As I look back on the third trimester, it seems like a distant memory. If I had one word to describe the third trimester, it would be uncomfortable. In addition to peeing every twenty minutes, struggling to get comfortable to sleep, & trying to do anything without getting out of breath, it feels like such a weird limbo. You’re between not wanting to be pregnant anymore & desperately wanting to meet your baby, but also feeling like you have no idea what is coming & what you’ll do on the other side. Today, I’m finally sharing my third trimester recap with you all. I already shared my third trimester essentials featuring a ton of products that helped me through, so be sure to check that out!
Third Trimester Recap
I’ll start my third trimester recap off by saying the in hindsight, pregnancy is of course, all worth it. It’s true what everyone says! It quickly becomes a distant memory with every smile for your little one on the other side. For a little laugh, watch this REEL I made of my last week of pregnancy outfits & this REEL I made making Charles try to feel what it was like to be pregnant by wearing a watermelon.
Symptoms
Restless Leg Syndrome: RLS just kept going strong, but if I put my legs up on the wall for about 15 minutes while I read, took my magnesium gummies, & wore my compression socks to bed then all was well. If I didn’t, then RLS came in full force. Also, water. I drank as much water as my bladder allowed, haha.
Swelling: Everything was swollen. I continued sleeping in compression socks each night & basically lived in my ice slippers. I’ve continued my monthly facials with lymphatic drainage & using my gua sha each morning to try to keep the pregnancy face at bay. There are tons of videos out there on how to use them, but I can record a REEL to share soon of how I do it quickly in the mornings.
Pregnancy Insomnia: Pregnancy insomnia only got worse through the third trimester. It was so hard to sleep more than a few hours at a time. My pregnancy pillow helped some, but ultimately it was just hard to get comfortable & turn my mind off. Of course, people tell you that it’s preparing you for when baby arrives, which is such a frustrating response haha. I’d much rather sleep while I could. Sticking to my nighttime routine helped & when I needed it, I’d listen to a Headspace meditation.
Bathroom Issues: I literally pee two or three times an hour & leaving the house for more than thirty minutes was tough cuz I knew I’ll have to pee. I kept up with my probiotics & didn’t have any other bathroom issues, luckily!
Shortness of Breath: The shortness of breath continued & only got worse. I legit would be out of breath sitting on the couch talking on the phone. Workouts for sure got more challenging, which made it harder to stick to my pregnancy workout routine.
Discomfort: I could legit feel my hips stretching out & had hip pain, round ligament pain, & back pain. My core strength felt like it was totally gone, but I kept doing my pelvic floor videos every other day which seemed to help a lot! Staying active was key for me both physically & mentally.
Braxton Hicks Contractions: It took me awhile to know what these really were, but I definitely had some of these practice contractions. They went away if I moved around or switched how I was sitting or laying. Walking around helped, too.
Tiredness: My exhaustion came back, but in a different way from the first trimester. Instead of feeling like such a chemical exhaustion I couldn’t get over no matter how much I slept or rested, this one seemed more because I wasn’t sleeping as much & everything took so much effort. I don’t know if that makes sense, but they were just different. I found myself working from the couch as much as possible.
Heartburn: I’m lucky I didn’t have too much heartburn, but I did have some. More so, it just got hard to eat full meals in the final weeks. Even going to my favorite restaurant, I just felt like I couldn’t fit more food or it would creep up as heartburn no matter what it was. I would eat smaller meals all throughout the day because I’d feel so uncomfortably full so fast.
There are some things that helped me make it through the third trimester that you can find in this post. Looking back on it now, it sticks out as probably the roughest part of pregnancy, both physically & mentally. It just comes to show how strong I am to be able to get through it & it was worth every pain, symptom, or sleepless night.
If you missed it, you can read Emmett’s birth story to hear more about labor & delivery. I definitely am behind on posts, hence the third trimester recap post near the end of the fourth trimester, but #newbornlife. I’ll have up my fourth trimester recap, postpartum essentials, some postpartum realness, more on breastfeeding, Emmett’s schedule, & more, soon! If there is anything I can do to answer any questions or help, please let me know! I would not have gotten through pregnancy without the encouragement, support, & tips from so many women who had walked through it before me so I am more than happy to pay it forward in any way. XO
