So by now you may have realized that baby has arrived!! You can read his birth story in an upcoming blog post and I'll be posting some additional baby content as time goes on but wanted to look back on my third trimester and share an update. 


When did you give birth? I was 36 weeks and 4 days when baby was born. 

How did you feel? I continued to feel pretty good physically and mentally during the third trimester. I was deep into nesting and getting organized. I also felt calm and mostly excited as the weeks went on. (Reminder though, I thought I had about 4 more weeks before things 'got real'). I did get tired again towards the end but a mid day nap was super helpful & I had some aches & pains in my back from carrying the extra weight.

What symptoms did you have? I had a pretty textbook pregnancy in terms of having minimal complications. During the third trimester, as mentioned above, I got super tired again (similar to the first trimester) and had some back pain from the added weight. I also continued to have bad heartburn and reflux anytime after eating. It worsened from my second trimester but went away literally the day I gave birth. Lastly, I would wake up with bloody gums in the week or so before I gave birth which I found to be odd but I think was normal (??). 

Did/Do you have stretch marks? No! I think it's mostly genetics that contribute to stretch marks but I also used the Hatch belly oil every night to try to prevent them and keep my belly moisturized.

Did you exercise during the third trimester? Honestly, no. I got really tired again during my third trimester so I was a lot more likely to take a midday nap than do a midday workout. I'm looking forward to starting to exercise again soon though. It was something I grew to really enjoy at the start of lockdown last year.

How much weight did you gain? I gained about 30 lbs during my pregnancy. It was recommended that I gain anywhere from 25-35 lbs.

Did you feel prepared for birth? Because of COVID, we weren't able to take a hospital tour or any birthing classes online. We ended up not taking any birthing courses online either (I thought I had weeks to go!) but I did follow the Positive Birth Company on Instagram and loved reading their positive birth stories and mantras (ie. Your Body Knows What To Do). I think their account really helped my mindset going into labor and it's true...your body really does know what to do. 

What's in your hospital bag? I'm working on a separate post about this. I read a ton of blog posts from others about what they packed in their bags and used it to pack my bags. My post will outline what I packed and then what we used vs what we could have left home and will also call out a few items that I wish I had brought with me. 

Do you feel prepared for postpartum? I'm now just over 1 month postpartum and I have to say, the first 2-3 weeks postpartum were a lot harder (for me personally) than my pregnancy was. At one point, I said to a friend that I would rather give birth twice than deal with the postpartum recovery & side effects. The 2 week mark felt like a turning point, but I think it took me around 3 weeks to start fully feeling better and adjusting to this new normal.

Is the nursery complete? The nursery was mostly complete when the baby was born. We had been waiting for his glider to arrive and had he not been born early, it would have arrived before his birth. Instead it arrived about 2 weeks after he was born. I also had wanted to get a new light fixture for his room as well as some wall art & curtains. Those have yet to be purchased but they don't affect his ability to live in the room. 

Will you be sharing more baby content? Yes! This is my life stage currently so I plan to share our favorite baby products, photos of the nursery, what's in my diaper bag, etc.