My innie bellybutton has started to become an outie and it's actually quite soft, I've begun to waddle, and I get tired more often and need an afternoon nap.
The less than pleasant aspects of the third trimester include:
Bending over has started to interfere with a variety of activities: tying my shoes (slip-ons are the go-to), sitting down and getting up (this goes sitting in the kitchen, the couch, the car, the bed, tying shoes, going to the bathroom and of course shaving). In fact last Friday I cleaned the bathroom, but when it came to cleaning out the bathtub I chose to leave it for Luke as I just couldn't fathom the thought of spending that much time bent over scrubbing the tub!
The heartburn I had in the first trimester has returned with a vengeance. Since I had an issue with kidney stones at the beginning of the pregnancy I have been avoiding Tums due to their calcium intake. As a result I'm back to munching on raw almonds or taking papaya enzymes. Both seem to be quite effective, but I think the almonds work best.
I've noticed little brown moles or skin tags on my breasts. The midwife assures me this is normal and they can appear all over the body but are more noticeable on breasts since they're more visible (especially since I've been slathering them in cream hoping to avoid stretch marks). That reminds me I have gotten stretch marks, neither very dark nor prominent, but they are right there on the top of my breasts. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised as my breasts are noticeably larger - even to people besides my husband. As of yet I haven't gotten any on my stomach but I do have approximately another ten weeks to go.
For the first time on February 13 I felt her up under my ribs - it wasn't that bad, but I'm not looking forward to that advancing because I'm sure it will only get more uncomfortable and painful the bigger and stronger she gets.
The more pleasant and simply enjoyable aspects of pregnancy include:
The love and enjoyment I once had for my dog Oscar has returned. I now really like taking him for a walk and playing fetch again. I even let him cuddle with me and his dog smell doesn't disgust me. However, I do think he could benefit from a bath. But again bending over for that amount of time holds no appeal, plus I'm almost guaranteed to get a bout of heartburn if I attempt it. So, washing the dog becomes another chore to add to Luke's to-do-because-I'm-pregnant-list.
I feel my baby girl quite frequently now and if I'm paying attention I can see my belly warp and ripple to her movements. Although she's active I don't think my baby girl really goes to town like she's entered a kickboxing match; instead it's more like she's stretching or adjusting, and when it does get a little more vigourous it's as if she's letting me know my position is squishing her and she's not in favour. This is such an incredible feeling that I don't even know how to describe it. I really don't have the words to explain and I think only another woman who has gone through it can understand what I'm saying. However, it's pretty entertaining and definitely steals my attention to watch my belly move and morph. It's also been fun to have Luke watch and feel when she really gets moving.
Probably one of the nicest things I've noticed is that the more I get out, see friends, go for walks, and eat nutritious meals the better I feel emotionally and physically. For such a long time I felt like I had no energy and for the majority of the time I felt sickly. Even when my severe nausea and puking finally faded I was still left with the uncomfortable feeling of getting over a flu. However, that has mostly abated and when I do start to feel a bit nauseas then I know it's time to eat and give my girl some calories to bulk up on. That may sound a bit funny but it's important to consume more calories to ensure that the baby is gaining adequate nutrition to develop, grow and build up her fat reserves for warmth. I had a midwife appointment a couple days ago and found out that rather than gaining the expected pound a week I actually lost two pounds! Initially this sounds great, but the reality is that it's the baby gaining weight that's important and to lose weight is a bit of a concern. However, when my midwife measured my belly it read 30 centimetres (approximately a centimetre for every week of gestation) which means that my baby girls growth is right on track. This means that it really was me that lost the two pounds - not too surprising since now that I'm feeling better I'm definitely more active. Once again my midwife assured me that it was normal to lose weight at this point because a mother's stomach gets so squashed that she may eat a meal and feel like she ate a sufficient amount because she's full. While my midwife encouraged me to continue being active and eating nutritious meals, she also mentioned monitoring my calorie intake to make sure it's sufficient and suggested eating more snacks. Of course, as Luke can attest to, I do eat quite often and I always have something in my purse just in case I need snack while we're out.
Finally, I have noticed that older people (men and women alike) seem to get the most enjoyment out of the prospect of new life. I'm constantly met with smiles, inquiries as to if I can feel her kicking, and when am I due. Actually there's one lady in my aqua-fit class that asks me when I'm due every time she sees me, it's cute and I'm happy to talk about it. After all it's quite the marvellous feat of nature that I'm accomplishing by growing this baby girl. I think it's this fact combined with my overall feeling of wellbeing that for the first time yesterday I felt like I had the pregnancy glow - random people kept smiling and saying hello to me. I felt noticed and my pregnant state seemed to make people more friendly than usual. It was nice and it made this pregnant woman feel especially good about herself.
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