Pregnancy is beautiful and miraculous until the very end. However, at this point, most women just want their baby OUT (healthy and safe, of course)! Every doctor appointment after around 35 weeks, I cried because I was so uncomfortable. They kindly reassured me that no woman has ever stayed pregnant forever. But when you are that pregnant and uncomfortable, it feels like there is no end in sight!
Signs You’re In Your Third Trimester and OVER IT!
Here is a list of reasons that you might be over pregnancy in your third trimester.
1. You feel like there’s a bowling ball between your legs.
At some point at the end of your pregnancy, the baby descends into your pelvis.1 This may or may not feel like you have a bowling ball between your legs. It is truly the craziest feeling. You are just weeks (or days, or even hours) away from meeting your little one. And that bowling ball may be causing you to feel more “lightning crotch” — that sharp shock feeling in your crotch area from your baby placing so much pressure on the nerves in your pelvis. Ouch!
2. You can no longer eat full meals.
Your internal organs rearrange during pregnancy. Seriously!
Once the baby takes up enough room in your torso, they press into your stomach (and lungs and bladder), and you might find yourself snacking all day because full meals leave you feeling icky. This leads me to my next point . . .
3. You have to pee every 15 minutes (or less).
As the baby starts to descend into your pelvis, they compress your bladder. You might be able to make it a few hours in the middle of the night, but during the day, the signal from your bladder to your brain is strong, and it will probably go off quite often!
4. Wearing clothes is uncomfortable.
Even maternity clothes get too small at the very end of pregnancy! I am thankful I worked from home during pregnancy because you could not have paid me enough to wear pants!
5. You can’t sleep anymore.
Some women find it difficult to sleep in the third trimester with having to go to the bathroom constantly, heartburn and acid reflux, anxiety about labor and delivery, excitement about meeting your baby, and random aches and pains. Many people will tell you that this is to prepare you for sleep with a newborn, but I swear I got more sleep when my son was a newborn than I did during the last few weeks of pregnancy.
6. Pelvic pain, back pain, hip pain, foot pain . . . the list goes on.
Pregnancy comes with a whole host of random aches and pains. I suffered from symphysis pubis dysfunction (SPD) during pregnancy, which is excruciating pelvic pain. Other moms get terrible backache or hip pain. Your body carries so much extra weight on your torso that the aches and pains make sense, but it doesn’t make it any easier! The good news is that SPD and most other random aches and pains went away immediately after delivery.
7. You can no longer get off of the couch without assistance.
I am glad there was never a camera on me while trying to get off the couch in my third trimester. You get all comfortable and cozy, and then bam! It’s like your bladder has a special alarm that goes off at that very moment. If you’re lucky, someone is home with you and can give you a hand getting up. If you are unlucky, you might have to roll very ungracefully off the couch since your core strength is just not enough to catapult your third trimester body off the couch.
8. Your breasts might be leaking.
A fact that shocked me to learn is that as early as your second trimester, your body starts producing breast milk. Along with this, your body also might start leaking breastmilk! If you do find yourself leaking, you may want to go ahead and have some breast pads (reusable or disposable) on hand in case you have to leave the house to avoid any embarrassing situations. You also can discuss with your doctor the benefits and risks of extracting colostrum and freezing it during your third trimester.
9. Rolling over in bed is an Olympic sport.
We talked about getting on and off the couch, and rolling over in bed is just as challenging. Sleeping on your side (ideally your left side) in pregnancy is recommended, but you still have to roll over to get in and out of bed or switch sides for comfort.2 Rolling over with essentially a giant watermelon inside your stomach is a bit of a challenge. Just take it slow, or you might get out of breath!
10. Walking up and down the stairs feels like you ran a marathon.
I mentioned before how your unborn baby is compressing all of your internal organs, including your lungs. I was constantly out of breath in my third trimester because my lungs were not working at their full capacity.
11. Tying your shoes is impossible.
So is shaving your legs or putting on socks. Your belly is so large that doing anything below the waist is tough. You might want to treat yourself to a leg wax! Hopefully, you can get away with wearing sandals or flats or have a kind partner who can help you suit up if you need socks and shoes.
12. You cannot wait to meet your baby!
All of the discomfort, aches, pains, and everything else is worth it the moment you see your sweet baby. I would dream of what they would look like, how they would smell and sound like, and somehow, after my son was born, real life was even better than my dreams!
