It feels so surreal to be writing my third trimester blog post! If you missed my second trimester or first trimester post, you can find them here. I just can’t believe we are here at 39 weeks, counting down the final days until this baby arrives and looking back on the last 10 months. What a cool journey pregnancy has been and I don’t take for granted getting to experience it. Let me just say that pregnancy does things to your body and mind that you have no control over and it’s probably one of the most humbling things I’ve ever experienced. Even on the tougher days, I’ve still really loved being pregnant. I’m definitely ready to hold this little girl, but I would gladly do this whole pregnancy thing over again to give her a couple siblings! Here’s a summary of what I’ve experienced in the 3rd trimester and what I’ve learned from this adventure.

Symptoms/Health Update: I’m very grateful to report that I’ve felt like the third trimester has mostly been an extension of the second…and that’s a good thing. I haven’t notice a huge increase in tiredness, but I’ve been sleeping 8-9 hours at night so that could be part of it. The baby has been letting me sleep through the night pretty much every night, so that’s been nice. Doctor appointments have been good and my symptoms are pretty minimal. I had some eczema on my hand and arm early in my third trimester, but that oddly went away recently. I’ve had some swelling in my hands (depends on the day) and I can’t eat a ton of food at once. My personal heater (aka the baby) has been keeping me nice and toasty even in these winter months. 😉 Besides that, I’ve had some soreness on my belly, sporadic back pain and a bit of heart burn. Honestly, it’s all been easy to manage and I am very grateful even in this third trimester that I’ve been able to go about life like normal.

Exercise: I’ve continued to stay active, stretching daily, doing yoga and walking several times per week. Apparently all that walking has been helpful, because at my last doctor appointment I’d started to dilate and efface. Today at my 39 week appointment, I was about the same. So from what I’ve heard, she’s cozy in there and will likely stay put until after my due date. 😉 However, I cannot say enough good things about trying to stay active while pregnant. I think it makes a huge difference in your physical and mental state.

Cravings: Sweet cravings have taken over! I’m still really into fruit especially if its covered in a mixture of confectioners sugar and almond milk (I know, weird). I also still really like my cream cheese and peanut butter bagels or toast. Baking is still a major obsession at any hour of the day and hot chocolate is my favorite drink lately.

Baby name: It starts with the letter E!

Favorite memory: Definitely my baby showers! Those were both so amazing and I felt so loved. I just felt so grateful that my baby gets to be raised around such loving and wonderful people. She’s incredibly blessed and isn’t even here yet. I loved putting the finishing touches on the nursery, as well. I also look forward to doctor appointments where we get to check up on Baby E and I really loved the growth scan we got to do at 35 weeks. She’s already so cute! I’ve also loved spending time with Matt and soaking in our last few weeks before our family dynamics change in a huge way. It’s been a really sweet time for us and I just can’t wait to see him with our little girl.

Least favorite part of being pregnant: This trimester, one of the weirdest things for me would have to be the strange comments from strangers in stores or even people you know. I find myself having to mentally prepare to talk to random strangers at the store because you get all kinds of odd comments about your body and your pregnancy. No one has been downright rude and most people have actually said some really sweet things, but it’s still really weird to hear strangers say some of the things they do. Also, let me just say it’s really not okay to ask about people’s weight or their bodies whether they are pregnant or not. Yes, people actually do that and it’s weird. Haha.  As with the other trimesters, I think the mental and emotional part of pregnancy can be hard, because your mind can easily fall into all the “what ifs” or worrying about the unknowns. Apparently this is quite normal, but I’ve found it helps to talk my fears out, write them down, pray about them and talk with my doctor about them.

What I’ve learned: Everyone’s pregnancy is different and you honestly don’t know how it’s going to go for you, so I’ve found this entire experience to be such a great opportunity to learn to trust God with the unknown. I’ve also been reminded of how much control we don’t have, even though we think we do. And lastly, one of our family members mentioned to me that a great way to look at pregnancy is just to remember that your body is not your own. You were bought with a price and it’s pleasing to God when you sacrifice your body for someone else (your child). For some reason, looking at the changes my body is and will continue to go through in this way has helped tremendously. I really think if we let it, pregnancy can help teach us to be more Christ-like and remember that life is simply not about us after all. It’s about others and loving them well. And from what I hear, that’s a pretty good mindset to have as I prepare for motherhood.

Looking forward to: Holding her, obviously!! I literally can’t wait for all the teeny tiny baby snuggles. I love newborns and I can’t wait for us to get to bond with the little girl who’s been my constant companion most of this year. I also can’t wait to introduce her to our families, especially our little nieces. We decorated our house for Christmas right after Thanksgiving and that also got me really excited to share Christmas with our baby. I may be a little biased, but I think this is the best time of year to have a baby.

And that concludes my trimester bump posts! I’ll be posting soon about my pregnancy tips and posting all my “bump photos” together. It’s so crazy to see the progression in these photos and I’m glad we took the time to document Baby E’s growth!

Happy baby month and 39 weeks!

Cheers,

Aubrey