not because I am getting bigger or more uncomfortable...I have developed insomnia in pregnancy. In fact I have had a hard time sleeping since the initial exhaustion (when I could not stay awake) of the first few weeks wore off. It is not unusual for me to wake up at 4:30 in the morning and not be able to go back to sleep. I have always peed 1-2 times a night, sometimes 3 times in the first trimester and now I'm usually up 4 times a night. The difference between being pregnant and not is that now that I am pregnant I don't easily fall back asleep after I get up to pee.

It is getting harder to stand up, roll over, bend over (shaving is a big challenge) or stay in any one position for too long, but that doesn't bother me so much because I know it's all part of keeping our baby cozy and comfortable (and not squishing him in instances of bending). Even my weight gain has slowed way down (which is probably due to my having to watch what I eat because of the gestational diabetes-the only bad thing to come in this trimester). I do occasionally get to indulge...for example on Friday I helped myself to some delicious chocolate cake. Of course after that I could not eat anything else for two hours because of the risk of my blood sugar levels rising too high, so I was starving before I could eat again, but sometimes it is worth it!

37 weeks, Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Housework is getting tough too, but I'm not going to complain about not being able to vacuum more than a room or two at a time...it's a good excuse to get Ryan to do it for me! My father-in-law actually vacuumed the whole house while Ryan's parents were here visiting the weekend of my baby shower. This is one time in my life when I will graciously accept any help that is offered! I am keeping up just fine though; I just make sure to divide up household chores so I don't do too much on any one day.

Another fun thing about the third trimester is preparing for the baby. I packed my hospital bag, had my baby shower and got to set up the nursery. I have also been shopping for the baby quite a bit. With our due date getting closer I feel like we need to be prepared. Shopping for baby stuff-even burp cloths and soap-is fun. I have never in my life had so many people offer to help or give me gifts! Now that our due date is getting so close I have had several friends stop by to visit and give me baby gifts. I love hearing how excited so many of our friends are for us!

An unusual thing has happened for me this trimester: My pregnancy is starting to go by faster. Maybe it's the increasing frequency of doctor's visits or all of the prep work keeping me busy...who knows. Either way, I'm not slowing down; whatever makes the time pass and keeps me from feeling any more anxious is a good thing. Each week it seems more and more fun things come up. I already have a full week of plans for next week too: eyelashes and nails, babysitting, lunch with friends, doctor and a baby shower. This week, I had my sister's girls over to play on Tuesday and Thursday (since I'm going to miss a few weeks once the baby comes I want to get my time in with them now).

This week I spent the first part working on getting our tax paperwork ready and preparing for my lecture on Thursday. A few weeks ago a professor of mine from college, who happened to write me a letter of recommendation for the mediation graduate program I completed, contacted me asking if I would be willing to be a guest speaker for her class. So Thursday morning I lectured in a business class at the University of Utah about mediation and how to use it in the workplace to resolve disputes between employees. It was a really great opportunity and fun experience! It felt so strange to be looked at by students as an expert on something--that was definitely a first for me. Ryan drove me there and made some work phone calls outside while I was lecturing then we went to lunch and he went back to work.

After my first experience teaching, I felt great. So I went shopping...but not for fun things. I am now all stocked up toilet paper, frozen meals and other little things we might need while I'm down after the baby comes. Ryan picked my sister's girls up from school and showed up at home right after I finished unloading all the groceries by myself (perfect timing, right?!) We took the girls to Walmart and bought them (and Ryan) bikes. I watched them practice then I finally squeezed in a little nap while they went for a bike ride through the neighborhood (like a several mile-hour-long bike ride!) My dad came over just before my sister picked up the girls and we had dinner with him and watched a movie: "Interstellar" (if you haven't seen it, watch it!)

New Bikes!!!

Friday I had lunch with Ryan at his office (I got to have lunch with him twice this week!) then we were off to our doctor's appointment. My regular doctor is out of town, so we saw her Physician's Assistant. I am measuring right on, at 37 weeks, baby's heartbeat is around 140 and everything looks good. More fun third trimester stuff: changes. I am dilated to one centimeter and 20% effaced! I know it's not much, but it feels good to know that my body is slowly progressing. Hopefully those numbers keep going up!

Our fun did not end there...Friday night Kenzie slept over at our house. Poor Brinlee was sick so she couldn't come, but she got a night home alone with her mom. We ordered Chili's takeout for dinner then watched "War of the Worlds" at Kenzie's request. Surprisingly, as tired as she was she was the only one who stayed awake through the entire movie!

Kenzie took this, but I am sure Ryan will kill me for sharing it! He looks so sweet though!

I got a glimpse into Ryan as a parent: he's too much fun and I think he might have a problem saying no to kids! Instead of sleeping in one of our guest bedrooms, Ryan let Kenzie sleep on an old spare crib mattress on the floor in our bedroom on his side of the bed next to the patio door. She didn't want to sleep at the foot of our bed because it was too close to the bedroom door. Thankfully I loaded her up with enough blankets that she didn't freeze when I opened the patio door halfway through the night because I was too hot to sleep (as usual).  

Saturday morning Kenzie went to work with Ryan then our brother-in-law took them boating with 2 of our nephews. I felt pretty great Saturday, but didn't feel comfortable going boating this pregnant (and didn't want to scare the crap out of our moms) so I stayed home and cleaned. All 5 bathrooms (on 3 floors...I walked the stairs a lot) are now spotless and all our rugs and towels are clean and ready for our house guests after baby comes. Of course my back was not too happy about all that work! After Ryan and Kenzie got home from boating I assumed we would take her home, but she wasn't ready to leave so of course Ryan told her she could stay and hang out longer. So we took her out to dinner. Ryan has such a great time hanging out with his nieces that I think he's often sad to see them go home. He definitely had a fun day hanging out with Kenzie!

Fun day of boating with Uncle Ryan

I don't know why so many women complain about the third trimester. So many uncomfortable symptoms have been around from the beginning (although thankfully the nausea subsided) and all of the other changes have happened so gradually that this trimester does not feel horrible and uncomfortable like I thought it would. I've gotten so used to the uncomfortable parts by now that ️pregnancy feels more normal than it did a couple months ago (although I do really miss being able to reach my toes)! I have been enjoying my last days without a baby and looking forward to the changes that will take place when the baby comes. He could come any day and each day he doesn't come is one day closer to the day he does! For me this trimester has just been an exciting time with lots of fun things happening. I can't believe my due date is already less than three weeks away!