Third Trimester Pt 2
Lets talk more about the third trimester and the joy it brings since so many things are happening it needed to be broken up into 2 blog posts. Look forward to my birth story in the near future.
Going back to the subject of sleep; at about month 8 the congestion in my nose became a lot worse at night and it has become really difficult to breath at night when I lay down. I started snoring and than it felt as if I was suffocating, I am taking a homeopathic remedy for it but it only helps so much and half the night I am sitting up straight in bed to sleep. Some nights I get really good sleep and some nights I have contractions, but none of it matters because I am still exhausted the next day.
Throwing up and nausea are a thing again, a lot of the time it feels as if there is something stuck in my throat and when I try to eat certain foods I just feel sick. I have thrown up my supplements and breakfast a few days which is no fun at all.
During pregnancy your body releases a hormone called Relaxin; it is released to loosen up your joints so they can move and expand easier to accommodate your pelvis shifting and expanding during labor. Having everything so lose can actually hurt if you move or shift the wrong way.
Constant pelvic pain from the baby moving around and bearing down makes walking around and doing stuff very painful. You can try a heat compress, a warm bath with Epsom salt or even some Arnica to help with the pain but really these things can only do so much because it will come back.
Swelling! Yes you are going to swell because you are going to retain fluids due to hormones and also the increased blood volume. My feet only swelled a little a few times but my hands and face did swell a lot. My right trap and upper back had swelling and ended up pinching a nerve that made my middle finger numb around month 8. To help with the swelling there are a few things you can do like Epsom salt baths, staying hydrated, going for walks, increasing your salt intake a little, and also Cell Salt helped me out. It didn’t take the swelling away completely and my finger was still numb but it did help a lot.
Hemorrhoids will most likely be a thing and they can happen for a few reasons; Constipation and pushing when you go poop, or not drinking enough water, sitting on the toilet for too long or even just the pressure of the baby and placenta can cause them. I got a few of them due to the pressure of everything. They weren’t too bad and only hurt when they first appeared but I was able to get them to go away doing Red Light Therapy.
Now lets talk about the big part of the third trimester; Contractions and Labor!
Unless you have a medical emergency your baby is going to come when they want to come. Your due date is only a rough estimate to know gestational age. It tells you when you are 40 weeks along. Some babies want to come early around 38-39 weeks, some come at 40 weeks and some even like to push it to 41-42 weeks. When your baby decides its time to come they will push down into your pelvis and only your cervix, this causes contractions which soften and open up the cervix. These contractions and the process may be pretty quick and happen in one day or it may actually take a couple weeks.
In my case I started having contractions on and off for weeks and I made progress with dilation very slowly. These weren’t Braxton Hicks where your belly tightens and is practicing for labor, these were full blown sharp, quick and intense contractions that would go from 0 to 100 quickly. But even after up to 8 hours of contractions my progress was minimal. This can happen when it is your first time giving birth because your muscles haven’t done this before. If you have had a baby before most likely your labor will be a lot shorter and quicker.
As I sit here and write this I am at 40 weeks and 3 days with 2 weeks of contractions that have progressed me to a soft cervix and at least 2 cm dilated. Each movement or pain has me hopeful that contractions will start and bring my baby girl into my arms.
Stay tuned and look for my birth story coming as soon as she is born.
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