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Oh helloooo and happy Tuesday! To be honest, I meant to get this third trimester update up a long time ago… but so many changes happen in your third trimester, I kept updating it and putting it off! I’ll be 39 weeks tomorrow so I felt like I couldn’t put off this post any longer or else baby girl might have already arrived hahah. If you want to read any of my other posts on pregnancy, you can find them all here. Let’s get started, shall we?

Q: What classes/reading/activities have you and Chris done to prepare?

Chris and I watched these online childbirth classes through our local doulas – these videos were incredibly educational and made us feel way more prepared for what to expect during birth! The videos go into detail about what happens during labor, different strategies to cope with the pain of contractions, and the different medical interventions that you might receive at the hospital. We’re also halfway through the Taking Cara Babies newborn class and we love it. Cara’s videos have made us feel a lot more prepared for when baby girl actually gets here! She has so many helpful tips, like how to swaddle the baby, how to get her to stop crying, etc. I’ve also been listening to a few helpful podcasts, like The Ultimate Baby podcast and the Fourth Trimester podcast.

Q: What are you most afraid of? What are you most excited for?

I’m most afraid that birth is going to hurt and I’m going to tear. LOL just being real. And I’m most excited to finally hold her in my arms!!!!

Q: At what point in your pregnancy did you feel the baby kick?

I started to feel the baby’s kicks around 17 weeks. At first, it felt like little muscle spasms (at least, that it was it felt like to me!). Or someone is just gently poking you from the inside. She has gotten more and more active since then, and in the third trimester those gentle little pokes get pretty darn aggressive! Especially when she decides to karate kick my bladder LOL!

Now you can see her move and even pick out body parts – it is crazy! She was curled up in a really strange position for this photo:

Q: How many times have you peed yourself?

At least five hahaha. Every single time was either from laughing too hard or sneezing! On our babymoon, I sneezed and peed so much that I thought my water had broken!!!

Q: Have you had much swelling and what are you doing to minimize it?

Thankfully I haven’t dealt with much swelling during pregnancy. I think staying active, going on lots of walks and drinking water all day long has helped with that!

Q: Are you using any topical stretch mark preventatives?

Yes! I’ve used this organic belly butter (the unscented one) pretty much my entire pregnancy. I know genetics plays a role in whether or not you get stretch marks, but I do think keeping your skin moisturized really helps! I love the belly butter because it’s made with super clean ingredients. I apply it as often as I can.

Q: I’m in the third trimester and nervous about birth! What are you getting to prep for postpartum?

I’m nervous too, girl!! I heard the hospital sends you home with a lot of “supplies,” but I went ahead and bought a lot of items from Frida Mom to have ready at home. I ordered this mom essentials kit – I packed the disposable undies in my hospital bag, and put the rest of the items in a caddy in my bathroom so that I’m already prepared when I come home from the hospital. I also got the Frida Mom peri bottle (which I heard is better than the hospital version), as well as this organic perineal spray and nipple butter.

Q: Will you be taking time off for maternity leave? Or will you just be posting less?

Yes, I definitely plan on taking time off whenever the baby decides to come! I’m sure I will still post snippets on social media, but of course my main priority will be soaking up time with our little girl, and I don’t want her to experience her first few weeks of life with a phone shoved in her face, haha! I know that we can never get those weeks back, and I want to soak them up as much as possible. I do have some pre-written blog posts scheduled for the next couple of weeks so that there will still be new content on here even while I’m taking a break.

Q: What workouts have you been doing?

For most of my third trimester I’ve LOVED our MYX Fitness stationary bike – I’ve been able to get in a really good cardio workout in just 15 minutes. I just now got to the point where my stomach is so big I can’t reach the handlebars of the bike, LOL! So these last couple of weeks, I’ve just been doing a lot of walking. I try to go on two good walks a day, one in the morning and one when Chris gets off of work.

The other thing I’ve done consistently during pregnancy is prenatal yoga. This YouTube channel has been amazing, I usually just scroll through until I find a video that looks good to me that day. I took this photo while doing this yoga ball stretch class – I could not stop laughing. It legitimately looks like I swallowed a watermelon!!!

Q: Have you experienced Braxton Hicks?

The answer to this question was no – until last night! I had never felt any type of contractions before, so I wasn’t sure what they were. They felt like my entire uterus was contracting really really tight, then it would taper off and happen again about a minute later. They were pretty strong for a few hours and then went away.

Q: Did you drink coffee during your pregnancy?

First trimester I didn’t drink any… I had a strong aversion to it! I started drinking it again in the second trimester because I felt better and it helps keep me regular. I typically only drink a very small amount in the mornings, and nowhere near the 200 mg caffeine limit per day!

Q: Which diaper bag are you getting?

I have a few different ones cause a baby’s gotta have options, ya know! 😉 I got this classic black one, this leopard one and I also customized this sherpa backpack with the word “BABY” that I also plan to use as a diaper bag – a pack of wipes fits perfectly in the front zippered compartment.

Q: What’s in your hospital bag?

Stay tuned because I’m doing a whole blog post on this!

Q: For someone not near this stage in pregnancy, how uncomfortable is being in your third trimester?

Not going to lie… it’s pretty uncomfortable! I felt pretty good up until week 38. That’s when everything started hurting, and you’re so uncomfortable that it’s hard to sleep at night. My stomach feels like it’s stretched to capacity, and I have lower back and tailbone pain that is almost constant.

Q: Are you able to keep taking antidepressants while pregnant?

I decided not to take antidepressants while pregnant, just to be safe. Everyone has to make that decision for themselves. I try to manage anxiety through prayer and meditation.

Q: Are you doing anything to prevent tearing (down there)?

Yes! I won’t go into too much detail about perineal massage here on the blog (if you’re curious, just google it, haha), but I ordered this olive oil butter specifically for my perineal area and have been practicing a perineal massage weekly since the second trimester. I don’t do this every single night, but usually a couple of times per week after I’ve taken a shower or bath. I’ve had a few friends who said that keeping this area moisturized and massaged help reduce tearing during labor.

Q: I’m in my second trimester. Did you have acid reflux or indigestion? If so, what has helped?

Yes, I have had acid reflux! There was one week that was SO bad it felt like my throat was sore from all the acid! Since then, I have tried to manage it through diet/lifestyle changes. I started eating smaller meals more often throughout the day (this really helped), and I stay away from really acidic foods like tomato soup. When I really need help, my doctor said it was safe to take Tums.

Q: Have you stopped painting your nails and using self tanner until baby comes?

I did stop painting my nails (you probably noticed because my nails look ATROCIOUS in all my pictures hahah!). I don’t think nail polish or SNS would necessarily be a problem but I really did not want to soak my hands in acetone in order to remove the polish! As for self tanner, I have definitely applied less than normal, but I have still been using it occasionally throughout pregnancy. I switched over to Isle of Paradise because I think it’s “cleaner” than what I was using previously.

Q: Which bassinet did you decide on?

We went with the Halo bassinet after hearing a few friends rave about it. It swivels right over your bed, which supposedly makes it super easy to breastfeed in the middle of the night. We got a really simple model because I really don’t want a lot of electric items near the baby’s head. In my opinion, babies don’t really NEED all of the bells and whistles and the fancy moving bassinets – they’ve been going to sleep in basic bassinets for centuries! But that is just my opinion. 🙂

If you have any other questions, let me know in the comments!