I’m incredibly grateful to be writing about my third trimester experience having not made it here during our previous pregnancy. We’re very thankful for this healthy little girl every day and I’m thrilled to share my third trimester with you.
I’m covering my third trimester through week 36 and will share any big details thereafter in her birth story. You never know when she’s coming, but I started writing this in hopes its not before week 36, fingers crossed!
Week 28: Our Second Growth Ultrasound
We had our second growth ultrasound to see how baby girl is measuring and she is still right on target! Talk about relieved! Between the two vessel cords potentially keeping her smaller and now the gestational diabetes potentially growing her bigger at a faster rate than she should, we were definitely worried.
Week 28 also marks two weeks on my gestational diabetes focused lifestyle. It was a bumpy start. My numbers weren’t magically dropping the first few days like I unrealistically expected. After about a week though, on the new diet and exercise regimen, I started to see consistently good readings. My novice theory is that my body needed to adjust to the changes before my blood sugar stayed down.
Week 29: Aches and pains and discomfort, oh my!
All the third trimester aches and pains I’ve heard happen are becoming a reality this week. Baby loves to wedge herself on my lower right and lower left sides. It can be really uncomfortable, and at first a little alarming because it’s a new feeling, but I’ve found ways to adjust for comfort, thankfully. I’ve also lost a couple pounds thanks to the new diet and exercise and it’s actually been amazing. Strange to think it can be entirely normal to lose a couple of extra pounds while pregnant, but as I’ll mention in week 30, it’s completely normal given my lifestyle changes.
Another big milestone this week: I ordered my Spectra S1 Plus breast pump! Like most insurances, ours covers the cost of a breast pump. However, this one comes with a small up-charge being a pricier model. People I’ve talked to with this same pump said it’s very much worth the extra cost. Also, my friends who got the free one all wish they’d gone with mine, so I feel good about my choice!
Week 30: Leaving that extra weight behind
Even-numbered pregnancy weeks that aren’t divisible by four are always my ‘quieter’ check up weeks (i.e. weeks 22, 26, 30). No ultrasounds, just heartbeat checks, belly measurements and chatting with the doctor or NP. This week, my NP noticed I’m actually down about 8 pounds from when I was at my heaviest pregnancy weight. This is clearly a result of the diet and lifestyle changes from the last four weeks thanks to gestational diabetes, but she is 0% worried.
While it sounds a little alarming, she said with baby growing perfectly on target, there’s nothing wrong with it. This happens a lot when pregnant women start eating better and exercising more, and will only contribute to the health of mom and baby in the long run!
Week 31: Sleep, who?
Baby has made herself super present and has actually allowed me to record some movement of my belly to share with family. She’s big enough to see moving through layers of clothing! I always thought I’d be so weirded out by this, but it’s actually SO COOL! A very active baby has been not only my third trimester experience, but every week since week nineteen. She loves moving around! We also had our maternity photoshoot this weekend. I’ll be doing a full post of all of our favorites but below is a sneak peek.
In less exciting news, my sleep schedule has been a mess this week. One day I slept until 10:00 am, right through my alarm, and the next I was up at 3:45 am and never went back to sleep. I have no idea what is going on but it needs to regulate a bit so this mama can rest up for baby. I did not sign up for this part of the third trimester experience!
Week 32: Our Baby Shower and Growth Update
The weekend rolling into week 32 was our much anticipated baby shower. We did a drive thru/open house model and my family decked out the garage in pinks and poofs for baby girl! We got to see some friends and family we haven’t in a long time and are SO thankful for that. Now we’re busy putting everything in its place and seeing what else we still need to be ready for this little girl’s arrival.
The Monday after our shower we had our 32 week growth ultrasound and baby girl received all the high marks, thankfully! She was measuring about 4 lbs 11 oz and is proportional and active as ever. My fluids and measurements all look normal, which is wonderful and we seriously couldn’t ask for more.
We also learned that she has some hair in there already, which explains my multiple times daily heartburn, and even got to see her little face filling out! She is putting on about 1/2 pound a week and it’s all filler at this point. She is as long as she will be (give or take an inch, but she was mostly at length a few weeks ago now) so we’re excited to see her fill out. I can certainly tell she has muscle but those kicks and punches are no joke, she’s strong already!
Week 33: Babymoonin’ at Grand Bear
This week was our much anticipated babymoon to Grand Bear Resort near Starved Rock. It was the perfect, relaxing, fun cabin-life getaway not far from home. If by some crazy chance baby had decided to come, we were just under an hour from my hospital!
We were hosted by the resort, and taken care of like total A-listers, it was a wonderful time! A highlight was winning an adorable stuffed llama at the Cave Arcade for baby girl, something she may just see as a toy but we’ll always know it’s a fond memory of when we were expecting her. We worked our butts off on the pop-a-shot machine for it; I think we even look semi sweaty in this photo, ha!
I even got to enjoy some time in the pool rocking some adorable PinkBlush maternity swimsuits. All in all, a fantastically relaxing few days away that we both very much needed.
Week 34: Part One of Our Prepared Childbirth Class
This weekend, we took one last overnight trip prior to baby. The new Canopy Chicago hotel in the central loop hosted us for a little mom and dad getaway. It was awesome to have one more mini semi-local getaway before becoming parents. We gussied up for once and went to a nice local pub just a block away for dinner.
The next morning, we had the first day of our two-part Prepared Childbirth class through our hospital. It was a virtual event so we enjoyed it from the comfort of the big cozy hotel room. We’re glad we took this course because we both learned a lot and have a better idea of what to expect when the big day comes.
Week 35: Feeling the pressure
Baby girl is no longer kicking like she used to, now it’s just big pressure, on all sides. She’s big enough to cover more room in there and she’s not afraid to flaunt it!
We also attended the second half of our two-part Prepared Childbirth class over Zoom. We’re really glad we decided to take a prepared childbirth class, especially since this one is taught by the actual labor and delivery nurses at our hospital. They were able to answer hospital-specific questions and really give us a heads up on what to expect down to how to arrive at the hospital. As a Type A person, those little details help me sleep at night!
Week 36: The Final Countdown
This week marks our last growth ultrasound before baby girl arrives and we were over the moon about how it all went! Baby girl is weighing about 6 pounds, 13 ounces (Kev and I took bets on the way to the appointment; I said 6 pounds 12 ounces, he said 7 pounds, mama knows best I guess!). She is also sitting very low, head down, which means she is really getting ready for birth. We love to hear it!
She is looking very good size-wise, very proportional and we got to see her little mouth breathing on video! It was really amazing to see. Her ultrasound pictures are not too detailed anymore though, because she’s too big to catch more than zoomed in details now. We got several of her profile (and that pointy little nose she gets from her mama) and one of her foot, so random!
As for mama: blood pressure, belly size and all vitals are looking great! The doctor does a routine check at week 36 to see if you’re dilated or effaced and I was 2 cm dilated (time to push is 10 cm) and 50% effaced (you can’t push until 100% effaced). Now, this sounds like a lot more than it is, so I’ll explain. You can be dilated for weeks before you go into labor. This just means your body is preparing for the process and is perfectly normal.
Gestational Diabetes Update
My commitment for my gestational diabetes-conscious lifestyle has kept me off insulin, which was my hope. I’m extremely proud of my diligence towards eating properly, not only to keep off insulin, but to keep baby girl from growing disproportionately. This particular third trimester experience has been one for the books; it’s next-level what you can do when you’re doing it for your baby.
It’s not bad to be on insulin while pregnant, but it does mean your body has a really hard time processing the carbs/sugars and that can still effect baby. So, seeing normal numbers and not needing insulin means my body is able to manage those nutrients with just diet and exercise, a real blessing.
At this point, knowing my numbers aren’t even teetering near the threshold and were nearing delivery, I’m assuming I’m able to avoid insulin this pregnancy. Each time is different though; next time I could avoid gestational diabetes all together, or be on insulin early on. Only time will tell but for now, I’m thankful.
That wraps up my official third trimester experience update! The next few weeks are up in the air because babies arrive on their own time. So, what will you see from me? I have a couple planned posts (nursery reveal, maternity photoshoot) that will go live provided I get them scheduled prior to baby girl arriving. Otherwise, the next post you might see from me is her birth announcement! Those posts will still go live, but may be a few months down the road if she surprises us and comes before they can get scheduled.
I’m planning to let you all know once she arrives and give an update on programming thereafter while I take a much needed maternity leave to recover and care for the little one.
More Pregnancy
- My First Trimester Experience
- My Second Trimester Experience
- Top Baby Registry Product Recommendations
- All Pregnancy + Parenthood
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This post contains referral/affiliate links. A small commission may be earned if products are purchased through my links. Thank you for supporting the brands that support this blog.
