HOW IS IT TIME FOR MY LAST PREGNANCY DIARY ALREADY?!
Seriously, this whole experience has been pretty surreal and I can’t believe we’re near the end now. Here’s a write-up of my experiences and symptoms over the last 3 months of pregnancy.
Oh and if you haven’t already, go read my Pregnancy Diaries from the First Trimester and Second Trimester.
Here goes, the third and final trimester…
Pregnancy Diaries: The Third Trimester
The 7th Month (Weeks 27-30)
There’s something scary about entering the third trimester. I’ve felt a bit of a panic to buy all the nursery furniture and pack the hospital bag and generally just get my shit together before the baby arrives. I mean I know I have a few months left (hopefully, don’t come early plz baby, I’m not ready for you yet!), but I’m being super organised trying to sort my life out. I believe this is what the experts call “nesting“.
I’ve written a separate post about all of the nursery furniture and baby essentials I’ve bought, all ready for the baby, but let’s just say it’s been a constant stream of visits to IKEA, Mothercare and Mamas And Papas this month!
I’ve also been keen to organise my social life with all of the Halloween/Bonfire Night/Christmas activities coming up. I know I’ll have to make some compromises on a few things this year, but it’s just making me feel better knowing that there’s nothing else I need to think about during this period, y’know? My diary is booked up with lovely things to enjoy pre-baby and everything is organised ahead of time.
Speaking of which I’ve also started Christmas shopping to make myself feel more prepared. It’s currently October so not insanely early, but still. I’m keen this year, clearly.
I’m still struggling with sleep and that good ol’ fatigue from the first trimester seems to be creeping back into my life. But otherwise month 7 hasn’t been too horrific.
Although around week 29 I was woken up in the night with what felt like an electric shock to my groin! I immediately googled it and read that it’s called ‘lightning crotch!‘. It’s when the baby’s head engages with your pelvis. Terrifying to think she’s already getting in position for birth!
And the baby kicks/movements have definitely turned up a gear. I can full-on see my stomach move now and every now and then I get a pretty hefty dig in the ribs, which makes me gasp. Or she kicks downwards which I really don’t like. It’s like she’s trying to escape…
Oh and as my uterus has expanded I’ve started to get pins and needles just under my ribs, presumably because it’s trapping a nerve. So that’s not so fun, but what you gonna do.
I’ve also started having my bump measured during my midwife appointments. At week 28 the midwife measured the length of my uterus and plotted it on a chart so that we can monitor that the baby is growing the way she should. Although I couldn’t help but notice she was measuring in the 90th centile… So I’m a bit worried about A) birthing a big baby and B) an early arrival! I guess only time will tell…
The 8th Month (Weeks 31-35)
Hello week 31. Hello month 8. Hello the constant trips to the toilet. Yep, I need to pee every half an hour and like a teaspoon comes out. It’s so frustrating.
I’m also getting out of breath every time I climb stairs. Which y’know mainly makes me feel like some kind of beached whale. But apparently this is normal as the baby is taking up so much room now and there’s less space for me to breathe! So yeah, thanks for that, kid.
I did have a little scare this month though.
At my 31 week midwife appointment I was measured again and my uterus was off the charts! Whereas last time I was in the 90th centile for 28 weeks, at 31 weeks I was now measuring 35 weeks! It’s a bit of a warning sign when you grow faster than expected so I was sent for a growth scan at the hospital a couple of days later.
This seems to be pretty common so I wasn’t worrying that much about it beforehand, and actually at the scan we could see that baby was measuring the right size. Thankfully. Really don’t want to give birth to a giant baby. But whilst we were there the sonographer picked up that the blood flow in the umbilical cord wasn’t looking so great. So I spent the day being monitored in the ADAU and having a repeat scan in the afternoon. All was fine in the end, but it was a very scary and emotionally draining day thinking that something might be wrong.
I think these things just tend to happen in pregnancy. Most people I’ve spoken to have had a scare or two during these very long 9 months. But I’m just happy everything is looking A-OK now.
Month 8 was also when Josh and I did our NCT course. They’re private antenatal classes that I heard good things about so booked pretty early-on in my pregnancy. And I mean, it’s good we did because we never got offered the NHS class in the end, and word on the street is they’re not all that informative anyway. And to be honest, as first time parents, we wanted all the training we could get!
I really liked these classes. There were 7 weekday evening classes across 3 weeks, so it did feel quite full-on, but every class I came away with information I thought would be super useful. It’s weird, I booked the hypnobirthing class I did a few months ago, thinking it would be very spiritual and woo-woo and it turned out to be very scientific. Then I booked NCT for a medical view on things and actually it backed up a lot of hypnobirthing practices!
I came away from the course feeling ready for labour and birth. I know what to look out for, I know what happens after you give birth (they never show that on TV) and I know some skills for early parenting such as bathing, feeding and changing. Something I was completely clueless about beforehand. We even had a session just on breastfeeding that was non-judgemental and based on fact rather than opinion. It was all very fact-driven actually, I liked that about NCT.
It was also just nice to talk to other pregnant couples to be honest. I’m not on commission or anything by the way, I just really liked these antenatal classes! Would recommend it to other pregs couples for sure.
Week 33 welcomed a pregnancy symptom I was hoping I would avoid – stretch marks. I know I’ve done pretty well to get to this point without any, but it’s still a bit overwhelming when you see your first one. I promptly proceeded to slather my entire body in creams and oils and butters. I will not be beat.
This month I’ve also noticed that I’ve slowed right down. I ended up having to cancel some of the social events I so happily signed up to last month. I went home from Halloween early and my friends had to find me a seat when we watched the fireworks. And I didn’t end up going to my friend’s 30th party in London, because London. It’s ok, I’m just trying to listen to my body more and relax as much as possible.
I’ve also used up the rest of my annual leave to give myself 4 day weeks leading up to my maternity leave. So it’s 3 days of relaxation and 4 days of manically trying to complete my handover at work. So y’know, balance.
The 9th Month (Weeks 36-40)
My ninth and final month of pregnancy just so happens to have fallen across the Christmas period. And well, there are pros and cons to this.
I mean it kinda sucks because there are lots of lovely things I like to do over Christmas that I haven’t been able to. Y’know like drink mulled wine at Christmas markets, indulge in a camembert, eat a decent cheese board and get merry on the open bar at the work Christmas party.
But it’s also probably a bit of a blessing. Because this last month is pretty hard and the festivities have definitely given me some distractions from waiting around for this baby. And distractions from the symptoms of this last month of pregnancy.
Turns out being 9 months pregnant isn’t all that fun. Who knew?
I’m still struggling with sleep, am constantly out of breath and have very little motivation for most things. I’m just a total pregnant cliche.
Some of those hideous First Trimester symptoms seems to have returned too – like nausea and an upset stomach and fatigue. OH GREAT, GLAD THAT’S ALL BACK.
The most annoying thing though is that because there’s not a whole lot of room in my abdomen, I can’t eat big meals anymore. And as a massive foodie, this is not ok. I generally end up eating more than is comfortable then suffer with heartburn for the rest of the evening. When will I learn, ay?
But something fab that happened this month is that my best friends threw me a baby shower!
I don’t like being the centre of attention so it was a small little gathering – just my 4 best girlfriends, my mum and nan, and Josh’s mum and sister – but it was so lovely. I’ve never actually been to a baby shower before and didn’t really know what to expect. But we had lots of nibbles, a v delicious CostCo cake and played some games that were only like 20% cringey (pretty good for the levels of cringe that baby shower games can be I think).
And they COMPLETELY spoiled me and the baby. Like seriously, they got me so many amazing gifts. This little girl has so many awesome people that love her already, she’s one lucky duck.
In terms of maternity leave, I made the decision early-on to work right up to Christmas. A lot of women finish earlier in their pregnancy to give them time to rest and prepare for the baby. But as my office shuts for Christmas, I figured that by working up to the break I would be able to get a couple of weeks extra of full-pay before officially starting my mat leave in January. And y’know, with a baby on the way, those pennies count!
The last couple weeks of work were definitely more difficult than I imagined they would be – just walking to the printer felt like a lot of effort. But as it’s Christmas, it’s been fun to be involved in all the festivities at work rather than be hanging out at home doing nothing.
But I have to say, actually leaving work, handing over my job to someone else and saying goodbye to colleagues, was tough. I like my job and it’s harder to let go than I thought it would be. But as I keep telling everyone – “Don’t worry, I’m definitely coming back!”
Christmas itself was nice but obviously a little different than usual. No boozy Christmas Eve or Bucks Fizz with breakfast. And I spent most of Boxing Day in bed because I’m JUST. SO. TIRED. But I made sure to get out of the house too. I don’t want to just be at home waiting around for the baby, so I went to the pub with some friends, had some nice lunches with Josh and brunch with one of my besties.
But yes, I’m getting impatient now.
Appointments ramped up this month with midwife check-ups every other week. Mostly they’ve been good with blood pressure normal, baby engaged and in the right position, all that jazz. My midwife says I’m “textbook” which I really like.
But at my 38 week appointment it looked like my uterus hadn’t grown in the previous 2 weeks, so I was sent for another growth scan… Which is a little annoying because it’s like, this is the last stretch! Can’t she just be born already?! It was all fine though, baby is actually already measuring at an estimated weight of 7lb 13oz… PRAY FOR KARA.
Ok… so I think I’m going to end my ninth month here, lads. I’m currently 39 weeks pregnant and only have 7 days left until my due date. I mean, we all know babies don’t arrive on schedule but still, I want to relax while I can and wrap up this blog post. Because chances are once the baby arrives I’m going to be a bit MIA for a while!
So yes, that was my last month of pregnancy. And what a rollercoaster it’s been.
Wow, I can’t believe this journey is nearly over! Pregnancy has felt incredibly long but also like it was just yesterday that we found out we were expecting this little girl of ours. It’s also been a lot harder than I thought it would be, but I’m confident it will all be worth it when this chick makes an appearance.
Here’s to the New Year and the next chapter – becoming a mum and raising a daughter and being a family.
Fuck, when did I get so old?
Thanks for reading my Pregnancy Diaries over the last 9 months! Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below or head over to my Instagram where I’ll likely make my birth announcement very soon… eek!
