Third Trimester Update!
Photo credit: J Scott Samarco
It's official. This pregnancy is flying by. It's so funny how the first pregnancy goes by incredibly slow and everything from there on out if it feels like it goes faster and faster. It probably has so much to do with the fact that we're already busy with 3 other kids at home than completely focused on the pregnancy itself. I can't wait to meet this baby girl, but at the same time, I'm OK that I still have a few months to go. It gives me the time I need to get ready and make sure everything is in place before she gets here.My husband brought it up to me last week that I hadn't done many pictures or baby updates this pregnancy. Again, it's been going by so fast I haven't even thought about it. Plus, I mean, come on… I start showing so early, and the last thing I wanna hear is, "Oh my God, you're so big already!" Well, I'm only getting bigger, so I might as well start the updates today!
My Third Trimester Symptoms With Baby Number Four
I've talked before on the blog about how different this pregnancy is. However, it still surprises me just how different it's really been. All three of my other pregnancies are pretty similar. The touch of morning sickness here, bit of heartburn there, and I didn't hit the uncomfortable phase until the very end.
Heartburn.
My morning sickness has definitely calmed down, which is fantastic. I'm able to keep a lot more down, but now my heartburn is starting. I'm not talking your typical, run-of-the-mill pregnancy heartburn. I am talking about volcano eruption in your chest, you have to sleep sitting completely straight-up kind of heartburn. I try to avoid some of the foods that seem like they would cause heartburn, but guys, everything causes it. I can have a piece of toast, and my heartburn is going to keep me up all night long.I am a firm believer that heartburn and the baby's hair are linked. I've always had heartburn, and my kids have always had a head of hair. This girl must have locks like Rapunzel if this heartburn is any indication!
Tailbone pain!!!
Have you ever tried sitting for any length of time only to find out you've broken your tailbone? OK, maybe not full on broken tailbone exactly, but you feel like your tailbone has completely rebelled against your body. That's me. That's MY freaking tailbone. It started out being a little uncomfortable if I sat for too long, but now I have to move around constantly. Otherwise, it starts to hurt.I have a few friends who dealt with the same thing, and they all told me to get the butt pillow. I teased it at first, but now butt pillow here I come!
She's sitting low.
When I first got pregnant this time, I had quite a few people that predicted I would be having a boy because of how low I was carrying. I carried pretty low with my boys, so I figured it had to be true. Nope, this girl just has a mind of her own. I can't believe how low she's sitting already at the beginning of my third trimester.She's usually pretty active at night, so I was showing my husband just how low she was kicking. He put his hand on the bottom of my stomach and couldn't believe how hard she was kicking or where! Of course, I had to take it a step further and freak him out, letting him know it feels like she was trying to punch out of my vagina. His facial reaction was priceless!
All the movement.
I absolutely love feeling my baby's kick. It always gives me a sense of comfort knowing they're doing well in there, and it makes me feel very connected to them. This little girl is super calm during the day, and I usually just feel a few kicks here and there. Nighttime rolls around, and I swear she's having her own little rave in my belly.She's definitely her daddy because he's a night owl too! It ends up working well for me later because daddy and baby end up hanging out with mommy sleeps!
Cravings.
I really haven't had too many cravings during this pregnancy. It's probably because I've been a lot more sick than I was in the past. This time around, I'm just trying to find things I can keep down, or won't spur on my heartburn. The one thing I am consuming by the gallon is apple juice. I don't know what it is about apple juice, but I've craved it with all four of my pregnancies! It gets so bad that I've already had my aunt, brother, and husband get it for me at crazy hours of the day.
The nesting phase has begun.
Nesting has been the same with all my pregnancies. I always go crazy the last few months, but I'm also a planner. I can't tell where my personality ends in the pregnancy begins. I like to have a plan and know everything is ready when the baby arrives. This has rarely gone as planned in the past. I end up going into labor and have been lucky to have my bag packed!The other tricky part is we live in a fixer-upper. On top of trying to get her room ready and make sure the house will be clean-ish, I also want every single project in our house completed. It's been pretty nice seeing some of the projects get checked off the list one by one. I think it also means I'm driving my husband a little crazy because it's pricey and means he ends up having to do a lot of stuff from the house with me! At least this house is going to look fantastic when she arrives!
Anxiety over my labor is starting up.
I've had natural labors and an epidural with my labors. I firmly believe there's no right way to have a baby, and every mom needs to do what she thinks is best. This time around, I'm planning on going natural again. Part of it is because I'm absolutely terrified of the epidurals, and the other part is I have to prepare mentally because I typically don't have time to get an epidural by the time I get to the hospital. My labors go insanely fast. If I'm already in the mindset that I'm having a natural labor, it makes it easier when I find out I really don't have a choice. I realized I really only have a few months left, and labor is creeping up quicker than I'm ready for. There is no real way to prepare for labor. I'm currently at the nervous stage as I think about going through it all again for the fourth time. The good thing is my husband is absolutely amazing. He somehow knows exactly when I need him to be quiet, tell nurses to leave me alone, or reassure me that I can get through anything.