WHAT HAPPENS DURING YOUR THIRD TRIMESTER

Welcome back for the third instalment of my “What Happens During…” series. My first trimester instalment is over here and my second here. The wait for your baby is nearly (sort of) over. Everything is getting serious, real, draining and seriously exciting too and if you are reading this right now (August 2020) in your third trimester you are probably quite hot and uncomfortable. I am here to share some of the things I went through in my third trimester which may be of some help to you.

GROWTH SCANS

I was booked in for growth scans which meant that I was given two extra scans. At first I was worried as I was given this because of a minor issue I had but actually it was a blessing. I loved being able to see my baby on the screen for an extra couple of times. It felt  reassuring and exciting too.

HYPNOBIRTHING

I am just mid writing a blog post on what hypnobirthing is and if it worked for me after doing a lot of classes of practice. In brief though I would say you should 110% do some hypnobirthing classes with your birth partner. You learn so much about the birth process itself which you don’t learn from your midwife appointments.

BIRTH PLAN

During my hypnobirthing classes I was taught about birth plans, how to write them and what to include. Liam and I had initially planned a homebirth so wrote our birth plan accordingly. I would suggest if you’re doing the same to add in your hospital plans as well such as what drugs you’re interested in, if you’re happy with a student nurse etc. Maybe I should write up a blog post on how to write one?

KICKS OR THUMPS

Oh goodness, the kicking and thumping gets quite aggressive at times. One night he was kicking so much that I actually felt suffocated for my baby and thought he needed to get out so googled info on excessive kicking! Turns out I needn’t have worried. There was one day where I didn’t feel any movement and that is when you should ask for help. I did ring triage when this happened and was called in for monitoring. It turns out that my bay had moved to behind my placenta which in turn dulled any baby movements I was getting. It is always best to ring in if you have any worries, they’re always lovely and helpful on the phone.

Week 36, when my baby was the size of a watermelon

EXERCISE OR LACK OF

You might be slowing down on your amount of exercise soon but it’s really important to keep moving. I was going for a walk every night with my hubby and dog for about an hour. I believe 20 minutes a day is recommended. I also went for long bike rides up until my 37th week. A lot of people told me I was being too risky but as it was the beginning of lockdown and there were so few people on the road I actually felt incredibly safe. If it weren’t lockdown I think I would have tried to go swimming a lot. I am so pleased I worked out a lot before birth because I am now seven weeks postpartum and not yet signed off to start exercising again but only just starting to feel sluggish and like I need to get back out there.

SLEEP AND WEEING

So many people say, “get your sleep in now before your baby arrives”, well, let me tell you now…sleep in your third trimester isn’t too fabulous! You will have your baby jumping around on your bladder so you will likely be waking up for a wee a fair few times during the nights sleep. Also, however much sleep you “clock up during your third trimester”, you aren’t necessarily going to feel super rested from when your baby arrives and you’re only getting 1 hours sleep a night! Just do your best and enjoy the fact your adorable baby will be in your arms soon.

TRICKY JOBS

Don’t be too freaked out by this but perineal massaging and colostrum harvesting are something you may want to read up on. Colostrum harvesting is basically getting some special golden pre-milk out of your boobs by hand expressing. It is known as liquid gold as the nutritional value of it is fantastic for your baby. Watch some videos online and ask your midwife for some advice on it and ask for them to give you some pipettes. You shouldn’t start trying to harvest until I believe 37 weeks as it can sometimes initiate your labour! I personally didn’t have any luck with harvesting pre labour but on the day of the birth of my son I managed to harvest right away before I managed to get him to latch on to breast feed. Perineal massage…well, this is something you may want to google for yourself ;).

To sign off I’d like to say, good luck for your delivery and thank you so much for reading. I’ve heard a lot about the illusive “fourth trimester”, so, who knows, I may be back sooner than you think with my thoughts on that time.