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Welcome to the third trimester!

4K views 75 replies 12 participants last post by  FyerFly 
#1 ·
I'm a little late getting this one there. Sorry I've been so MIA. As I get my list of things I want to do before the baby comes, and try to take on more work to save up for maternity leave, I just haven't had the time!

Anyway, welcome to the third trimester! We're on the home stretch! The next time we post one of these in another several weeks, it will be the birth story thread!
 
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#2 ·
I still have another week before I hit the third trimester, but this post was so encouraging! I can't wait to meet my baby girl, but I'm still enjoying being pregnant at the same time...

Thanks @MnMtm for the reminder of the light at the end of the tunnel!
 
#3 ·
Third trimester starts at 28 weeks right? Leaves me a week away. Wow, this is flying by so far but I bet from here it's going to seem sooo slooow.
 
#5 ·
I'm getting excited to meet the baby too, and find out what baby is! DP is getting anxious, he wants to have everything set up and car seat installed ready haha. You would think baby is coming tomorrow based on how he talks :p
 
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#7 ·
My DH is the opposite. He was still mentally feeling like we had 4 or 5 months until the other day, when I told him that we have less than 3 months. He was a little panicked. Mostly about finances to cover my maternity leave. I will have 4 weeks of vacation pay saved up, though, and we will have some savings, though not as much as we would like, and we will have the back-up of credit cards. I hate using credit cards, but deem that this will be a worthy use of them, if we do indeed end up needing to dip into them.

We have started perineal massage, which we did to prepare for DD's birth, and I think it really helped me to relax and open more to the sensation of pressure and stretching, instead of contracting the muscles. I bought Dr. Christopher's Birth-Prep 6 week formula, which I will start taking at 34 weeks. I haven't tried it before, but the reviews sound great. I did use Red Raspberry Leaf with DD's pregnancy, and that is one of the ingredients in this formula. I have also been doing more visualization practicing in preparation, as well.

What is everyone else doing at this point?
 
#9 ·
I'm 28 weeks tomorrow. For me it's still going horribly slowly. It's partly wanting to meet the baby, but to be honest, it's a lot more that I'm sick of being pregnant! I feel like I've been pregnant for a year and a half already. What happened to "after the first baby the pregnancies just fly by" and "with two other kids to run around after, I didn't even remember I was pregnant from one week to the next!"? Yeah, no.

The mention of RRL tea is giving me a reminiscent shudder! I hate the stuff! Drank it with DD; with DS I tried 'Third Trimester Tea' from the herbal shop, which was a hellish compound I can't remember - dandelion? burdock? Nettles, maybe. Along with RRL, of course. You were meant to steep it for a good 20 minutes before drinking, to enhance the virtue (read: bitter hay-smelling vileness).

I think I ended up giving it away. :p Ghastly stuff. But I'm not much of a tea-drinker at the best of times.
 
#10 ·
Well, we had our second birth class this weekend and I really enjoyed the experience. Our instructor was a nurse starting in the 50's and retired in 2009 to become an instructor, she has birthed 11 babies with 3 fused vertebre! She covered everything I could think of and more without personally spinning on it which is so rare. I typically find people either try to insist there are no conseqences to interventions OR they make you feel like any interventions are always to the detriment of your child and if they happen, you've failed in some way. Also, learning about the importance of nursing immediately convinced H that we aren't calling his Mom until we are both ready (instead of right after I get cleaned up, which was the compromise).

Other than that, I'm writing up our birth plan tonight, which now feels silly because since my MW and the birth center policies agree on about everything except that darn fetal monitor wire. But, you never know when the MW might be indisposed so it's important because I'm not good at advocating for myself in stressful situations.

Hmm, what else... Practicing relaxing and breathing, I'm surprisingly bad at both of these things.

Overall, I've had an easy pregnancy but I really have been surprised how limiting it can be, I can't stay in any position long, twisting of any sort can cause pain, I'm always exhausted... but, I know once he's here I'm going to be wishing for a moment alone and a straight few hours of sleep so I'm trying to enjoy it for now.
 
#11 ·
28 weeks today!! I can't believe it, I'm sure I'll regret saying this but I'm so excited to be in the third trimester!!!! It's just felt like a long time coming (before we got pregnant) that a few more weeks/months feel totally do-able at this point. I'm definitely in between feeling like time is going by slowly vs. quickly - I think like NaturallyKait said that it will probably move along quickly the next couple weeks (weeks and weekends are so busy in March/April!), but by early May will feel like an eternity!!!!

Though I can say that I felt things starting to change already even last week. My belly is just feeling bigger generally (though fundal height was right at 28cm today!), like SummerStorm said comfy positions are harder to come by, and I'm (not) enjoying that my bowels are starting to slow down and I'm getting the first of what I think is some kind of hemmeroid yuckiness. Not super painful as of yet, just uncomfortable and odd.

I got the go-ahead to start drinking RRL tea, so I'll give it a try (already have a box ready/waiting in the cupboard!). I've been sick for almost 2 weeks and am finally well enough to get back to yoga class this week, so am really looking forward to that. We tried perineal massage a few weeks ago, and I wasn't quite ready for it. I guess I had been hoping to wait until I don't have to take the progesterone suppositories anymore, but it seems like I may be on them right up to 36w, so we may just have to go for it sooner rather than later. We also have one more birth class next Sunday, then we're doing a "partner prep" class at my yoga studio in April, which should be about supportive positions/touching that are helpful/not helpful during labor. We also spent some time this weekend making a few very extensive to-do lists, one for each month we have left, divided into "cleaning," "baby prep," "family business," etc. Now the March list is on the fridge, and it's nice to help focus my energy on the things that need to be done soon.
@MnMtm sooo exciting to think about a birth story thread starting in a few short months!!!! I'm guessing at least a few of our group will birth in May.
 
#12 ·
Actually, the second trimester has always been the easiest for me. I'm not puking as much, and I'm not so huge and uncomfortable yet. However, I'm still glad to be getting to the third trimester because it gets us closer to meeting our baby!

Fyerfly, I would start looking into hemorrhoid treatments and prevention now. For me, I think the 2 hardest things about the first 3 months after the baby arrives are the sleep deprivation, and dealing with hemorrhoids. Those are the 2 things that strain on my sanity.
 
#14 ·
Fyerfly, I would start looking into hemorrhoid treatments and prevention now. For me, I think the 2 hardest things about the first 3 months after the baby arrives are the sleep deprivation, and dealing with hemorrhoids. Those are the 2 things that strain on my sanity.
Got it. Anything in particular work well for you? I'm trying warm baths and witch hazel pads, which seem fine, but any other tips welcome.
 
#13 ·
Yeah, the second trimester's supposed to be the 'fun' one. The idea is you're over morning sickness, have a cute visible-but-not-enormous bump, and are glowing and full of energy.

I never found it that way, but I suppose it's always been marginally less horrific than the first and third trimesters? Less heartburn, anyway.
 
#16 ·
Preventing constipation will be key in preventing any worsening, and allowing them to heal. Things that help prevent or treat constipation include staying adequately hydrated, and eating plenty of whole grains, fruits and veggies. Except for bananas; they will back you up. Peaches, and pears, and fruit juice are also helpful. Things that typically cause stools to be harder are meats, and cheese, as well as not drinking enough water. Women in pregnancy tend to get more constipated anyway, due to bodily changes, so we tend to have to keep a closer watch on things. If you need a little extra help, miralax (or the cheaper, equivalent off-brand,) is generally gentle, yet effective, and it's not absorbed systemically; it just passes through the digestive tract, so you don't have to worry about any side effects to the baby, like I'm so paranoid about.

For treating them, in the past I've used tucks pads, witch hazel poured onto menstrual pads, and frozen, for use postpartum, and preparation H. I know preparation H isn't very natural, but the maximum strength stuff woks pretty well. Also, get some flushable wipes, because keeping the area very well, and gently cleaned will also be very important. I can tell you right now, from being a CNA, and a nurse, toilet paper doesn't get anyone adequately cleaned from bowel movements. I think everyone should use wipes.

This time around, I'm also preparing essential oils, which I'm still pretty new to. They say making a spray where you add 20 drops each of helichrysum and lavender oil to a bottle of witch hazel, is supposed to be wonderful for a healing and pain relieving perineal spray, and especially for hemorrhoids. I'm going to try that this time around.
 
#18 ·
I'm 28 weeks and 2 days now and I am reaaaaally eager for June to roll around! I keep reminding myself I'm in the homestretch now. I feel like I should be more patient since this is my fourth, but nope! Hehe. I am bigger this time than I've been in my other pregnancies, so the thought of growing a lot more is a bit intimidating to me! Thankfully I have a lot of things that will be keeping me busy from now till June, so hopefully that will make it seem like the time is going by faster.
 
#19 ·
It's spring today!! So excited to be in what will probably be our baby's birth season...though many of us could have very early summer babies, too!

I got back to yoga this week, which was awesome, but being away for a while and I think also the changes that are popping up with the start of the third trimester are making it a slightly different experience. Positions that were easy/relaxing before (even child's pose!) are surprising me now with weird little pains. Nothing too bad, just enough to make me realize this is definitely a different stage of the pregnancy, and I need to keep stretching and exercising but take care!
 
#22 ·
I just have to say - I am already so tired of peeing. It feels like every 5 minutes (it's not)! The pressure when I have to go is really intense too - urgent!!! Luckily I'm still only getting up once a night, but not sure how long that will last :)
 
#25 ·
It is rather unlovely, isn't it? I had really bad pelvic girdle pain with DD, triggered by moving house - though I swear I wasn't heaving heavy boxes around or anything! - and my midwife told me it tends to get worse with every pregnancy, which was a charming thought. But with DS I was EXTREMELY careful about how I moved, and I mostly avoided it. Same this time around. I do find, though, that if I have to walk too far or too fast I can feel my pelvis starting to tear apart at the front. Which is a) disconcerting and b) odd, because walking is a back-and-forth motion, so why is it pulling my pelvic bones apart side-to-side? I don't get it.
 
#27 ·
These last few days have been rough. Especially today -- I mean, I'm fine, just dealing with severe lack of motivation, not the best food choices, and a weird mental state in general. So the best thing happened tonight: I submitted an online order for a few things, and Amazon gave me the option to "SHARE on FACEBOOK: I just ordered Tuck's medicated hemorrhoid pads with witch hazel (100ct)." I'm still laughing just thinking about it.
 
#28 ·
@FyerFly Sorry that things have been rough going for you! I am always nervous that I will accidentally share an embarrassing amazon purchase on FB - why is there even that option?!
@Smokering Pelvic girdle pain sounds horrible! I am afraid of giving it to myself somehow. I'm trying to swim with my legs together a bit more although totally ruining it by cycling and dancing. I can't stop doing everything, though! I am going to buy a new bike for these last few months that will let me ride with my knees together a bit more to help prevent it. I need a side-saddle. :)

Amen to the peeing all.the.time. I have to plan 2-3 pee stops ahead when I'm out. It's the first time I've really appreciated the sheer number of pubs in London. Pubs will always let you use their bathrooms.

I am starting to feel mildly freaked out in that in 3 months I am going to be responsible for another human. I am reading lots of books and feel sort of like I am cramming for a really important exam. It's funny, DH was more freaked out at the beginning and is now much more adjusted to the idea, and I kind of feel the other way around.
 
#29 ·
@perkier YES to discovering public restrooms everywhere I go. In places I would never usually even think of using them...also my patience for waiting has increased dramatically - yesterday we were at the grocery store and there were two people in front of me and only one restroom. Normally i would think oh whatever and just wait till I got home. Nope. Not a possibility anymore ;)

I may have spoken too soon with that "only getting up once a night" thing, too. :/
 
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