Third Trimester – The Home Stretch?

I am now 28 weeks pregnant and officially in my 3rd trimester.  The good news?  This baby girl is really cookin’ now and she is getting ready to meet me!   The picture above is of Sophia (Big sis born in 2006) just 1 week earlier.  I love that picture!  Less like tadpole or alien – more like baby huh?  Pregnancy is incredible…

For me, the 3rd trimester is a battle.  First of all, I am grateful each and very day for this healthy baby girl in my belly.  I know that some women would give anything to go through all of these symptoms and I am in no way saying that I would not go through a million times worse before I meet this baby!  Please forgive this momentary lapse of positive thinking.  Here is what I am looking forward to before I meet my beautiful girl.

In addition to the standard ailments I have Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS).  It is described on BabyCenter as

An uncontrollable urge to move around in bed to relieve crawling, tingling or burning sensation deep inside your legs.

Sounds fun huh?  I am especially lucky in that I am in the very small minority that feels this in my arms as well!    I have tried iron supplements and baths and wacky voodoo tricks.  This condition usually leaves me writhing and crying on my bedroom floor at least a dozen times in the last few months of my pregnancies.  The other nights I am able to sleep for only a few hours at most.  I am already feeling these pains.  The tingling is even in the back of my neck as I write this and moving down my legs.  It is terrible.  I now have my Ambien prescription for once a week sleep.  My OB wants to avoid possible issues serious related to sleep deprivation.   I would give a lot not to have this!

This time around, I am also starting to feel symptoms of real Pre-Partum Depression.  My OB wants me to keep track of my feelings and sleep patterns to see if I need to address this medically.  I believe my feelings are related to sadness over this being my last pregnancy coupled with nerves over how well I will parent 3 kids so close together and general boo hoos over things that have happened in the last year or so in my family.    My OB believes that my sadness over my final pregnancy coupled with family stress and my lack of sleep could amount to a real problem with depression in these last couple months.  I am making sure to address this and talk about with her (and now you) because I want to enjoy my pregnancy, my life and my family over the next 12 weeks.  Ross is being incredibly supportive and my kids both give me tons of kisses and my OB did not look at me like I was crazy and you, my Internet friends, have been there for me - so I know I will be okay!  I just kind of feel shitty a lot lately.

So in case you must know on top of these two tiny problems – here is the other shit the 3rd trimester brings.  No, there is not a better word.  Sorry.

The standard 3rd trimester woes include: 

1.  Backaches:  Check – hurts right now!

2.  Shortness of Breath: Yep, I have this the whole 40 weeks.

3.  Heartburn: Thank God I do not get this!

4.  Spider Veins, Varicose Veins and Hemorrhoids:  Nasty and yep, while I do not have spider or varicose veins - pushin’ 2 babies out did provide me with the hemorrhoid.  I am lucky that I do not have this little reminder while pregnant!

5.  Continued Breast Growth:  You don’t even want to know how many bras sizes I have.  I have everything from tiny B’s to E’s.  Yes, I said it – E’s!  Before pregnancy I was a small C.  Always no smaller no bigger.  They just don’t look quite as peppy anymore either.  And they don’t just get bigger – they hurt!

6.  Frequent Urination:  Duh.

7.  Braxton Hicks – Yup and they are freaky.  Terrifying sometimes.

8.  Vaginal Discharge – Let’s just say ew.  So much so that one of the last pieces of this is called the mucus plug.  And it is what you are thinking and totally gross!

9.  Swelling – I don’t get this but for those who do – those last weeks can be so painful!

I am not sure that this is the home stretch ’cause it’s going to feel like a LONG time.  These last 12 weeks are going to be hard.  So worth it, but I know from experience that it will take everything I have to get to the end.  YOu may see a lot more of me in the middle of the night!  Wish me luck!  And even more – wish me Sweet Dreams and calm legs!

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