Baby #2 | The Third Trimester
How I Felt
My morning sickness totally went away during the second trimester already, but there were a few weeks this trimester that it came back! It was a cruel joke. I had to eat more often to not feel so nauseous. On top of that I got the flu for the THIRD time this pregnancy. The worst part was that Everly follows me everywhere, so when I had to throw up she would come stand beside the toilet and start crying and pointing at the toilet. It was SO sad. Jason was on the road so I didn't even have a chance to catch a break. It was probably the toughest time I had this trimester. Then in my 41st week of pregnancy (apparently my body has a thing for going overdue) Everly, Jason and I all got a really bad cold. We went through all the tissues and it was hard to get a good sleep at night. The silver lining is that it was more of a stuffy nose than a cough so at least my stomach didn't get sore.
At about 36 weeks I started experiencing lower back pain and pressure on my lower abdomen. I didn't have any discomfort at all with Everly, so this was not fun to experience. I just wanted to lay down and never get up, which made it hard to take care of Everly. Luckily I found the more I moved and kept busy the better it felt, probably because I was distracted. It also made it really hard to sleep and get out of bed. It almost feels like I have a pinched nerve or something, it's hard to explain. That being said, I still made sure to get to the gym. I wasn't doing any heavy lifting or jumping exercises, just controlled exercises and some cardio. I also felt better after the gym because everything tightened up and was being strengthened.
Heartburn has also been a common occurrence this entire trimester. I experienced the same thing with Everly. They say you get it really bad when your baby has a lot of hair. I'm not sure if that's a wives tale, but Everly was born with a full head of hair and the ultrasound showed this baby will have lots of hair as well! I made sure to always have tums on hand and tried to cut back on really acidic foods that made it worse like tomatoes.
Body Changes
I'm lucky to have not gotten any stretch marks this pregnancy. It's probably because my stomach doesn't pop out very far, so I am very thankful for that! I also kept using my bio oil and cocoa butter lotion everyday. I have gained more weight than in my first pregnancy, but I'm okay with that! As long as this baby is healthy and I still feel good then I just have to let my body do what it wants. With Everly I gained 23 pounds and with this pregnancy I gained 27 pounds.
My skin cleared up this trimester, which was nice! I talked about my Skincare Routine in a previous post that I think really helped this pregnancy. I tried to find more natural products that I still felt good about putting on my skin while I was pregnant. Sometimes it's hard to look in the mirror during pregnancy with all of the changes your body is going through. It's easy to not feel pretty or feel good about yourself because everything shifts, sags and expands. I always just focus on the miracle my body is creating and know that my body will go back eventually! Here are some of my progress pics over the trimester:
Diet & Exercise
I have had a really big appetite this trimester! All I want to do is eat, especially in the evenings, which in turn makes me super uncomfortable because I feel like there's no room for my stomach to expand. You think I would learn my lesson, but I ate until being uncomfortable too many days to count. My craving for chips came back, just like at the end of Everly's pregnancy. Basically I have wanted all of the carbs. I've been trying to have a few green juices a week to still make sure I am getting in my greens though! My favorite is just blending water, spinach, celery, lemon juice, ginger, cucumber and a green apple (if you want the exact recipe send me a message and I can share it!). It's so refreshing and Everly even likes it. I tried not to let myself completely go in the last few weeks, which can be hard because I was exhausted and just wanted to sit on the couch and eat chips all day long. I just kept reminding myself that I would feel so much better post-baby if I didn't have 100 pounds to lose. Thankfully chasing a toddler around has helped!
I was still able to get to the gym 3 days a week, sticking to group classes, Circuit Workouts and Superset Workouts. I didn't do many classes after week 34 once we moved to Cincinnati because we joined a new gym and the class schedule didn't line up well with our schedule. Jason and I were actually able to go to the gym together finally and Everly went into the gym daycare. It's always easier going to the gym with someone else, and Jason has to go all of the time, so it was good motivation to keep going! Near the end my workouts became very slow moving and minimal, but even a little bit of cardio made me feel better. My last visit to the gym was when I was 40 weeks and 3 days pregnant (pictured below). I still felt really good and tried to do all the squats to get the baby out. If you are pregnant and have specific questions on workouts or concerns, send me a message!
Best,
Stacey