Hello lovelies!
I'm now into my third trimester of pregnancy and I am so excited!! I don't know how to express how excited I am. What can I say, I have four weeks to my Expected Delivery Date! Do you see how exciting it is? When I started this journey, this moment seemed to be soooo far away. I would look at ladies who were clearly nearing the end with envy because they were almost done. But here I am!
Baby's Kicking
The baby is kicking very hard these days. I like to feel the kicks particularly when I'm having a bit of a difficult day. They remind me that there is a little someone who is depending on my efforts. I usually speak to my baby and sing to him and scold when he kicks too hard. Like when I feel it in my ribs. (I say he but I do not know baby's gender. My little surprise to myself.)
Baby's Kicking
The baby is kicking very hard these days. I like to feel the kicks particularly when I'm having a bit of a difficult day. They remind me that there is a little someone who is depending on my efforts. I usually speak to my baby and sing to him and scold when he kicks too hard. Like when I feel it in my ribs. (I say he but I do not know baby's gender. My little surprise to myself.)
Exhaustion
My third trimester started with exhaustion. I think that was the first difference I noticed between this trimester and the second one. Any small task would leave me exhausted and the scorching heat of end of December and January did nothing to help. To combat this, I make sure that I drink plenty of water and juice as well as get sufficient rest. When I complete one task, I sit down and take in fluid and rest for a while before I embark on the next task. In this way, I can get my work done.
Sleepless Nights
Another thing that contributes to this exhaustion is the sleepless nights. My night time usually begins quite well. By around 8:00 p.m., I'm usually ready to sleep. I try to stay awake until at least nine but sometimes it's impossible. By midnight or one a.m, I'm usually awake. On a good night, I will take a drink of water/juice and then go back to sleep. On a bad night, I will stay awake until 5 a.m. One such night was last night when I had fitful bursts of sleep so I'm not sufficiently rested. This means I have to take a nap during the day just to be able to function properly.
Feeling of heaviness
There is another more noticeable change in my third trimester. As the baby is increasing in weight, I can feel the change in my body. I have already passed my heaviest mark (i.e. the heaviest I have ever been) so carrying my body has become a task. Some people tell me that since I don't look so big, my baby will be a big baby. Let's see how true this is.
Backache
This extra weight sometimes manifests itself in straining my back. I find it difficult to sit for long periods of time or to stay standing for that matter. When I'm in the kitchen cooking, I often gather my ingredients and prepare them on the dining table so that I'm not standing for too long. I have always had a problem with my back so I learnt early in pregnancy that I need to be careful with how I handle it. This means sitting as upright as possible and doing enough exercise.
Fluid retention
Something that has happened recently in my third trimester is that I have fluid retention which means that my body is not getting rid of excess fluid as it should. The result is that the joints of my fingers are extremely painful especially at night and when it gets cooler. Also, my blood pressure was increasing but with fast detection, I have managed to bring it back to normal. My feet also get swollen something I had escaped earlier and was so happy to. My face is also starting to show signs of swelling. To combat this, I sit with my feet up and drink plenty of water and of course take my medicine.
I have just realized that what I have written above seems to be a bit on the negative side. Don't get me wrong. I am not complaining. I take each hurdle as a step closer to seeing my little one and I have heard that all these challenges are normal in pregnancy. My preparations for the baby are going on well. I have my sister here with me to help me run errands and visit hospitals. I haven't decided where I want to go yet, mostly because I am terrified of hospitals. But by the end of this week I will have made up my mind.
So far this has been my third trimester. I will make a sequel to this post if I experience other changes.
Thank you for stopping by.