I am writing this blog post the day before baby boy’s due date (January 22nd), which is so crazy to say! Although he must be quite happy and cozy in there because I hadn’t started dilating at all yet at my appointment last week. We’ll see what happens this week! This pregnancy has felt so long, especially because of everything I have been dealing with in my life. My partner of 10 years was really struggling with mental health issues when we had to part ways over halfway through my pregnancy. Four months later, he is finally getting the help he needs which I am so thankful for and gives me a lot of peace of mind going into the birth of our son.

It has been a very sad, stressful, and traumatic situation to go through during a very vulnerable time in a woman’s life. Schyler was such a crucial part of the first half of my pregnancy and no longer having that support & affection took away a lot of the happiness and magic of pregnancy that I had looked forward to all my life. I don’t know what the future holds, for now I am focusing on the birth of baby boy and getting used to life with a new born. He is the silver lining in all of this! I also want to say that I have tried to be very careful about what I share regarding this situation but I also want to be honest about what’s going on in my life and to help others who may be going through/gone through a similar situation. I know that my story has touched a lot of people which was all I could hope for in being so open/vulnerable. Now that you guys have gotten a little bit of an update, let’s get into my third trimester update!

Pregnancy Symptoms & What Helped

Heartburn: I have to say, this has probably been the worst symptom for me! I started experiencing heartburn towards the end of my 7th month of pregnancy which is very common because all of your organs are shifted and squished to accommodate baby. It’s a lot of burping, sometimes with acid that comes up in my case, which can be very uncomfortable/painful. My OBGYN recommended Pepcid to me but I’ve also heard other moms online recommend Genexa or Tums as well. Be sure to check with your doctor before taking anything!

Constipation: This is another not so fun symptom that is very common in pregnancy due to the progesterone hormone slowing down the way your body absorbs nutrients and removes waste. I rarely ever had this problem before pregnancy but I noticed a few days would go by here or there without a bowel movement which just made my belly feel so uncomfortable, tight, and heavy. Not a good feeling! My OBGYN recommended Colace to me which is a stool softener that helps you have a bowel movement within 24 hours but if you need more immediate relief Miralax or Fleet suppositories are good options both of which were OK’d by my doctor.

Exhaustion: This has been a symptom during my entire pregnancy but the exhaustion is on a completely different level at this point! Some days I have more energy than others but I’ve definitely been out running errands, at church, or even just at home working on my laptop and had waves of exhaustion hit me like a brick wall. I drink one cup of coffee in the morning but no more than that which is so tough on those days when I could really use a pick me up! The only thing I have been doing to combat this is trying to get 8-9 hours a sleep a night and also taking a daily nap whenever I can, even if it’s just a 20 min nap. Drinking more water and adding electrolytes seems to help too!

Round ligament/hip/groin pain: This has been another big one in the third trimester although it has been especially bad during these final weeks! What helps me with round ligament, hip, and groin pain has been doing daily walks, stretches, and pregnancy pilates. I also try to practice good posture while sitting, standing, getting up, in and out of bed, etc. The trick is to try to move like a mermaid with you legs together! Sitting on your sit bones or on a pregnancy ball helps too. I also started taking magnesium here and there which my doctor recommended.

Third Trimester Pregnancy Must Haves

Pregnancy ball: I finally got a pregnancy ball towards the end of my pregnancy which I have been doing exercises/moves on that help get baby into the right position for birth. It’s also good to sit on while I work on my laptop because it promotes good posture (on your sit bones) that also helps get baby in the right position. You can also use it to do stretches with and it’s awesome for labor as well. Mine was on sale at Target!

Pregnancy pillow: I’m pretty sure I have mentioned this in all three trimesters but I just cannot recommend it more! I’ve had this pregnancy pillow since the first month of my pregnancy that Schyler bought for me knowing that I already had a bad back and how tough that can be during pregnancy. I wouldn’t be able to get as much sleep as I do without it! It really helps support the belly and keeps your comfortable during those restless nights.

Belly butter: This is another one I’ve mentioned as a must have in other updates and I would say it’s definitely the most important in the third trimester when your baby is growing rapidly. I’ve been lathering my belly since the first week I knew I was pregnant because I was worried about stretch marks. Of course I know stretch marks are natural and not a big deal but I wanted to see if I could help avoid them. In my first trimester I used Hatch Mama belly oil but quickly realized it was too expensive. Since then I’ve been using both Nutiva coconut oil which I slather on since it’s so affordable and then follow up with Burt’s Bee’s belly butter, morning and evening, and I haven’t gotten any stretch marks that I am aware of!

Water bottle: A good water bottle has been a must my entire pregnancy but I would say it is essential in the third trimester. I have a 42 oz bottle I bought from Target that I love, it kind of gives you the look of a Stanley cup for much less. I was drinking about 2 and 1/2 of those a day but my OBGYN told me she wanted me to add one more bottle to that based on the results at my 38 week ultrasound. Not ideal because I already go to the bathroom so much lol but it’s very important for baby and mama to stay hydrated.

Shop Pregnancy Must Haves

Getting Prepared For Labor

I thought it might be helpful to share some of the practices I have incorporated into my routine to get prepared for labor! A lot of things in my life have been out of my control lately but being able to have a good routine that helps me feel like I am as prepared as possible for labor and baby’s arrival has helped a lot. Here they are!

Daily walks: For the first 2 1/2 months of my pregnancy, my partner and I were going on daily runs which I knew I would need to stop after the first trimester. Ever since then I’ve gone on daily walks give or take a day here and there! I try to do a 2-3 mile walk because I knew this would be very helpful for building the strength and stamina that it takes to deliver a baby.

Pregnancy Pilates/stretching: In addition to my daily walks, I also stretch and do pregnancy pilate exercises every night that I learned on YouTube. This is also great for building strength and stamina and really helps with any soreness/tenseness that I am feeling in my body.

Meditation/naps: I am not always able to squeeze this in depending on how busy my day is, but it is super important so I really try to make it happen. I’m not a great napper, it’s especially hard when I need to get up to pee so often, but I try to fit in even a 20 min nap. I first play a pregnancy meditation from YouTube (I like Hypnobirthing with Anja) which I sometimes fall asleep during. The breath work is really good for calming baby and I.

Perineal stretching: I started doing perineal stretching at 37 weeks pregnant, I really should have started earlier but I just hadn’t worked it into my routine yet. You are supposed to do this for a few minutes a few times a week but since I started a little late, I have been trying to do it every day in the evening. I use coconut oil and to be honest I don’t even know if I am doing it right lol, but I figured something is better than nothing!

Dates & Raspberry Leaf Tea: My OBGYN would not let me start doing this until 37 weeks (full term) which was a little disappointing, but I decided to just listen to my doctor lol. Dates and raspberry leaf tea are both supposed to help with contractions and strengthening the uterine muscles. The recommended amount of dates is 4 a day which I eat as one of my snacks. Raspberry leaf tea is supposed to be started off with 1 cup a day prior to 37 weeks and then increased to 2-3 cups a day after that. Since I started at 37 weeks, I have been drinking 2 cups a day and now that I am on my last few days I might increase to 3 cups. Both dates and raspberry leaf tea have helped a lot with constipation too so that’s another benefit lol!

Collecting Colostrum: To collect your Colostrum, you have to stimulate your nipples which my doctors also didn’t want me to do until 37 weeks. After about 3 attempts I was finally able to start collecting a few drops and the more I did it the more I was able to get. I can now fill an entire 1 mil syringe every time I collect my colostrum which is twice a day. I have about 30 syringes right now a day before baby’s due date. Both of my mommy friends really recommended I do this and I’m so glad I did because it will give me a nice little insurance policy as soon as I start breastfeeding baby, knowing that I can follow up each session by giving him a little colostrum from his stock of syringes I have collected for him. It takes that stress off which is really important if you want a successful breastfeeding journey which I am hoping for! And this “liquid gold” has so many health benefits for baby!

Researching/watching videos: In the first half of my pregnancy, my partner and I read Nurture and The New Rules of Pregnancy. I didn’t do much in the way of research months 6-8 as I was trying to just keep my emotions under control and recover after our unfortunate split. But in the last month of my pregnancy, I really made it a point to watch a few YouTube videos each night to research and learn more about labor, breastfeeding, etc. I like to take notes and I can’t really do that during the day when I am working which is why I have made it a part of my nighttime routine. Knowledge is power and it has really helped put me at ease and feel more calm about everything!

Miles circuit: I plan on incorporating the miles circuit into my routine in this last week or so of pregnancy. I already practice some of the moves but I will be much more intentional with them now as they can help bring on labor. I wasn’t super concerned with this before because I have had so much I wanted to finish content wise before baby got here but since we will be past his due date after tomorrow, I need to prioritize this a bit more!

Watch My Third Trimester Recap

XOXO