The 3rd trimester was the most eventful for me with so many appointments and illnesses. I know I've said the 2nd trimester was my favorite but the excitement of the 3rd trimester was different. So let's dive into the symptoms and then I'll share my 3rd trimester experiences.
Symptoms
Nausea
I had some nausea come back in my 3rd trimester but it was different than 1st trimester nausea. Some of that was illnesses or medications. Food just wasn't as appealing and I began to feel full faster. I definitely did more snacking than big meals at this point.
Heartburn
The heartburn just got worse. It was CONSTANT. I would take Pepcid which helped and a Tums to knock off the top part of the heartburn quickly. Looking back, I should have asked for the next step up from my doctor because I knew that was an option. I think my hardheadedness got in the way of that haha.
Back pain
I had back pain but it was being managed at the chiropractor so it honestly wasn't as bad as I expected at that point. The pain was primarily my lower back so I would attempt to take it easy when it would flair up.
Shortness of Breath
Basically anything made me short of breath. My lungs just had no room so taking a deep breath became more difficult the further along I got.
Braxton Hicks
I first noticed Braxton hicks at 31 weeks. Not painful at all, just a tightening of my stomach. This goes with a bigger story though. I'll elaborate on that in the "worth noting" section of this post.
Too Many Bathroom Visits
We all know about this at this point. Never a full night of sleep because I got up so much in the middle of the night. The middle of the night bathroom visits are the ONLY thing I didn't like about my pregnancy pillow because it simply took more effort than I felt like giving.
Lightning Crotch
The name makes sense and is very accurate. The first occurrence was on a Sunday morning getting ready for church. It literally stops you in your tracks. Sometimes it was far between when it would happen or it felt like it was back to back occurrences. For anyone who does not experience this, you are blessed.
Stretch Marks
I got stretch marks closer to the end and it happened fast. They started on my sides and went all the way around my hips. Then I got them at the bottom of my bump. So it basically almost made a circle. On the front of each of my thighs was a single stretch mark. I tried using lotion but I was not the most consistent about it due to laziness.
Worth Noting
Preparing for Maternity Leave
As a therapist who works in a private practice, I am a contract worker. So I was fortunate to be able to have control of my schedule and determine what my maternity leave would look like. My due date was December 30th so with the holidays people start travelling anyways. I decided to work until about 38 weeks so I could ideally have a couple weeks to relax and prepare for my baby girl. After she was born, I planned to take 12 weeks and be back at work abound mid to late March. Then there was the checklist of stuff to get done. Letting clients know what my leave would be like, if they wanted to see another therapist while I was out, and notes being completed.
Chiropractor
I continued going to the chiropractor weekly and as needed if I woke up with a nerve pinched. I still stand by this being the best thing for my discomfort in pregnancy. My round ligament was minor in my 3rd trimester due to her help.
Tdap Shot
I chose to get the Tdap shot at my 28 week appointment. They informed me that I could get it anytime during my 3rd trimester but it was easier to check one thing off the list to me. To my knowledge, I never had any reactions to the vaccine in the past. That night, I started to feel nauseous before bed but it was manageable and I went to sleep. The next day, I only had a couple of sessions and they were later in the afternoon so I had a calm morning. I couldn’t stomach any food, just laid in bed miserable. Eventually, the only thing that sounded relatively good was hashbrowns from Waffle House. I was able to eat a little bit and sip on a sprite which helped me get up and moving. My 2 sessions were back to back but if I start and end at the exact times, I would have a 10 minute gap. In my 1st session, I spent half of it wondering if I would make it through without puking or gagging. The session ended and within a minute I threw up everything I had eaten earlier. I’m a mess and so is a spot or two in my office. With my clean hand, I text our business manager and if she could bring me some paper towels. She did and asked if she could help but I just thanked her and cleaned everything up. And myself. As soon as I am done cleaning, my next client shows up and I go straight into that session. Thankfully, I felt much better after that.
Stomach Bug
Oh goodness. At 31 weeks pregnant, I got the stomach bug from who knows where. On a Sunday night, I started throwing up. Monday morning it was the same thing. My attempt at breakfast was sipping on water and snacking on Cheerios one at a time. I’m hard headed so I went to work. In my first session, I knew I couldn’t make it to the end without puking. About halfway through, my client was in tears so I simply said I was going to step out and give them a minute but would be right back. Barely made it to the bathroom, quickly cleaned up, and went back into my session as if nothing happened. Then I cancelled the rest of my day and called my OB. They sent in some nausea medicine that I picked up on the way home. But if I continued to be unable to keep down food or fluids for 24 hours, I needed to go to the OB ER (which is in the Labor and Delivery Unit). I take the medicine. It made me sleep a while but immediately was puking when I got up. By dinner time, me and my husband decide I need to go get fluids. I get admitted in the OB ER and get fluids going immediately. With the continuous monitoring, I learned I was contracting and then understood what I had been feeling was Braxton Hicks. The nurse came in with a concerned look and asked if I was in pain. I wasn’t in pain at all so she left the room. The doctor comes in soon after and double checks if I’m in pain. I responded the same. Then she asked if I could feel the contractions. I could feel them but they weren’t painful. They just made me need feel like I needed to pee haha. My husband is concerned at this point and says “is that okay?”. She explained that typically when they see those numbers on the monitor that the person is gripping the side of the bed in pain. I was just chilling out watching The World Series. Eventually, they said I couldn’t leave until my contractions slowed down because I was having contractions every 4 to 6 minutes. In the end after 7 hours, I got 3 bags of fluids, a cervical check (no dilation or effacement), nausea medicine, and a medicine that made me take a 2 hour nap and my contractions slow down. The main issue with finding a medication to slow the contractions is that the typical one lowers your blood pressure and mine is already low. At about 1:30am, I’m waking up and they asked how I was feeling. I felt much better and I was discharged. They took great care of me! Then my hard head goes into work the next morning haha.
Baby Shower
I had a baby shower thrown by the BEST group of girls! It was at 29 weeks. I got some great items off my registries and the sweetest homemade gifts for my girl. We loved getting to see some friends and family that we haven’t seen in so long! It really was a special time. We did a fun little game. Everyone takes a piece of yarn and tries to guess how big my bump was. One guy friend’s piece of yarn wrapped around me 3 TIMES! Then my husband was fearful of guessing too big and went for The Price is Right thought process and cut a tiny piece. It was hysterical and so much fun!
Afterwards, we went to a local baby boutique for an ultrasound and squeezed a bunch of family and friends in the room. Baby girl was not the most cooperative but once she got her face away from my placenta, we got some great pictures of her. One of her 4D pictures was so good they suggested to get to it sent to make make it an 8k picture. It was shocking how realistic and looked just like her when she was born!
Growth Scan
I had my growth scan at 30 weeks. She was measuring just a little bit ahead. Her kidneys fixed themselves since the slight concern at the anatomy scan. I was also thrilled to see that her head was at a pretty average percentile. Back story, when my husband was born, his head was in the 99TH PERCENTILE AND HE GOT STUCK! This is caused quite a fear that she would have his genetics in this area. So my stress regarding that eased up quite a bit. I also understood where her back and everything was which made much more sense as to why she was only ever kicking my right ribs. The best news of all was that she was head down and should stay that way!
Appointments: 36 Weeks until Delivery
I was SO excited for these appointments! I know some people highly dislike cervical checks but they honestly didn’t bother me. It was more exciting to me to know if and how I was progressing! I’ll elaborate more about out each of these appointments in my post about going into labor.
Pharyngitis
I get pharyngitis every year, often more than once. So I noticed it at the early symptoms but I didn’t know what I could even do or take. I called my OB and they asked what my normal regimen was, which is antibiotics and usually a steroid shot. They offered to call me in antibiotics which I took them up on. I could go somewhere to get a steroid shot but since I was catching it early decided not to. The antibiotics helped but I don’t think it fully knocked it out. Thankfully, it didn’t get bad at all though.
Comments