Third trimester reflections

Although I am almost 8 weeks postpartum, I finally have a minute to catch up on a few things, including my blog post about my third trimester….just to be consistent, since I updated you on my first and second trimesters.

With that said, I will do my best to not ramble on too much, as I’m sure you’re more curious and anxious to hear about my birth story and postpartum journey thus far. More details in another post to come about all that exciting stuff!

My third trimester was rather uneventful really. I felt surprisingly great! I kept up with working out in my basement make-shift CrossFit gym six days a week. Of course, I kept adjusting and modifying movements and workouts to accommodate to my ever-growing baby bump. I still had all the energy in the world and still no specific food cravings, once again to the disappointment of my husband. I did occasionally have a thirst for crisp cucumbers and Gulden’s spicy brown mustard, not together, but hardly enough to call “cravings.”

To make things even more uneventful, my work situation had changed drastically once again so I found myself at home every day with lots of time on my hands to nest and prepare for baby. When the COVID-19 quarantine policies began unrolling, life was really no different for me since I was a pro at staying home. The only drastic change for me was not being able to go to the grocery store or see much of my family, both of which were extremely difficult. The stay-at-home orders were enforced about two weeks before baby was due, so hubby began working from home as well, which was a nice change of pace for us. We binged watched some of our favorite shows and started a Marvel movie marathon, in chronological order, needless to say. We both truly enjoyed our last months and weeks as a family of two and we did our best to prepare for what life would look like with a little one in our lives.

So what were my biggest takeaways from my third trimester?

1. Each week I took a photo of my progressing baby bump, I marveled anew of the miracle growing inside of me. How could there possibly be a tiny human living inside me? And better yet a tiny human who was almost fully developed and ready to live in this world. Some days I felt like I was carrying a huge bowling ball and other days I worried that our little miracle wasn’t growing enough and that he would be too small. It’s such an odd combination of feelings.
2. At my regular OB checkup, which became weekly during the last four weeks, the doctor was concerned my belly was measuring on the smaller side, so to my benefit, I was able to get extra ultrasounds and see our little bundle of joy. Thankfully, he was growing and developing just fine. The doctor resorted to attributing my smaller belly size to baby nestled further back inside me and my abdominal muscles keeping him nice and secure. I liked that conclusion. I learned to understand and be okay with how MY pregnant body was and that I didn’t have to fit into certain physiological “standards”. My body has never aligned with what is considered “average,” so why would pregnancy be any different. I grew to love my pregnant body and bump even more every day. In fact, I couldn’t imagine what life would be like again without it!
3. Nesting and pre-baby anxiety are very real. I had such intense urges to clean the house, organize, and cook in preparation of baby. I had all kinds of irrational thoughts flood my mind, especially after our country was infected by the COVID-19 pandemic. I was scared and so was hubby, but rightly so. There were just so many unknowns, and the more strict the protocols became, the more paranoid we both grew. But we learned that in such a time as this, we need only rely on our Heavenly Father to provide and protect. Hubby and I both needed this humble reminder, and a stay-at-home order in the middle of a universal pandemic was just the prescription to bring us to our knees in awe of Him. He had protected and grew our sweet miracle throughout the entire pregnancy and He would surely continue to protect him, both inside and outside my womb.
4. From week 37 and on, we were on constant baby watch. Every day was a waiting game. We kept thinking, “will today be the day?” It was so strange to wait for something so expected so unexpectedly. I was scared and excited all at the same time. I knew labor was going to be painful so I was scared of the impending pain. I was scared something would go wrong during labor. I was scared I would end up needing a cesarean section. I was scared I would tear. I was scared of all the unknowns and I tried to prepare for it all. But I quickly learned that no matter how much research I did or how many articles and books I read, nothing could prepare me for what was about to come. Labor and delivery are only the beginning.

All-in-all, pregnancy is the most beautiful gift. Having the ability to grow a child is a marvelous phenomenon, and I praise God for making me a woman so I could experience this amazing joy.

Stay tuned for another post coming soon about my birth story and postpartum life!