I can’t believe I’m already in the final trimester. The beginning of this pregnancy seemed to drag, but ever since I stopped feeling nauseous, time has flown by. I keep losing track of how many weeks I am, partly because I’ve fallen behind on my updates probably. I will sit down and write them soon, hopefully before I completely forget how I’ve been feeling. It’s all very well planning weekly updates, but real life has a habit of getting in the way.
If today is anything to go by, the third trimester will be filled with tiredness, aches and pains, Braxton Hicks and plenty of skin stretching. I’d forgotten how horrible it is to feel your skin stretching, I think I’d assumed this symptom wouldn’t be quite so bad the second time. Certainly, my tummy looked like it was still suffering the consequences of the stretch before I got pregnant, so I have no idea how the stretching still manages to hurt so much. I spend a lot of time in the bath these days, and when I’m not there, I’m standing next to it, applying coconut oil to my poor, stretching skin.
I feel very huge. I definitely feel bigger than I was at this point last time, though I could be misremembering my massiveness, I suppose. I am just reaching that stage where getting off the sofa without huffing is quite an accomplishment. If I overdo things, which I frequently do, I pay the price with back and hip aches, though they do seem to disappear quite quickly if I take things easy.
The baby seems to be filling more of me now. I can feel nudges higher up and often find myself feeling breathless. I think my poor lungs are losing a battle for breathing space as the giant baby overtakes my entire insides. I am really not looking forward to the heartburn portion of the pregnancy, I can remember that being awful last time. I don’t like anything to come between me and my food (animal ethics aside, of course).
I feel like I survived the second trimester pretty well. In fact, when people asked how I was feeling I often found myself beaming in response. This would never have happened during my first pregnancy when I basically spent the entire nine months carrying a noose around, just in case pregnancy got any worse. I’m actually enjoying being pregnant, something I never thought would happen. I thought I just wasn’t built for pregnancy (I’ve written about this before here) but I don’t feel that way anymore. I’m enjoying being pregnant, I’m excited about the birth (ok, I’m a bit terrified that this baby might be huge) and I can’t wait to have a newborn again. All of the unknown from the first pregnancy simply isn’t here this time. I have an Ebony, I know that motherhood is the greatest thing in the world and I can’t wait to do it all over again.
So, third trimester, let’s do this.