This was such an exciting milestone. Making it to the 3rd trimester and realizing how close baby's arrival was!
28 & 29 Weeks
Baby is getting so much bigger (he weighs around 3lbs and is around 15 inches long), belly is growing, energy is great, sleep is deep and restful!
I started going to acupuncture again with my favourite, Anne Matthews of Energy Tree Studios. Anne suggests going before pregnancy and during the 1st and 3rd trimesters. So not only was I excited to reach the 3rd trimester milestone because it marked getting closer to meet the babe, but it meant getting to see Anne again while feeling amazing in her heavenly studio!
The third trimester is busy! I now see my midwife every two weeks, have enrolled in a prenatal course and we found our doula (a birth coach/emotional support). Just to recap, my plan is to have as natural of a birth as possible with my midwife + doula present in the new midwife unit at Markham Stouffville Hospital. I would love to have a water birth as well as I am a water baby (swimming since 6 months and was a competitive swimmer my entire adolescence so being in the water to me is freeing and very calming). This midwife unit is the first of its kind in Canada and the room consists of natural aids such as birthing chairs, a birthing pool, a double murphy bed, medicine balls etc. Although this is my goal, I keep saying "I don't have a plan" as some things are entirely out of your control. This baby will come out the way it wants to and I am open to whatever will get him here as healthy as possible!
28 weeks is also when you take your "glucose test" i.e where they check for gestational diabetes along with other things. You drink a VERY sugary orange beverage within 5 minutes and they take your blood test an hour later to essentially see how your body reacts and is able to break down the sugar (and how much is left in your bloodstream after that hour). Mine came back great (phew!) and they also told me my iron was incredible. I am not bragging here but I want to point out why I think this is the case. I take 2x iron tissue salts every single day religiously. My homeopath recommended them to me when I told her I was pregnant and they essentially help me absorb and assimilate iron more efficiently in my system, so I swear they work! She says she gives to her children during the winter months to help prevent getting sick! Ask your naturopath or homeopath for more details (or email me if you have questions, my homeopath does Skype sessions!)
30 & 31 Weeks
We have started meeting our doula where we discussed everything from our "birth plan" to learning about the stages of labour. She is a ray of sunshine and I am so excited that she will be part of our birth.
32 & 33 Weeks
Baby is approximately 4.5lbs and boy can I feel that when I am lying or sitting down. He is taking up more and more room each week and I can feel that on my lungs the most! Because there is so much less room in my torso, my appetite has been affected too as I have less room in my stomach so get full very easily. My stomach has also become SO much more sensitive to certain foods. Without being too graphic, when I eat foods that have too much dairy or sugar, it does not sit well- AT ALL!
Other than that, my sleeps are still very deep and everything is going well!
34- 36 Weeks
At this point, I finally feel VERY pregnant. My torso is still quite compact but he is taking up every square inch of it and I can definitely feel it! At 34 weeks I started to incorporate new techniques into my life to get ready for labour. I have started doing more hip opening stretches, sitting on my exercise ball when possible, drinking raspberry leaf tea (helps get your uterine muscles ready- some swear by it others don't!), and eating dates every day (some people believe it helps get your cervix ready, so I just have two energy balls every day).
By 36 weeks I am feeling a lot of pressure in both my ribs and pelvis. I was told that could mean he is long or just how he is positioned. He probably weighs about 6lbs now which is crazy to think! One more week to go until I am "full term" meaning if baby arrives between 37-40 weeks, he is not premature and is good to go! The last few weeks are all about finishing touches and putting on extra fat for baby. We have finished our prenatal classes which were INCREDIBLE (will touch on that in a different blog post), met with our doula on numerous occasions to discuss our plans, and I have also enrolled in a breastfeeding course to give me some tips and tricks for when the time comes.
I started to get acid reflux/heart burn a couple times a week with certain foods: too much sugar, tomatoes, apples, anything very acidic! I tried to combat it with natural remedies like ginger, apple cider vinegar, chamomile tea which slightly worked but I eventually bought tums (I usually try and use herbs, whole foods and other natural remedies first). On a couple occasions I actually threw up because my esophagus was so acidic and that made me feel a tad better. I only had this feeling once before in my life (after 4 days in Vegas after my SIL's bachelorette party haha!) It essentially felt like a lump in my throat and on some occasions I actually felt the "burning" sensation that is often talked about. It is not painful, just annoying and uncomfortable at times (like before bed)!
At this stage in pregnancy, I am still sleeping very well but getting up at least 3 times a night to go to the washroom. Baby is on top of bladder and I feel that the most at night! I try not to drink water 3 hours before bed but it does not make that much of a difference to be honest! I do feel some relief on my breathing/lungs which means baby is moving lower rather than higher now. He is descending! WOW
Our bodies start to release a hormone called "relaxin" during the last few weeks of pregnancy to get us ready for labour. This hormone is just like it sounds, its loosening up our joints and muscles (relaxin' us haha)... but it is not localized, meaning I feel it everywhere! At times I feel like Gumby where I am walking into things, sitting or standing in weird ways where I may hyperextend my joints and then stand up and feel achy.
Overall, I would summarize these last weeks as more pressure + aches. I can feel my body getting ready for labour and it is VERY fascinating. This is probably why the last month of pregnancy is often negatively portrayed for being uncomfortable. It definitely is at times but just like in labour, there is purpose for it! Anytime I feel a charlie horse in my leg or pressure in my bladder, I remind myself there is purpose for this feeling and it is just my body getting ready. I am all about empowering mantras so keep saying "there is purpose in the pain" which is something I am using now and hope to incorporate during labour.
STAY TUNED FOR MY NEXT BLOG POST! It will cover the last few weeks of pregnancy and labour! eeeeeeeeee, I cannot believe it is almost here! For now I will just be "nesting" and getting our house and lives as ready as possible for this baby. I keep joking I am adding more feminine touches to my home before I am outnumbered by boys (see below)!
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