#15 Third Trimester Reflection

This last trimester has definitely flown by. While the entire pregnancy has gone by quickly, the third trimester has felt the shortest. Though, I will be induced at 38 weeks, so I suppose the whole trimester actually is a bit shorter. But I think my attention has been focused more on labor, delivery, and postpartum recovery, which has made the pregnancy feel like it is wrapping up even more.  I anticipated feeling a huge dip in energy and much more discomfort than I have actually experienced (hallelujah) in the third trimester. I had very mild heart burn a couple of times, which was a new sensation for me since I have never really had heart burn prior to pregnancy. I also had a decrease in cravings early into trimester three, but I have craved and eaten more salmon and shrimp (baby wants those omegas). My only real third trimester gripe is that the tips of my fingers feel numb and uncomfortable. Apparently pregnant women can develop carpal tunnel (the weird things being an incubator does to the body...). I am grateful for the fact I haven't felt hot or swollen, thank goodness Genevieve will be here ahead of the Texas summer heat! 

Overall, I have felt pretty good this trimester. Early on I noticed a slight energy dip and needed to occasionally nap in the late afternoon. I was still going for walks, but more so in the slightly reduced range of 3-6 miles. But I did notice some lower back discomfort if I stood or walked too long at one time. Fortunately, when I ordered my free breast pump through insurance via the aeroflowbreastpump.com website, they also determined which other maternity items my insurance covered and so I got a free belly band. I didn't want to become overly reliant on this, but wearing it while I vacuumed the whole house or during a walk reduced my back discomfort completely.  The AeroFlow website (entirely free to use) was helpful because they gave me pricing on items based on the insurance coverage I put in, handled any details related to contacting the insurance provider, and shipping was free and fast: 10/10 recommend. 

I also wanted to make sure that I maintained flexibility and moved my body in different positions during the third trimester (this also helps get baby into head down position). Just yesterday Andrew said to me as we geared up for our Sunday walk "I think you can still put your socks and shoes on more easily than me..." as I stood up and balanced on one foot to put them on. I asked a new mama and yogi for her recommendation about prenatal yoga and she shared Sarah Beth's Prenatal Yoga routines with me on YouTube. I started doing yoga in the second trimester, but increased the frequency in the third trimester. She has multiple video routines to follow and they are 15-20 minutes in length and were perfect before or after a walk. She makes postpartum yoga videos as well and I definitely will utilize those when I am cleared to do so. 

Probably because I knew early into pregnancy I would likely be induced--and earlier than 39 weeks--due to my blood pressure trends, I finished my nursery very early into trimester three. I knew Genevieve would likely arrive prior to our May 27th due date and wanted to make sure I was prepared and ready. Fortunately, since my blood pressure has maintained its mildly elevated state without worsening or developing into preeclampsia, we are able to induce just after 38 weeks instead of the 36-week point. Regardless, nesting was in full-effect earlier, and it felt so good to have everything in its place and good to go. The main third trimester "nesting" we did was to build the 4Moms pack-and-play for our bedroom and the swing for our living room and have the dogs get familiar with them in the space. We did this at the beginning of May (Baby G's birth month), so the dogs could get comfortable with baby stuff not only in the nursery, but in common spaces too. 

Since the physical space already felt pretty ready for baby, in this trimester, I focused mostly on the labor, delivery, and postpartum prep videos. While I do plan to have an epidural, I knew I still wanted to take a course of some kind to help with breathing techniques, etc. I had always heard of lamaze, so I purchased a package online for a course through Lamaze International. While I knew their stance was "unmedicated natural birth or bust" I thought I could just absorb the parts for me and ignore what wasn't resonant. That was not the case. The modules were not informative as much as they were arguments for their birthing philosophy. I often found myself rolling my eyes, snorting, or yelling at the videos. The only takeaway I have is that Andrew and I have our own Mike Birbiglia "I saved your best friend's life" inside joke related to a woman blubbering over her husband making her a peanut butter and banana sandwich. I mustered my way through most of the course but decided to count that class as a loss and seek additional support. 

I started looking at Tinyhood courses and decided to give their "Childbirth 101" course a go. I liked it so much I also purchased their "Baby 101" course too. They have really INFORMATIVE videos that consider different options and methods and cover unmedicated, induced, and cesarian births in detail. Beyond their videos, they also have downloadable handouts with very helpful information on topics discussed in the videos. I highly recommend their content and love having their app so I can go back to the information to pull up a handout or rewatch a video on a range of topics. 

Thinking about all the different baby care activities Andrew and I were preparing to make routine, I wanted to create a little quick notes resource guide for us. Since we both have iPhones we love using shared notes for things like grocery lists so we can both update and access the list. I created something similar for us as it relates to baby care. I basically considered the different care needs and would find one simple, informative youtube video, post its link into the note and the add a couple detailed notes per activity. Some of the activities I included were: giving a bath, swaddling, changing a diaper and using diaper cream, umbilical cord care, handling gas, CPR, etc. I also thought about the specific things we had and how to use them. This includes the different ways to setup and use our stroller, carseat, solly baby carrying wrap, etc. Since our phones are often close by, it is a quick way to check in on what we are doing or communicate the way we are doing something to each other. I've continued adding to the list as time has passed and definitely know it will be useful once Genevieve is here. 

I am 37 weeks and 5 days as I write this, and so my mind is certainly fixed onto Genevieve's imminent arrival. I have Genevieve's bag, boppy, and carseat packed and my bag mostly packed beyond a few items I am still wearing that I will add last minute. I am keeping a note with all items I want to bring and checked all those actually in the bag so I know which things need to be included later. We are as prepared as we can be until we are simply navigating the uncharted territory that is being responsible for a tiny human full time. I am stoked to no longer be an incubator and to welcome Genevieve into this big, beautiful world that awaits her.