What The Third Trimester Of Pregnancy Was Like For Me

SHOP THE OUTFIT: Anabelle Dress | Gold Monogram Necklace

Now that Carter is born (can’t believe he’s over a month old!), I can recap what the third trimester was like for me. Hopefully I can remember it. The third trimester feels soooo long ago even though it was about 6 weeks ago haha. Having Carter completely transformed our life. Like right now, he’s in the BabyBjorn baby carrier as I type this out because he was being so fussy. This was the only thing that could get him to calm him down. Having him in the carrier while doing the electric slide really helps too haha.

I’ve also shared what the first trimester and second trimester were like for me. Read about my 1st trimester experience here and read about my 2nd trimester experience here.

What the Third Trimester of Pregnancy Was Like For Me

I never made it to the full 40 weeks. Carter came out exactly at 38 weeks and he decided to be breech at the very last second. Haha, go figure! He was head down the entire time until my 38 week ultrasound. So all of my 3rd trimester experiences were up to that 38th week.

Third Trimester Experience

I felt my best in the third trimester. Despite all those annoying and frustrating pregnancy symptoms, I was feeling good about everything and I had learned to manage the symptoms. So the 3rd trimester was my favorite. 

Starting at 31 weeks, I had to have a weekly ultrasound. This was due to me being categorized as a high risk pregnancy due to my health history, specifically my history with hypertension.

At 31 weeks and 35 weeks, it was the growth ultrasound. The 4D ultrasound is incredible and honestly I didn’t know it existed. At most I thought there was only 3D which we experienced during our 20 week appointment. The growth ultrasound checked the size of the baby such as the head circumference, weight, and length.

The remaining weekly ultrasounds are known as the BPP test (biophysical profile). They check for the baby’s fetal movement, heart beat, baby breathing, amniotic fluid, and muscle tone. I can’t recall which week it was (maybe 32 or 33) but I remember that our Sweet Pea was in a deep sleep that they couldn’t verify if he was breathing. Right before my appointment, he was kicking and moving quite a bit.

So it was strange because this little guy is ALWAYS moving no matter what.

He’s so active! They tried to wake him up and when that didn’t work they had me eat and drink the sweetest things possible. He still did not budge. They didn’t want me to leave until they could verify the breathing so I had to do a Stress Test. I was getting worried because I hoped nothing was wrong. Eventually during the Stress Test, they were able to verify the breathing and movement. PHEW! Otherwise, I would have to go to Labor & Delivery.

Since I was having ultrasounds every week, they were able to confirm his body’s positions and it wasn’t until the 38 weeks that he decided to breech! What a little rascal haha. 

Third Trimester Symptoms

Just keep in mind when reading through my symptoms that everyone’s pregnancy experience is different. 

Gas/Farting

The gassiness and farting intensified in the 3rd trimester. This might be TMI, but I had never farted this much in my life haha!

More Intense Heartburn/Indigestion

I had a lot of heartburn!!! So when I laid down, I had to make sure I was slightly propped up to make it feel a little better. Now I think the old wives tale is true that when you have major heartburn it means the baby has a lot of hair. Carter has A LOT of hair. I was the same way when I was born. Just had a head full of thick hair haha.

Backache

I didn’t experience many backaches until it was towards the end of my pregnancy. Around 35 weeks my back was constantly aching. I had to constantly lean back on something so that it felt supported or use a heating pad to relieve the ache.

Pelvic Pressure

The pelvic pressure for sure intensified especially at 37 weeks. Like I said, he was head down almost the entire time until the very end. And I can tell he was decscending each time. It was hard to walk and I was for sure waddling. I had to use the maternity support belt quite often!

Drooling

I remember my mom asking if I was drooling. I thought that was a weird thing to ask, but it turns out it is a pregnancy symptom. The amount of drool I had while sleeping was ridiculous haha.

Nasal Congestion

My nose was always congested. It was annoying. So to relieve it, I used a Neti-Pot with saline rinse once a day.

Nausea & Vomiting

I’ve heard that some of the 1st trimester symptoms will come back during the 3rd trimester and it was true for me. The nausea and vomiting came back at 31 weeks. Soo annoying! Throwing up would come out of nowhere too. I would be having a normal conversation with Tre and all of a sudden I have the sudden urge to vomit. My OB told me the vomitting is due to my stomach being so compressed.

Extra Dry / Sensitive Skin

During my entire pregnancy my skin was extremely sensitive and dry. So I was not surprised that it lingered in my third trimester of pregnancy. Necessaire body lotion and body serum were the only products that seemed to work for me.

Shortness Of Breath 

As each week went by, the shortness of breath intensified. It’s kind of a tricky symptom during COVID because whenever I go in to the hospital for doctor appointments they would ask if I was experiencing any symptoms such as shortness of breath, etc. So I had to say yes and explain it is because I’m pregnant and not because of COVID.

Braxton Hicks 

Honestly, I had no idea I was experiencing Braxton Hicks until my OB asked if I felt any tightening of my stomach and balling up and she told me that that feeling is Braxton Hicks. It wasn’t painful and it went away after a few seconds.

Frequent Urination

This pregnancy symptom should come as no surprise. It increased each week and I was definitely peeing a lot more the week Carter was born.

Lightheaded

I started to get lightheaded at 37 weeks. When I did experience it, I just took it easy. I didn’t know this, but my OB told me to let them know about this asap when this happened. It could have been a sign labor was coming.

More About My Pregnancy

The third trimester of pregnancy felt like the fastest of all the pregnancy trimesters. Before I knew it, I was full term and the baby was already here. Every single day I feel so grateful and blessed. Carter is our miracle baby. I didn’t think having a baby after cancer was possible for us and here he is. It makes me so emotional whenever I think about it. 

I’m really glad I got a lot of things done earlier on in our pregnancy such as the nursery and buying the car seat and stroller, and taking prenatal classes. So all I had to do was take care of myself and full on nesting. 

I also think that staying active during my pregnancy has helped me a lot with alleviating the pregnancy symptoms and with recovery. It really prepped my body for delivery and recovery, especially after a C-section. 

One thing I wished I put in more effort to do was to have more date nights with Tre and really take advantage of it just being us two for the last time. So if any of you are expecting, I highly recommend taking time with your significant other. Because right now, our lives revolve around Carter nonstop.

P.S. – For maternity style ideas check out my favorite maternity dresses, maternity overalls, and maternity jeans.

For all you mamas, how was your third trimester experience?

xo RD