Third Trimester

Week 27 

(March 11 - 17, 2014)

I feel like this trimester has started with a bang! Helloooooo 3rd trimester! It's like I hit 27 weeks and instant discomfort began. Ok, so I'm probably being a little dramatic...or a lot...but I can definitely feel some differences! I feel pressure! He is sitting low. I don't seem to feel him moving in the middle anymore. Now it's much lower. It's not as many jabs, it's been swooshing feelings. He definitely has been on my bladder more. By mid afternoon I have to really take it easy bc of the pressure I start to feel. The doula, Stephanie, says we can try some different positions to move him off my bladder or my right side (hip - where he LOVES hanging out!). I get another sonogram at 28 weeks and we'll be able to see exactly how he is positioned. And then, she will know how to help me get him off whatever he's hurting! I wouldn't describe it as pain, but definitely more discomfort and pressure have begun! It's all worth it, right :) :) :)

Week 28 

(March 18 - 24, 2014)

This week was good! I really didn't have any issues which was nice! We went to the doctor this week and got another sonogram! It was definitely harder to get a good picture this time because of his position. He is head down, butt to my upper right, and legs towards my left. Like a "7" rotated once to the left. He is measuring only 1 week ahead now (instead of 3!) and apparently has a big head, ha! Oh and he's 2.5 lbs. I will now start having doctor visits every 2 weeks instead of every 4. It was so nice to see our little man again! We are so ready to meet him!!  My weight gain is now a total of 10 lbs! I'll take it! In other news - we went to our supper club at The Hooper's on Saturday night, only to find out they threw us a surprise baby shower with all of our friends! We were so surprised and feel so special they did this for us. More on the shower later :)

Week 29 

(March 25 - 31, 2014)

Exhausted. Nothing gives me energy these days. And that in itself is exhausting! I have a feeling this is just my new norm for a while. I am missing that 2nd trimester energy big time! I am soooooo glad we got as much done as we did during the last 3 months. I'm spending my days reading positive birthing stories to be as prepared as I can for the "intenseness" of labor. Heart burn has crept in this week, but normally only after eating something spicy or acidic - I should know better, but it's just hard sometimes :) Almond milk still knocks it out, though! I am still doing yoga but thinking I'm going to have to start taking it a little easier in class in the upcoming weeks. According to my doula anyway :)

Week 30 

(April 1 - 7, 2014)

I am sort of in shock I am in my 7th month of pregnancy now! Where did the time go? Baby will be here before we know! THAT is sooo exciting!!! I woke up this morning to noticing him hiccuping for the first time! It took me a minute to realize what I was feeling, but the steadiness of it...gotta be those annoying hiccups, ugh! This was a fun week! It started with a trip to the doc where I found out he's measuring 2 weeks ahead, and it ended with a trip to Shreveport for my baby shower :) Shower was so fun and had a great turnout!

Week 31 

(April 8 - 14, 2014)

I spent this week in Bentonville with my mom and Louis :) Baby and I rode back with her from Shreveport. We had a good week. We had lunch with friends, shopped for baby, ate lots of chicken n dumplings, and just chilled. I felt good all week. I was able to spend my mornings relaxing and writing thank you cards while she worked till 12 everyday. Then I would pick her up, we'd go to lunch, shop, then head home and play with Louis! I am sleeping pretty good. Bathroom trips are becoming more frequent in the night, but I always go right back to sleep. So it doesn't bother me too much. I had the hip/leg cramping only one night this week. So that made me happy :) On Friday she drove me home to Texas and we had a fun weekend putting final touches on the nursery :)

Week 32 

(April 15 - 21, 2014)

When I took my belly picture this week I titled it "Week 33!" - ha, whoops! Not quite :) It was really nice getting back to yoga after missing all of last week. We had a doctors appointment on Tuesday and a tour of the hospital on Wednesday! Everything was good at the appointment, and the hospital was really nice and clean. He is still measuring 2 weeks ahead, so at my 36 week appointment she is going to do a sonogram to get an accurate measure again. I am doing good all in all, but I am really ready to meet this little fella of ours! It's already driving me nuts not knowing when exactly he's going to come! Patience patience. I know. No bad symptoms this week. Definitely getting a little tougher to get comfortable when sitting. Still comfy when I sleep though! SP got all the final things hung up in the nursery. It looks so good. We both love sitting in that room so much :)

Week 33 

(April 22 - 28, 2014)

Not a lot has changed this week. I am feeling the same. Fatigue comes and goes, and discomfort is slowly becoming a more steady thing. I guess the major thing to note is baby's hiccups! They come quite often these days! It freaked Sean and I out due to the consistency of them. We called the doctor and the nurse told us it's perfectly normal, no matter how frequent or infrequent they occur. So, that's good...but they annoy me! I can only imagine how baby must feel. Poor little guy. He is getting more and more into my rib cage, which I'm not really enjoying. Especially knowing it's going to get worse the bigger he gets. I think that's about all I've got this week. He is still very active and moves around a whole lot :)

Week 34 

(April 29 - May 5, 2014)

We went to the doctor on Tuesday! Everything is going great. He is measuring 37 weeks! Ah! I think he is just long. Dr. Allen says she bets he'll be in the 8 lb range which I'm ok with :) My mom found my dad's baby book because I've been wondering how much he weighed at birth...8lbs 3oz! Hard to believe I weighed more than my dad at birth (8lbs 7oz). Yoga was soooo hard for me on Monday, but awesome on Wednesday. I guess some days I'm more uncomfortable than others. All I can think about is baby's birthday! I am so ready for him to get here!! I made a list of things to pack for the hospital this week. So other than just trying to get prepared for final things, I still have a raging sweet tooth. Boo! I gained two more pounds at the doctor. So still on trend with a pound a week at this point. I have been getting up every 2 hours for the bathroom at night. And continuing to get more uncomfortable as the days go on.

Week 35 

(May 6 - 12, 2014)

Discomfort. Most all the time. I don't last long standing anymore, and anything that requires bending over, like unloading/reloading the bottom of the dishwasher - is very difficult, especially by evening. I'm so thankful for SP b/c he is so helpful! He just laughs, while I politely glare at him for the situation I don't find particularly funny! No, really! We both find humor in my abilities, or lack there of, these days. Bathroom trips at night are still consistently about every 2 hours. Ugh! Had a busy weekend with my last baby shower and Mother's Day! My mom and Louis were in town. I think I am starting to experience some Braxton Hicks. A few woke me up in the middle of the night. Not painful, just serious tightening and pressure! Stephanie said this is a good sign and my body is just getting prepared! I decided to quit yoga. I feel good with this decision. It is time to listen to my body and start taking it easy :)

Week 36 

(May 13 - 19, 2014)

This week marks the week I will start going to the doctor weekly. Holy woah! Hard to believe, but we are definitely nearing game day! We went to the doctor on Thursday and got another sonogram. Baby boy is measuring 7 lbs 1oz currently. He is larger than average, but not huge. Sean thinks he will be 8 lbs 5 oz, and I think he will be every bit if 9 lbs, assuming he's on time and not early. I have had some mild cramping and a few Braxton Hicks contractions, but I think these are all good signs of my body preparing for labor. I am trying to rest as much as possible and stay hydrated! I began drinking Red Raspberry Leaf tea once a day because I've read that it helps prepare your uterus for labor. Can't hurt, right? And also, I've been trying to eat 6 dates a day because I've also read that it helps speed up labor once it's in progress. Let's be honest, I'm not a patient person. So anything that could help speed up what could potentially be 24+ hours, I'm all for! We got new carpet this week, yay!!! So I've been very busy trying to get our house back in order. It looks and feels great! It's nice having a fresh start before baby comes :) We also got the car seat base installed in my car this weekend, so it's ready to go!

Week 37 

(May 20 - 26, 2014)

We went back to the doctor on Tuesday...and guess what!! I found out I am 1cm dilated, 50% effaced, and cervix softened. These are all great things! She was able to feel his head! But, as exciting as this news is that I'm progressing, it really could mean nothing. It could still be weeks until I go into labor, or a few days! The look on her face though made me feel like he's ready and coming sooner than later, eeeek!!! Before leaving she said "I'll see you next week if not before at the hospital!" And when I mentioned needing to pack our hospital bag, her response was, "Yes, you probably want to go ahead and get that packed." OMG! I am trying to relax and not get overexcited, knowing it really means nothing and this baby could hang on till after June 10th if he really wants to. (But let's cross our fingers that he comes a little sooner :) ). I feel good for the most part. One day I have energy all day, which means the next day I can hardly remove myself from the couch. I think I probably need to learn how to balance that out a little better. I made my birth plan this week, and was able to discuss it with Stephanie (Doula) before taking it with me to Dr. Allen's. All is good and Dr. Allen is in total agreement with it all, which is a nice feeling. My biggest complaint these days is the intense cramp I get in my lower back on the left side after standing or "doing" for too long. It's SUPER annoying because I can hardly finish anything I am trying to do. Sean is very accommodating and helpful, but he's been so busy with work it's hard to wait on him sometimes.

Week 38 

(May 27 - June 2, 2014)

Well, I'm still hanging in there. As ready as I am, I guess baby has a mind of his own and he is just not quite ready to make it debut. We went to the doctor again on Tuesday and found out that I'm still 1cm/50% effaced. This still doesn't mean much other than it could be any day, or still another few weeks (sigh). I go to bed every night wondering if I'll go into labor. Thankfully I'm still sleeping just fine and it's not keeping me up at night...yet. I hope it stays that way because I definitely need my rest. She had a hard time finding his heartbeat at this appointment, and it was only because the baby has dropped so much lower. He wasn't in his usual spot for finding the heartbeat. So that's definitely a good sign! I just am taking it easy and doing as little and as much as possible all at the same time, if that makes any sense at all! I am mostly just nesting around here still. I feel like I finally got done with the nursery. I got all of his laundry washed. The only thing left to prepare is the washing of the bottles and breast pump supplies so it will be ready when that day comes. We decided to go with the Born Free glass bottles. I just wasn't comfortable heating his food in plastic, so glass it is! The last thing on my list is to pack our bags for the hospital (I've started setting stuff out, and I have a list - but nothing in an actual bag yet!). And also finish my Moms on Call seminar so that I will be a pro by the time baby arrives (ha!). One can dream, can't they ;)

Week 39 

(June 3 - 9, 2014)

At Tuesdays doctors appointment I found out I'm between 2-3cm and 80% effaced! Yay! Progress!!! I had for the first time that evening some more intense contractions & cramping. Could that mean baby is really on his way?! Eeek! Can't wait! Aside from this, SP went to bed with fever. YES fever.