We are in the final stretch of this third trimester as a STM! From sleepiness to spending time with the family cherishing our last weeks as a family of three, this time a one I will not forget.
I can not believe we are in the last few weeks of the third trimester! As the final few weeks (or days) approach, I feel myself reflecting and settling in to this time.
By the time this blog posts, little one will likely be here and I will be taking some time off of my blog to spend time with my babies. Do not fear – more blog posts are scheduled out for the next few weeks.
What I am loving
Within the third trimester as a STM, these are some of the moments I adore!
Baby Hiccups
Currently as I type this, little one has hiccups. I feel them all around my belly though today they are closer to my left pelvis area. I adore the full belly movements and gentle reminders little one is here within me. It is such a blessing to have this time between the present and the precious time coming soon. Our life will change in the best and we are very excited to welcome little one into our arms.
Warm baths and tea
Currently, sleep has been hit or miss. To counteract this, I am trying my best to unwind each night and focus on warmth through epsom salt baths and sleepy time tea. Luckily, I am not experiencing having to wake and go to the bathroom all night long, but I do find this combo to help me have a deeper, more relaxing sleep.
Snuggles with the family
Both of my pregnancies have been in the winter time which I truly adore! Everything is cozy which makes the warm meals, relaxing atmosphere and cuddly vibes even more welcome.
It always fills my heart how snuggly everyone gets during the third trimester and I am all about it. I commonly have my little one on my belly and our dog resting her head on her knees while we read books together.
How I am Feeling – Mentally
Having a second baby is so much different than the first. With the first, unless you have witness another’s birth, you really do not know what to expect.
With the second, you know what the last trimester could feel like, what labor and delivery is all about, and the changes anticipated within the postpartum period. There is also a balance between being excited for the next phase and continuing to be grateful in the current phase.
Up to 35 weeks pregnant I felt pretty dang good! There was not a huge shift between 35 weeks and onwards, but I can tell I am shifting mentally from the ‘go-go-go’ mode to wanting to be at home and not around anyone but my family.
My interest in work is slowing down and I am through the major nesting phase. I am turning more internal and focusing on the next few adventures to come (labor / delivery, recovery and a long awaited maternity leave with both my babies).
My hospital bag checklist is ready to go and I throw items into my bag every few days or so. We have a plan (as much as you can) for who is going where, what we envision labor and deliver to look like, along with what the first few days postpartum will entail.
I have had a mental block this trimester of making it through the day without going to labor on our families birthdays and before ‘full term’. As silly as that sounds, I went into labor with my first little one at 36 and 6 (if the dates count for anything).
For a few weeks I would catch myself wondering if my water would break as I turned over in my sleep like it did for our first baby. Because I am pregnant around a similar time of year as when we had our first two years ago, it has been a waiting game to see if anyone would share birthdays (including myself and our first little one).
Each night around 10pm I catch myself saying ‘we made it another day closer to full term and we probably will not have a baby in the next two hours’. It has been such an interesting balance between being ready for a little one, knowing we have no control over the schedule and surpassing milestones.
How I am feeling – Physically
Around the 35 week mark I could tell a shift was also occurring physically. My workouts started to feel slower and my pace started to slow down. Thankfully, my workout program through Mamastefit has been extremely useful. It has helped me to scale back my workout intensity while still feeling strong.
The biggest shift which happened around this week was a my low back feeling like it was ‘slipping out’. After focusing a bit more into what was happening, I was able to identify it was my SI joint. My SI joint would ‘catch’ every time I was walking or had been sitting for quite some time on the floor.
This SI joint pain bugged me a bit during my first pregnancy. This time it has come in full force! The first trigger for this was lack of exercises focusing on the SI sling. Then, I groomed Stella which required me to be on the floor or bending over for half a day.
I am still working out at least three times per week. This includes one upper body, one lower body and one pelvic floor / cardio based workout. I also walk and occasionally cycle an additional time during the week based on my energy level. Plus, chasing a toddler around is no joke in the third trimester as a STM!
Sleep
Sleep is hit or miss at this point. I definitely have nights where I sleep peacefully until I have to use the restroom. Other nights, I lie awake telling myself I can fall asleep after I start focusing on my breath. I follow the in for 4 out for 7 breathing pattern, which helps to relax my body. You would think being in the third trimester as a STM, I would remember how sleep goes. I guess the body ‘forgets’ certain parts of pregnancy!
Two additional things which help promote deeper sleep include tea before bed and a hot epsom salt bath. If I am able to get outside when the snow is not knee high and walk around, this seems to help as well!
Preparation for Labor and Delivery
I have a variety of tools within my tool kit for labor and delivery. This includes focusing on breath work and understanding how to relax. I have been working on these tools some 20 weeks and beyond.
My first labor and delivery was a bit earlier than I anticipated last time. Because of this, my husband and I were taking a birth prep course. However we did not complete the pushing section. I felt inadequately prepared for that part of birth. This time we are preparing a little differently (and earlier!).
I have re-visited the entire labor prep course through Mamastefit. Additionally, I have been diving into a few books – like The Bradley Method. I also am listening to my Christian Hypnobirthing app regularly to set my mind on a christ centered birth. And of course, being in the third trimester I am enjoying the staples of dates and raspberry leaf tea each day.
Transitioning from 1 to 2
While this transition will come with some unknowns, we are very excited to welcome an additional family member into our life. I am eager to see our little ones together and see Spencer become a dad all over again. Stella, our dog, still does not seem to know what is around the corner. She has recently been trying to cuddle a lot recently.
To help prepare with a lot of changes knowing there will be sleep exhaustion on all fronts, I made over 20 freezer meals. As apart of my postpartum meal prep, I made breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and desserts.
Starting around 25 weeks, I began meal preparing and doubling one to two dinners each week. I also made breakfast, snacks and desserts! I stocked up on these homemade sourdough lactation cookies!
This helped to stock our freezer so we can have meals on the go. This will hopefully stretch through the first month postpartum knowing we will opt into take out.
We also made some of our favorites like sourdough bread and taco soup. I am trying to work smarter, not harder in my third trimester as a STM. Because I did not start meal prep until 36 weeks pregnant with my first, I started early!
The biggest transitions in our home included converting my home office into another bedroom. We then had to gather furniture for three bedrooms upstairs (our room and one for each child). I have also pulled out all of the baby items (breast pump / parts for the first week, baby car seat, clothes for little one, infant tub and all the items needed for a baby – diapers and wipes included).
Recent Purchases
While we are reusing as many items as possible between our babies, we have purchased quite a bit for our first little one. We have re-done a bedroom and have bought paint, a toddler bed and a dresser.
We tend to set reminders on future items via Camel-camel-camel to set a price tracker on Amazon items. This helps us to understand when an items price becomes lower than what we typically see it.
For this reason we have purchased another carseat for when baby number two is too big for the Mesa carseat. We love the Graco Slim Fit carseats because you can fit three in a row within a minivan and they transition from birth to booster!
The last items we have purchased, outside of a few new onesies (we couldn’t resist!), was a basket of fun new gifts for our little one. Because I will have both babies at home on maternity leave, I want to make sure we have some items on our docket should we be at home more often. Plus, I would love to have independent play options while I am nursing our baby.
We purchased:
- A new coloring book and crayons
- Stickers
- Puzzle Board
- Toothbrush (this was actually free from our dentist!)
- A drawing tablet
- Sweet treat
What was your favorite memory of the third trimester? If you are in the third trimester as a STM do your pregnancies look similar or different? I look forward to hearing about it in the comments below!
Leave a Reply