Pregnancy: 3rd Trimester Wrap-Up

I started writing this post at week 37, knowing it could be any day now that our little girl decides she’s ready to come out.  And here we are, three weeks later and my due date has come and gone.  Apparently, about half of all babies come somewhere before 40 weeks and 5 days, which means the other half come even later than that!  Just trying to be patient over here…In short, my last trimester has been going well.  I have no complaints, other than the usual discomfort related to sleeping and peeing ALL. THE. TIME.  Otherwise, I’ve had what I’d call an easy pregnancy overall and not having to work has been a huge blessing.  It’s allowed me to actually ENJOY being pregnant, something that was really important to me.

I’m HUNGRY

I’m definitely feeling hungrier these days.  Usually I find myself eating an additional snack sometime during the day, and even a yogurt or bowl of cereal before bed.  I’m sure some of this is related to eating smaller meals because I’m running out of room, and the legitimate need for about 300-400 extra calories each day during the third trimester.

…and SO TIRED

While I didn’t have much fatigue during the first trimester, I certainly am now!  For the last three days, I’ve been so overcome with exhaustion around 5 pm that I’ve either taken a nap (!!!) or had to rest on the couch.  I’m not a napper, so this feels very strange. Normally, naps ruin a good nights’ sleep for me, but lately I’ve been sleeping alright at night.  Earlier in this trimester I had more trouble sleeping–and even moved to another bed for a couple nights–but it’s been better for about a week or so.  I still take a melatonin and half a dose of Unisom before bed every night, and actually *look forward* to my nights with a newborn when I won’t need help from supplements to sleep!

Nesting

As a girlfriend recently said, “You’ve been nesting for nine months.”  It’s true–my need to plan kicked in right away, although thankfully it was balanced out by a strange (but welcome) laid-back attitude.  Up until recently, I’ve marveled at how little (compared to non-pregnant Holly) I’ve actually done during this pregnancy.  Well, now that we’re only weeks away, nesting for real has kicked in!   In fact, just today I learned how to wrap a Moby, work my Halo Bassinest, downloaded the apps and tested out both my MamaRoo swing and Hatch Baby Rest sound machine, and watched videos about the 5 S’s (from Happiest Baby on the Block).  (If that isn’t nesting, I don’t know what is!)  I’ve also written my July and August nutrition columns ahead of time, and plan to get a few more blog posts written and scheduled.  Andrew has been ‘nesting’ too; he’s been hard at work to finish the last project in baby girl’s room: a custom baseboard heater cover.

In addition to her room, I’ve ‘nested’ a bit in our office.  I plan to sleep there in a twin bed with the bassinet after we get home from the hospital, as our bedroom will be in project mode (wood floor) and the office is closer to her room.  I think it will be easier and more peaceful for me, and once we get through the first few nights, I want Andrew to get sufficient sleep at night so he’s more awake during the day.

Update: The baseboard heater cover is done, her room is finished and I’ve written those blog posts I was talking about.  Yesterday, on my due date, I weeded the entire backyard landscaping and planted a few more perennials.  We’re as ready as we can be for baby, and I’m loving all the ‘bonus time’ to get a few more things done around here.

Baby Showers for Days

ICYMI, Baby Layer is already very loved!  I’ve had multiple ‘showers,’ big and small, and you can read about them here and here.

Doing All The Things

Now that she’s officially full-term and I’m in the home stretch, I’ve started ‘helping’ things move in the right direction.  I’m drinking red raspberry leaf tea (known to tone the uterus and helpful for before and after delivery), eating dates (a few small studies have shown they help with dilation, can shorten labor time and decrease bleeding after delivery) and trying to stay active. Because being AMA (advanced maternal age–gasp!!) and an IVF pregnancy can carry some additional risks, my doctor isn’t keen on waiting the traditional 42 weeks should baby girl linger inside.  Now that I’m officially past my due date, I’m looking at a possible induction sometime soon.

If multiple hours of weeding on my hands and knees on my due date and a three-mile ‘hike’ today aren’t enough to get things going, I think Andrew and I might be dealing with a very stubborn little girl in our future!

Bump Progress