Third Trimester Recap (v.2)
I know people say “better late than never,” and for the most part I agree, so I hope you won’t mind this very tardy (6 month post delivery) recap of my third trimester. Like I’ve said before, my pregnancy with Gideon was pretty much the opposite of my pregnancy with Sophie in almost every way (except for heartburn—I had that with both).
Here are the details:
Cravings:
I absolutely could not get enough ice.
Arnold Palmers, preferably with Wendy’s sweet tea.
Wraps of any kind—if you put it in a tortilla, I would eat it. Buffalo chicken, hot turkey with cheese, leftover steak or chicken from a previous dinner, breakfast burritos, if it was a wrap, I was eating it.
Sugar cookies from Crumbl and this one particular salted peanut butter cup cookie from Suarez, a local bakery here in Charlotte. I never had much of a sweet tooth but I was eating dessert daily with this baby.
Sour Patch Kids
Popsicles! Spring and summer had me sweaty and missing cocktails so we would take a walk as a family, each with a popsicle every night after dinner. Even when my mom or brother visited, we’d all go to the freezer and head out for a “Popsicle Walk.” That might be one of my favorite memories of the week or two before Gideon was born, trying to walk myself into labor around the neighborhood with my family (and an icy treat in hand).
Symptoms:
I was having Braxton Hicks contractions a lot throughout the entire third trimester, which I had never experienced before.
My hips bothered me but not nearly as bad as they did with my first pregnancy. My feet were killing me by the end of the day, and I would always ask Rob to pull and try to crack the toes on just my right foot, which he did no matter how weird of a request that was.
The heartburn this time was just as bad as it was with my first pregnancy, but I knew how to manage it a bit better so I wasn’t sick in the middle of the night as often as I had been before. I would have to be done eating by like 5:30PM, even if it meant just eating on my own before Sophie and Rob were even thinking about dinner. Unfortunately I would still sometimes wake up around 1AM and throw up, but it wasn’t nearly as frequent as it was with Sophie.
My nausea was a lot better but the mornings were still kind of rough—as soon as I started moving around after I woke up I would usually throw up, but then I would feel totally normal until the next morning.
Exercise:
I tried to do a few strength workouts but I was just not feeling it. I really enjoyed the cycle classes on the Peloton my entire pregnancy (when I wasn’t too nauseated to move, which did got better somewhere in the second trimester). I would wake up, puke, and get on the bike. Exercise has always made me feel a lot better, both physically and mentally. I clocked just over 100 rides with Gideon, which I think is so sweet.
Other Stuff:
We got a massage membership at Moodhouse and it was so nice while I was pregnant as well as in the months after Gideon’s birth. Rob and I share the membership so we basically just take turns getting a massage every other month. It has really been nice to take the time to prioritize a little bit of self care, especially when you’re sore from being pregnant and/or hunched over nursing a new baby.
Overall I actually think the third trimester was the “best” or the easiest for me, even with the exhaustion and heartburn that come with those last few months. But I was able to exercise, get pretty adequate rest, and eat, which is really all I could ask for.
I guess I’m also overdue for a 4th trimester recap! I’ll get to work on that one next.
I’m really so grateful for both of these pregnancies, and even more thankful for the sweet kids that are here with us now.