You third trimester starts at 28 weeks. Your baby will begin to rapidly grown and your body is going to go through some major changes to prepare for deliver. It is an exciting time knowing it won’t be long before you are holding your sweet baby in your arms but the next couple months are going to be interesting.
In the hustle and bustle of preparing for baby, getting the room ready, planning for your maternity leave and making sure you have everything you need your also going to have some of the following experiences.
Here are some of the things to expect in your 3rd trimester that few talk about.
1) You will notice it is harder to reach your feet to put shoes on, you will get out of breath easier and your mobility will change. You may find your have swelling in your hands and feet in the evening and sandals/flip flops may very well become your favorite shoe!
2) Your heartburn and nausea will return! This is because your hormones are changing once again and causing new things to relax including the valve the keeps acid down where it belongs. So, you will find some relief if you try to eat smaller meals more frequently throughout the day. Try to avoid fried foods, foods high in acid, chocolate, spicy foods, and caffeine! Not easy when you are going to be losing sleep trying to get comfortable. I personally have found the Alka-Seltzer chewable to be faster acting then tums.
3) You will also start finding the bathrooms more frequently as baby grows and decreases the space for your bladder you will have to pee. You will also start to develop what us moms call mom bladder. Where you have to be prepared for leakage when you cough, sneeze, laugh, or even bend over. You might want to consider using panty liners to help catch the leaks.
4) Nesting can begin at any time. This is when you will have the urge to clean and organize everything. You will move furniture and put things together. You will be making lists of things you need to get for baby and you will have spouts of energy. Try not to over due it and rest when you can.
5) Leaky breast? Yes, you will start leaking sometimes for no reason and sometimes when you hear a baby cry! This isn’t milk you are leaking it is colostrum. Your body is preparing for your baby and it makes this before your little one arrives. It is full of good stuff from your immune system being prepared to pass to your baby. Don’t express it prematurely as nipple stimulation can cause you to go into labor. You will want to get some breast pads though and they can be purchased in the baby area of target or Walmart. These will help you not have to wear a wet bra every day or have wet circles on your shirts.
6) Braxton Hicks! These are cramps in the abdomen that are your body once again preparing for labor. The thing is many new moms don’t know how to tell the difference between Braxton hicks and real contractions because in my experience they can hurt almost as bad in the beginning stages of labor. But I learned a few ways to tell the difference.
- Braxton hicks will get better if you change position or walk
- Real contractions just get stronger no matter what you do!
- Braxton hicks are sporadic and will go away over time
- Real contractions will get closer together and don’t go away
- Braxton hicks start in the lower part of the abdomen and move up
- Real contractions start to harden at the top of the abdomen and go down as your uterus pushes baby towards your birth canal
7) Baby will drop, not literally! Around 36 weeks your baby will get further into place and you will fill like you can breathe a little easier. This is when baby is head down and in the pelvic area getting in position. It can increase your hip pain as your body releases your tendons to allow your body to do its job.
8) Nobody tells you this but you can also develop hemorrhoids during your 3rd trimester if you do there are wipes you can use to help with the discomfort.
I hope none of these scares you but gives you a little bit of insight into what to expect and why. Also, some things I found helpful when I was expecting my three children. Pregnancy can be exciting and fun but our bodies go through some major changes that for some reason few talks about.
Once you get to hold your sweet baby in your arms and smell the sweet baby smell you will be filled with emotions and all the discomforts will be worth it and become a faded memory.
One last thing if you haven’t already this is also the time you will want to schedule your newborn session with your photographer of choice.
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