Pregnancy: 3rd Trimester

It’s the final stretch! At 29 weeks pregnant, I have only 11 weeks left to go! Looking back on the 2nd Trimester, though it started off rather shaky with Braxton Hicks contractions and the continuing hint of nausea, it was the easiest part of pregnancy so far!

The nausea left completely, as did my ravenous hunger, lack of energy, and overall emotional state of mind. Braxton Hicks contractions even lessoned up as I learned what triggered them. There were moments in which my heart palpitations were a nuisance, but even that symptom could be managed by drinking plenty of water and avoiding eating sugar/carbs before lying down or just avoiding large meals (a challenge in and of themselves).

At its end, I was finally enjoying pregnancy somewhat. Baby James is quite active, and my belly is finally pronounced enough to be a bump (or more so, a basketball). I feel myself bonding with James more and more as I familiarize myself with his movements, his likes, and dislikes, and his reactions to my touch and voice. It’s all becoming real!! I will be a mother in two months (give or take) and now I’m getting excited more so than anxious about the labor experience.

After months of dreading labor, to finally look forward to holding your baby in your arms is proof to me that God knew what He was doing when He decided the length of pregnancy. Anything less than 9 months is doable but stressful, anything more than 9 months is beyond our patience I think. At the time of our labor/delivery, we are just to the point of wanting the kid outa us and ready for the next step, motherhood.

I am ready for my body to be my own again, though I still savor my son’s movements and know I will never forget what it felt like to carry him inside. It is both a wonder and a mystery to see how much my body can change and what it is able to endure. Even what James is able to endure is astounding (having survived a car crash at around 25 wks!).

My doctor appointments are now every 2 weeks and at my last one, I drank the dreaded glucose serum (which wasn’t too bad) and had my blood drawn. The difficulty of the test wasn’t so much the flavor of the drink, which tasted like an overly sweet/cheap fruit punch, but in the amount and time frame in which I had to drink it. Being pregnant makes it difficult to guzzle liquid or food in any extraneous amount. Our stomachs are small and pushed up, and our digestion is slow. I found myself burping up the liquid for a while afterward but wasn’t sick from it. I believe eating crackers beforehand really helped ease my stomach and “wake it up” so that it was ready for the liquid challenge.

The blood test showed only that I needed more iron so now I take an iron supplement at an opposite time as my prenatal vitamins, which at this point is no biggie. My doctor also told me that at my next appointment we would have our final ultrasound, the long-awaited 4D images of our son!!!

I really can’t wait to see what he will look like! At 21 weeks I had a 4D shot of him and he was still underdeveloped and lacking the baby fat that he most likely has now and will carry with him into the world. To those who don’t know, these images are still rather tricky and flawed since they are attempting to capture an accurate image through flesh and amniotic fluid. I’ve seen some pictures that can be perceived as grotesque more so than “cute.” If it’s your first child and you want to capture cute images, avoid early pictures when the baby is still underdeveloped and too small to really get an image, and attempt to get your baby lively, maybe drink something sugary and arrive with a full bladder also, so that the photos have a better chance of turning out good.

With the start of my 3rd Trimester, Braxton Hicks have increased in strength and generally occur every evening after I eat dinner and am trying to get ready for bed. Sometimes they feel like they are squashing the life out of me lol. My doctor said that as the day of labor draws near, these practice contractions could become more frequent and bothersome, so long as they go away with a good night’s sleep and aren’t accompanied by other symptoms, they are nothing to worry about and can’t trigger pre-term labor.

I hope that sharing a bit of my journey helps other expectant mother’s out there. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to comment below!

March 31 is our 4D pictures!

April 4 is our baby shower!

June 2 is my due date!

I’d love to hear from other moms-to-be out there! How has the 2nd Trimester treated you? Is your baby a stretcher or a puncher? When is your due date?

God bless you all ❤

 

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