As I approached the 3rd trimester, I realized how quickly this last leg of pregnancy was going to go and decided to do what we could to make the most of it! We traveled to San Diego, took some beautiful maternity photos, spent the 4th of July weekend in NYC, enjoyed 2 weeks of the Seattle summer where we were able to celebrate Baby T & renew our vows, took some birthing classes, had another baby shower celebration, wrapped up work before maternity leave, setup our nursery & started prepping my body for labor. Looking back it has been a busy few months but I have done my best to spread things out and not make it stressful. As I mentioned, it's been an overall easy trimester but have dealt with a few pregnancy annoyances that I know a lot of moms deal, with so I can shed some light on what has worked for me!
At the very beginning of the third trimester I would wake up each morning my fingers being completely numb. It slowly progressed and began to occur throughout the entire day and then pain moved to my wrists that would wake me up in the middle of the night as well. Friends did warn me about carpal tunnel, but for some reason I just didn't think I would be dealing with it. I spoke with our ergonomist/physical therapist at the Fairmont as well as my Pelvic Floor PT so see what would work best. They both recommended some arm/wrist stretches as well as wristbands that I put off wearing as long as I could. I was skeptical and truthfully just didn't want to wear them but I have to say they were a game changer. I was able to sleep through the night without any pain and woke up feeling great. I should warn you that it did not help with the numbness in my fingers however, just the wrist pain. I also purchased a popsocket for my phone as I noticed thats when the numbness was most apparent and the way I am holding my phone seemed to help. I have been able to stop wearing the wrist bands for now the past few weeks (I think it may be because I am not on my computer as much) but I have also heard it can be pretty bad while breastfeeding so I'll be keeping them just in case. It was recommended to me to also take full advantage of nursing pillows and make it so that my wrists don't need to be supporting the baby at all while he is feeding. The numbness still comes and goes and unfortunately it is tough for me to make a complete fist with either hand but I think that has to do with swelling as well which I will touch on next.
I was a bit worried about getting on a 6 hr flight to NYC during my pregnancy, especially in the last trimester, but it ended up being completely fine (for the most part) and 100% worth it. What I didn't really think about was the swelling that would occur. My feet were HUGE from the second we landed, throughout the entire trip. I really wish I would have invested in some compression socks before we left but did end up purchasing them afterwards and also highly recommend. I got these Sockwell ones from REI and find they work best if you wear them overnight. For those pregnant during the winter months, you could wear them all day too but harder to do during the summer. I did realize we'd be walking a ton in New York, so I bought these lightweight, wide, sneakers off Amazon which have also been a great purchase. They are currently the only "shoes" that fit me, so they have been gotten a lot of use. I was a little worried about how bad the swelling was getting as it can be a sign of preeclampsia, but each time I have gone to the doctor, my blood pressure has been normal so they said its just part of my pregnancy. Elevating my feet, weekly foot reflexology massages and a lot of water has also seemed to help but it still comes and goes and is extreme in the heat. While I was in Seattle, I noticed the swelling started to move to my wrists and hands as well, which I mentioned above. The foot reflexology massages have helped with this when I am able to opt for the full body combo. And Yoga - especially anything that helps stretch the wrists as helped with the pain but not so much the swelling. Therefore, I decided to remove my jewelry so I wouldn't have to worry about anything getting stuck.
Overall, my sleep has been pretty consistent so I don't have much to complain about there. I've dealt with the occasional heart burn and back/leg pains but have found that 2 tsp of apple cider vinegar worked like magic & magnesium - taken in powder form with my tea, through epsom salt baths or in the amazing sleepytime lotion have all helped. The further along I have gotten in this trimester, the more tired I have gotten and have actually been sleeping about 10 hrs a night which has felt really great. Don't be fooled, I still get up about 3x to pee but am lucky to be able to fall back asleep right away. That being said, I was afraid to have too much water at night but realized that it didn't matter how little I drank, I was still waking up, so I might as well stay as hydrated as possible.
Speaking of hydration - lets chat about Raspberry Leaf tea. This was the first "labor prep" item I incorporated to my daily routine. I actually started drinking this at 20 weeks but made sure to have it daily starting my 3rd trimester and have been increasing to 2x+ per day. It's supposed to help shorten labor but you can read all the benefits above. Other things I have been doing to get my body ready:
- Spicy food
- Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy
- Dates
- Bouncing/stretches on exercise ball
- Increase oxytocin (through yoga, music, walking, cuddling, kissing etc.)
If I don't go into labor next week, I'll be trying:
While I wait for the day to arrive - I have packed some essentials for the hospital and stocked up on items that I will need during my postpartum recovery. This does not include what I am packing for baby.
Hospital Bag/Postpartum List:
Nursing bra
Sandals
Pillow/Blanket
Sleep mask
Coconut water
Homemade trail mix
Macrobars
Dried Fruit
Laptop
Cooler for placenta
If you have any must-haves that I have missed -- feel free to share! Otherwise, I will do a review after labor to let you know what I felt was necessary, what I could go without, and what I was missing! Hoping that will be sooner than later but as we all know, our bodies + BABIES! are ready when they're ready and I'm just enjoying my last few days of being pregnant! :)
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