November 17, 2013
What People Don't Tell You About The Third Trimester
Oh, the stretching skin.
I had never heard that sometimes in the third trimester your skin can feel as though it is being pulled apart. Some days I would rub my skin just hoping that it wouldn't actually split in two. Luckily, it didn't. I'm still in tact, but man...I wasn't sure I was going to be...
When the third trimester hits, so does the alien baby. I have never seen something so amazing and so strangely disturbing at the same time...to see your stomach move from one side to the next...I would lay in bed and watch the baby roll as though there was a football twisting around beneath my skin. To this day, this is one of the coolest things about being pregnant--the alien baby within.
At night, when I would lay on my side in the third trimester, the baby would get so tightly rolled up into one side, that when I tried to roll over--PAIN! I would have to massage that side of my belly to encourage the baby out of her tight, comfy place under my left set of ribs. I would sometimes even push her out like a grown up child staying too long in their parents house. After a minute or two, she would eventually move back into place and I could breathe a sigh of relief.
The consistent peeing that you once had at the beginning of your pregnancy, comes back with vengeance. Everywhere you go it is important that you stake out the restroom, since you WILL be setting up camp in there. It might be a good idea to draw a map of the quickest route.
I'm not really sure of the reason, but I would wake up with pain and aches in my hips and legs. Although I would laugh about it, it wasn't the most attractive thing to walk like an old man with a cane first thing in the morning. Luckily this only lasted for a couple of minutes, but man, it was ugly.
[caption id="attachment_31128" align="alignnone" width="250"]
This is what I looked like when getting out of bed...no joke...[/caption]
If you're pregnant in the summer (one of mine was due in August) then you have to watch out for the most outrageous cankles you have ever seen. Just remember to sit down, raise your feet higher than your hips, and cover them with a cold cloth. This won't take them away completely, but at least when doing this, you have a fighting chance!
Expect the comments...I was 8 months pregnant with my second baby when I went to Disneyworld. Although I did great, one woman passed me and shook her head saying, "Oh, God bless you, you are crazy." I suppose I looked very pregnant and it was very hot outside...well, and I did wear wedges...(to my defense they were the most comfortable wedges I have ever owned!) Yet that is what pregnant ladies must deal with. It's like a right of passage...no matter what you do...you must listen to the opinions of others. I once got a decaf tea from Starbucks. Someone looked at me and said, "I hope that's decaf." It was, but I sure wanted to tell him that it was actually a triple shot of expresso. I mean, really...what makes these comments okay?
If you are like me, you don't want anyone taking your picture...
In my third trimester I completely lost my appetite. I think the baby was pressing so hard on my stomach that I didn't want to eat very much at a sitting. SO, inevitably, I had to just eat ALL day.
It's strange to get winded after a just a few stairs, but that's what happens when you have a bowling ball in the front of you. I would stop for just a moment at the top of stairs to catch my breath. And even then, it would take longer than usual to sound as though I hadn't just played an NBA championship game.
If you are due in the winter, invest in some long and tight shirts, and maybe some nice designer maternity jeans. Seven for all Mankind has some great maternity jeans and after some birthday money, I invested in some. I loved them! They actually made me feel a bit normal.
[caption id="attachment_31132" align="alignnone" width="164"]
Jennifer Garner with designer maternity jeans.[/caption]
If you are pregnant in the summer, then invest in as many sundresses as possible. I loved sundresses...they were cool, comfortable, and I could wear them ALL DAY LONG!
[caption id="attachment_31119" align="alignnone" width="300"]
My daughter and I in Florida when I was eight months pregnant. Sundresses were my salvation![/caption]
If you have any heartburn...the third trimester is heartburn's enemy. Especially when you lay down...
There will be a time when you feel as though the day will never come. In fact, you simply wonder how your body is ever going to know what to do to get this baby out. The weeks will pass and still your due date doesn't arrive, or it arrives and passes with no baby. The important thing to remember is the amazing little human being that awaits you after all of this is said and done.
[caption id="attachment_31278" align="alignnone" width="300"]
My Georgia.[/caption]
XO,
Tessa
I had never heard that sometimes in the third trimester your skin can feel as though it is being pulled apart. Some days I would rub my skin just hoping that it wouldn't actually split in two. Luckily, it didn't. I'm still in tact, but man...I wasn't sure I was going to be...
When the third trimester hits, so does the alien baby. I have never seen something so amazing and so strangely disturbing at the same time...to see your stomach move from one side to the next...I would lay in bed and watch the baby roll as though there was a football twisting around beneath my skin. To this day, this is one of the coolest things about being pregnant--the alien baby within.
At night, when I would lay on my side in the third trimester, the baby would get so tightly rolled up into one side, that when I tried to roll over--PAIN! I would have to massage that side of my belly to encourage the baby out of her tight, comfy place under my left set of ribs. I would sometimes even push her out like a grown up child staying too long in their parents house. After a minute or two, she would eventually move back into place and I could breathe a sigh of relief.
The consistent peeing that you once had at the beginning of your pregnancy, comes back with vengeance. Everywhere you go it is important that you stake out the restroom, since you WILL be setting up camp in there. It might be a good idea to draw a map of the quickest route.
I'm not really sure of the reason, but I would wake up with pain and aches in my hips and legs. Although I would laugh about it, it wasn't the most attractive thing to walk like an old man with a cane first thing in the morning. Luckily this only lasted for a couple of minutes, but man, it was ugly.
[caption id="attachment_31128" align="alignnone" width="250"]
This is what I looked like when getting out of bed...no joke...[/caption]
If you're pregnant in the summer (one of mine was due in August) then you have to watch out for the most outrageous cankles you have ever seen. Just remember to sit down, raise your feet higher than your hips, and cover them with a cold cloth. This won't take them away completely, but at least when doing this, you have a fighting chance!
Expect the comments...I was 8 months pregnant with my second baby when I went to Disneyworld. Although I did great, one woman passed me and shook her head saying, "Oh, God bless you, you are crazy." I suppose I looked very pregnant and it was very hot outside...well, and I did wear wedges...(to my defense they were the most comfortable wedges I have ever owned!) Yet that is what pregnant ladies must deal with. It's like a right of passage...no matter what you do...you must listen to the opinions of others. I once got a decaf tea from Starbucks. Someone looked at me and said, "I hope that's decaf." It was, but I sure wanted to tell him that it was actually a triple shot of expresso. I mean, really...what makes these comments okay?
If you are like me, you don't want anyone taking your picture...
In my third trimester I completely lost my appetite. I think the baby was pressing so hard on my stomach that I didn't want to eat very much at a sitting. SO, inevitably, I had to just eat ALL day.
It's strange to get winded after a just a few stairs, but that's what happens when you have a bowling ball in the front of you. I would stop for just a moment at the top of stairs to catch my breath. And even then, it would take longer than usual to sound as though I hadn't just played an NBA championship game.
If you are due in the winter, invest in some long and tight shirts, and maybe some nice designer maternity jeans. Seven for all Mankind has some great maternity jeans and after some birthday money, I invested in some. I loved them! They actually made me feel a bit normal.
[caption id="attachment_31132" align="alignnone" width="164"]
Jennifer Garner with designer maternity jeans.[/caption]
If you are pregnant in the summer, then invest in as many sundresses as possible. I loved sundresses...they were cool, comfortable, and I could wear them ALL DAY LONG!
[caption id="attachment_31119" align="alignnone" width="300"]
My daughter and I in Florida when I was eight months pregnant. Sundresses were my salvation![/caption]
If you have any heartburn...the third trimester is heartburn's enemy. Especially when you lay down...
There will be a time when you feel as though the day will never come. In fact, you simply wonder how your body is ever going to know what to do to get this baby out. The weeks will pass and still your due date doesn't arrive, or it arrives and passes with no baby. The important thing to remember is the amazing little human being that awaits you after all of this is said and done.
[caption id="attachment_31278" align="alignnone" width="300"]
My Georgia.[/caption]
XO,
Tessa