The Third Trimester

Birthing Class... yes we went to one together, we both thought it was beneficial. I've heard some parents love it, some hate it, and everything in between. It's up to you, but as a first time Mom I would definitely recommend it. We went right around 32 weeks.

Strangers touching or commenting on the belly... seriously what is with people?! Tell them to back off... lol it's SO WEIRD!! I didn't have a problem with family and friends, and everyone is totally different, just don't be afraid to voice your opinion Mama - if you don't welcome the touch, tell them. Or just touch theirs back and ask when they're due to make it even more awkward! I even had a random worker at Target trying to name my baby and tell me the gender, like what?! Get out of here and let me ring up my groceries in peace!

Ah the nicknames - make sure to document them, it's fun to look back on! The naming game is also fun, we used an app that's like Tinder for baby names - swipe left if you like it, right if you don't, and they'll give you a list of what you and your partner match with! Pretty fun way to discuss names honestly and a great way to get Dad involved! (Brooks, Elliott and Dakota were on our boy list, Brooklyn, Harlow, Khloe, Isla, and Kylie were on our girl list!) We also called her Baby B, Baby Girl, and Little Debbie while in the womb!

Baby Shower(s)! We did ours at about 32 and 33 weeks - I'd honestly recommend no later than that and kind of wish we did ours earlier just so I had more energy to put things away and purchase the things we still needed after knowing what we received. We had a combined family one and then our friends also threw one. So many fun memories! At our family one everyone wrote her a note that we'll give to her at her 18th birthday, and honestly reading them was so much fun - I can't wait to get them back out years down the road!

Babymoon - we did this around 25 weeks preggo, and of course had to go to our favorite island of Cozumel. We vacationed here several times, got engaged and married there, so it was only appropriate we went there for our babymoon... plus the icing on the cake - Kyle said "The first time I went I was in my Mom's belly, so we have to go when Brooklyn is in your belly!" - if I told you I didn't bawl I would be lying, thank you pregnancy hormones! We also did our maternity photos while we were there, and we are so glad we did - what a fun memory to have!

Cravings and aversions - I hated buffalo sauce pre pregnancy, but man I wanted nothing other than buffalo wings constantly! We also nicknamed the babe Little Debbie because of all the Little Debbie treats I was eating! Oatmeal cream pies, Christmas trees, Ho Ho's I mean I had it all. Chicken and hummus were the few things that kind of grossed me out (wings were clearly ok!). Other than that I was pretty low key when it came to that stuff and not much bothered me, nor did I have any weird cravings!

Working Out - I think I lasted until about 33 weeks doing my regular workouts, obviously modifying some of the moves, but I am so glad I did! I definitely missed it when I stopped. If you read my earlier blogs about being naive thinking working out would give me an easy labor, clearly it didn't. I do think it tremendously helped my recovery, though!

Movin and Shakin - she definitely moved more during the early morning and late at night which was super fun to feel and watch. She also constantly had the hiccups at night which was fun, until it just got annoying! hah! She also had a special spot we could always find her foot - in the upper right part of my tummy! We called it her foot cove. 

Remember that second trimester energy? Yeah, that's gone... definitely a thing of the past. All those people that tell you to get some rest before baby gets here? F them too, because you definitely don't! How can you get comfortable with that huge bump and getting up to pee literally like 5 times a night? I also had some nausea return so that was fun as well! So if you haven't gotten to the third trimester yet - soak up that second trimester full of glow and energy ;) Just sayin'! (That being said, as I look through our memories, I did a LOT during third trimester... like seriously, how?! I'm tired just looking at it!) I'm also now crying looking at my bump pictures, man I miss that cute (large) baby bump... holy hormones, ok back to the blog...

We had one final ultrasound when I was 38 weeks just to look at her measurements... to our surprise "Little Debbie" was measuring about 7lb 13 oz and estimated her to be a 9-10 lb baby (to which we would later find out was true!). Mama was NOT too excited to hear this... and every time we would tell people they'd say oh they measured wrong she'll be less than that, mine was... we would follow up with, yeah if an ultrasound tech did it then probably, but ours was Dr Hintz and he's never off haha. 

Ah - the gluecose test. I passed, and honestly I enjoyed it - you can call me weird it's fine. I got the lemon-lime flavor (didn't get to pick). Everyone talks so much crap about this, but it wasn't bad. The only bad thing is I did mine in the morning and ended up with a super bad tummy ache and headache in the afternoon from the sugar crash. The one piece of advice I'd give here... it doesn't matter what you do and don't do to "pass" it, it's usually genetic, and honestly if it does come back as failed then it's meant to so you can keep that baby healthy and have further checks. 

Cervical Checks... oh man, the first appt Kyle finally started going with me again, and there was the dreaded cervical check. I was a day shy of 37 weeks. We left and he said "I think I just watched you get violated!" Yes, Yes you did! Most people say it's not painful... however, my cervix was posterior and off to the side (which basically just means it's further back than normal) so they always had a hard time finding it! (Sorry if this is TMI... just keeping it real folks!) I just happened to be one of the lucky ones, and therefore dreaded these going forward! We did another one at the next appt 38 weeks and still wasn't progressing. I started doing curb walking, drinking labor prep tea, and all the things TikTok tells you to do! At my 39/40 week appt I still wasn't progressing and they scheduled me to be induced 5 days after my due date. (Little did we know she'd show up right on time the next day on her due date, because I am her Mom!) This just goes to show how quickly things can progress so don't get discouraged Mama, just remember that baby will come when they're ready! 

Well, I think that's it, that's the wrap up of the third trimester... if this is you, it's getting real! You're about to become a Mama, and it's the most amazing thing in the world. It is hard, it is a lot of work, and it is a lot of emotion... it's also the most amazing, rewarding thing you'll ever do in your entire life! Soak in every single moment. 

The morning before I went into labor, look at that big 'ol bump! (Although, it doesn't look like an almost 10lb baby should fit in their either... lol, at least that's what they told me trying to be nice.)