Third Trimester Pregnancy Recap

I decided it was about time I return from my two-month blogging hiatus, as there are some pretty big updates to record! Before I write a proper post introducing my new baby (that is still so weird to say!), I first need to finish out my pregnancy updates with a third trimester recap. As a quick reminder, my first trimester was a walk in the freaking park compared to my second trimester. I wish I could say things improved in the third, but that would be a complete and utter lie.

For the first month, I had all the regular symptoms as the second trimester—heartburn, difficulty maneuvering, inability to lift heavy items, etc. The round ligament pain, however, drastically worsened. The pain was mainly localized in my left groin/adductor muscle. A dull pain was always present, but it seemed to be agitated by standing up, shifting my weight, and rolling over in bed. I would often fall asleep halfway through rolling over during the night because it took me about 15 minutes to endure the excruciating pain of doing so… If you are experiencing this, I am sorry to say that the only surefire cure is actually having the baby, but it does eventually go away!

At the beginning of August, I began working at Barnes & Noble because I am incapable of sitting still, even if I have the best excuse in the world to stay home and do nothing. About halfway through September, I started getting sudden shooting pain in my lower abdomen at work, which my friend kindly informed me was “lightening crotch”. It is fleeting, but a doozy. This began happening regularly throughout the remainder of my pregnancy—about once every 3-5 minutes while walking. I thought this meant that the baby might come early—nope, just another painful gift of pregnancy!

I tried my best not to let the negative symptoms prevent me from enjoying my last few weeks of childless freedom. I finished up my Master’s degree, ventured out to the pumpkin patch during the fall, dressed up for Halloween, went on very short walks, and meandered around Barnes & Noble on my days off. I honestly loved working while being pregnant—it gave me an excuse to get out of the house, and it forced me to be active up until almost the end of my pregnancy. I stopped working there around 37 weeks since my due date was just around the corner, but that didn’t stop me from escaping the cabin fever.

As my due date approached, I went in for my 39 week doctor appointment. At 36 weeks, they begin examining you to see how dilated you are, from 1 to 10 centimeters and 0 to 100% effaced. I was 1 centimeter dilated and 60% effaced at 36 weeks, and I was ecstatic—it must be a sign that the baby was coming early! (If you haven’t already noticed, I was eager that this baby came early!) That is until I was told I was still 1 centimeter at 37 weeks, 38 weeks, and again at 39 weeks. No progress whatsoever… The doctor was sure that I would be late, and we scheduled an induction for five days after my due date. I then tried everything under the moon (except the castor oil thing—blegh!) to get that baby out, because I did not want to be induced! I read that letting the baby come naturally is better for baby, and better for mom’s recovery.

Eventually, though, I gave up thinking I’d go into labor early. Austin and I continued venturing out of the house, even going to a hockey game when I was three days overdue! This was a fun experience, but it was sure was a self-esteem killer as I struggled to fit in the seats… Speaking of self-image, it was the toughest thing imaginable to not beat myself up because of the weight I was gaining. Back in July, I thought I looked great for being six months pregnant. However, the number on the scale was not matching what the internet told me it should be. By that point, I had nearly maxed out my allotted weight gain, which is 25-35 pounds for a healthy-weight individual.

Around the end of August, when I had indeed maxed out this number with two and a half months to go, I simply had to throw up my hands and say “f*ck it” (excuse my french). I was being as active as possible (which was minimal because of my round ligament pain) and was eating only when I felt hungry, so I learned to stop caring about the number on the scale. By my last doctor appointment at 39 and a half weeks, I had gained 60 pounds… *throws hands into air and shrugs shoulders* If you feel healthy, then who cares, am I right?

Tune in next time for my labor and delivery story. Spoiler alert, that induction was definitely necessary—I was still only 1 centimeter dilated when we went in at 40 weeks and 5 days!

What symptoms did you experience in your third trimester of pregnancy? Comment below!