Third trimester recap

With just two days left until my C-section, I am going to assume that I can talk about the third trimester without missing out on anything exciting.  Of course I say that and I am totally going to jinx myself!!

First off, this trimester went by SO QUICKLY.  

Various pregnancy symptoms that occurred throughout the trimester included needing Tums after almost every single meal- often more than just two Tums to fully calm my stomach down.  Stairs often leave me out of breath, so I have just tried to walk up them a bit slower than usual.  I have been able to keep taking long walks with Buster, but about halfway through the trimester I started having to walk slower and would get Braxton Hicks contractions throughout the walk.  Constantly feeling hot this trimester, even if it was only 60 degrees in the house, was insane.  

During my first trimester I had a few black hairs on my chin that seemed to grow back just days after plucking them.  Thanks long-term Lupron shots!  The hair on my head grew really quickly as well.  During the second trimester the rest of my hair on my body and head grew quickly, but not the unwanted hairs on my face.  For the third trimester it was like I was back in the first trimester- legs, bikini area and underarms grew slowly, but the chin hairs were back in business.  :-/

As you guys know, I have been rather busty for a while now.  This is something that only got worse with pregnancy.  When we were little, my mom used tell me and my sister to "Check the deck" when we dropped food on our chest.  I swear I am not a gross eater but I often had to check the deck during this pregnancy (a couple of times I had to check the belly!) as soup or whatever I was eating had dropped onto my body.  Can't take me anywhere!!

At the beginning of the third trimester I had an awful six-day bout with a migraine.  Thank goodness there were baby-friendly drugs that I could take to finally relieve the pain.  I only had to take them twice again the rest of the trimester.

Starting at 30 weeks I spotted my first stretch marks on the bottom of my belly.  As of today there are more of them and they are reaching higher up my stomach, but they are still only on my belly.

At 33 weeks I found two black dots on my right nipple.  A quick check by my OB and it was determined they were normal.

At 34 weeks my engagement ring had to come off.  I'm looking forward to putting BOTH of my rings back on.

Biff decided to join Harry's party at 35 weeks. He still sucks on occasion, but didn't end up inviting any more friends.  I look forward to his and Harry's demise soon.   

At 35 1/2 weeks CP finally got to see the squirming belly.  He was transfixed as my belly moved up, around, and all over the place.  (He had felt the baby move before but hadn't paid too much attention to actually seeing it.)

That same weekend CP and I decided to tackle our last home improvement project before the baby arrived. 

Every single OB visit I have had to give a urine sample.  Every single visit I have somehow managed to get some on my clothes or hands.  Until 36 weeks.  I think that I finally have it down!  Maybe I should have taken more OPK and pregnancy tests- I would have been better at this!

Around 37 weeks- HOLY SORENESS.  Sore in thighs, hips, and lady bits area.  Waddling some days, not waddling other days.  I am the most sore when I first get out of bed in the morning or when I have been sitting for a while and first get up.  This has continued for the past two weeks and isn't super comfortable.  But to be honest, I just try to roll with it as much as possible.  It is what it is.  I shouldn't be sailing through the last few weeks of a pregnancy because that wouldn't be normal.

I'm pretty excited to be having this baby soon because I was too cheap to buy a winter jacket.  I didn't really think that Chicago would not only have snow twice already this fall, but also to have highs in only the 20s!  I have been walking around with my dad's fleece that completely zips up with the outer layer of my ski jacket that only buttons halfway down.  Yep, this is how I have been rolling this month.  It's okay, you can laugh- my sister certainly did!!

Finally, don't tell my doctor but I have been trying not to drink too much water towards the end of the night so that I don't have to get up every hour to pee.  I still get up every 2-3 hours so I am not completely dehydrated, but it is still ridiculous.  I'm looking forward to not having a little person pressing on my bladder 24/7.

All of this being said, pregnancy has been an amazing and wonderful experience.  To see my body go through a huge transformation has been crazy and I feel SO, SO lucky that it has gone so well.  To this day, I am still amazed that our first IVF worked.  As I now transfer into becoming a mother in two short days, I will continue to cheer those of you still in the trenches. Thanks for sticking with me!!