Third Trimester

Woah. How did we get here?

I'm currently 36 weeks pregnant, and can't believe this baby could be here NEXT week at the earliest. It honestly feels like the shortest and longest nine months of my life. People always say the third trimester is the longest, but it's been flying by. I may change my mind these next few weeks though. The bigger I get the more I can attest to being uncomfortable those last months. I swear my belly has grown every day this trimester! 

How I'm Feeling

The end of the second trimester and the beginning of the third trimester were so easy. Besides being large, I didn't even notice many symptoms. I started off the third trimester walking a mile a day, and working out a few times a week. I started having some intense pelvic pain the past few weeks that has kept me from being able to walk. Luckily my chiropractor was able to alleviate that a lot of the pain, so my goal is to start walking/exercising 3-4x a week again. 

Sleeping is my favorite and least favorite part of my day. By the time I get into bed I am so excited that I fall right asleep, then wake up 3-4x every night because I'm uncomfortable, my arm is asleep, or I have to pee. I pretty much sleep from 6-8 hours every night depending on if I'm able to fall back to sleep after waking up. A few items that have helped me sleep are sleepy time tea, my pregnancy pillow, and my wedge pillow. I don't use all of these every night, I've found that I do better if I don't have the exact same thing every night. I only use my big pregnancy pillow on nights that Daniel is at the station. When he is home he's my pillow and I just use the wedge in between my legs. 

My emotions have been all over the place these past few weeks. I pretty much had no mood swings until now, and I thought I was free and clear. Suddenly the weirdest things have made me cry. Not just like tear up, but literally start sobbing. Daniel started playing some Veggie Tales song the other day, and my emotions exploded. I had a full on panic/crying/hyperventilating attack because I couldn't handle how annoying it was... yeah that's insane. Then we were watching Mulan with my niece, and I started sobbing at the scene where Mulan's dad gets called back into the military. I can honestly say this is the first time I've cried during Mulan even though I've seen it 100 times. Let's hope my hormones level out, or I will be a hot mess when Sawyer is born. 

Cravings have consisted of vegetable straws... these are so good. I could eat a million of them. I'm obsessed with Fairlife chocolate milk. When I wake up in the middle of the night with a growling stomach, chocolate milk is my go to. It keeps me full until the morning, and it's full of 13g of protein! I was making omelets every morning, but the egg started making me sick recently. I did not expect to still be throwing up occasionally in the third trimester, but I'm pretty naive as a first time mom. 

Looking Forward To

The third trimester pretty much consists of looking forward to having our baby. I can't wait for the whole delivery. I'm super nervous, but I know that it will be over in a blink of an eye. I want to soak up the entire experience, and hopefully my nerves settle as we get closer. I realize that I have no control, and just want to step back for God to work! This baby is coming out one way or another. 

At this point all my showers have passed, which were absolutely amazing! Those really helped the time pass quickly at the beginning of the third trimester. We already took two shoots of maternity pictures. I can't wait to share them with you. They are jaw droppingly gorgeous. 

I'm currently on Spring Break, and can say that I am very much looking forward to maternity leave and summer break with our little family of three. I know that we will be exhausted form our new babe, but honestly work has been brutal while pregnant. Luckily our due date fell at the perfect time so I get mid April-August off! I am so grateful for this extended maternity leave because I know so many moms have to go back to work just 12 weeks after their babe is born. Also, Daniel is taking a month of paternity leave. We are so blessed to be able to have an entire month together to get used to parenting before he returns to his 24 on 48 off schedule!

Regular clothes. I want to wear my normal clothes again. Maternity clothes are comfy, but honestly I'm so sick of them. Especially for work. I currently fit in about 10 work clothing items, and just have to rotate through them. I hate that! I have a full closet, but never have anything to wear for work. Luckily I still fit into most of my athletic clothes (because stretchy). I have found myself gravitating to Daniel's t shirts instead of my own for wearing around the house. 

Products I Love

We have received so many gifts that I'm counting down the days to use with our babe. I don't feel confident reviewing products yet because we obviously haven't tested anything, but I still want to share what we are excited about. 

Our Britax stroller and carseat are patiently waiting in the garage to be used. We plan on taking Sawyer and Obi (our Aussie) on a walk every morning so our stroller will get a ton of use. 

The owlet was a must have for Daniel. He was quite adamant about getting it because of his experience as a firefighter/paramedic. We want that assurance that our baby is safe at night when we can't be constantly checking on her. 

At first she will be sleeping in our room in our Graco pack n play. I am so excited to have this all in one changer, sleeper, and storage area within 3 feet. Hopefully it works out perfectly for us. We didn't go with the Dockatot or another co-sleeper because we have two animals that sleep with us. I honestly love our pets being in the bed with us, and wouldn't want to change that. I sleep alone on nights that Daniel is on shift so I need my dog in the bed! 

Another favorite is the Fisher Price Baby Dome. We will be using this at the lake and pool all summer because it has a full coverage dome, and UV protection. I also love it because in the house we can lay her down in it without Obi being able to run her over. Obi is the perfect dog for kids, but I'm just being overly cautious until he gets used to having her around! 

As I use these items I will do a round up of must-haves for the first month! I know most of these products are used for a few months max, but they are so important for surviving as new parents. We will be storing them in the attic to use with all our future babes as soon as Sawyer grows out of them. 

Overall, the third trimester has been my chance to nest and prepare emotionally for our new baby. It has given Daniel some much needed alone time, but also plenty of time to nest. I am so grateful that Sawyer will be here in less than a month, and all of our preparation will be worth it. I already love her so much! 

xoxo,

kelsey