How to Survive the Third Trimester

I’m not going to lie – being pregnant hasn’t been a picnic for me. Before getting pregnant, I was so excited about it. I was ready to dress the bump, show it off and soak in all the precious moments before Baby F came.

However, my pregnancy ideas were quickly changed when I started throwing up daily at 5 weeks. This “morning sickness” which really is a terrible name has stayed with me throughout the pregnancy. At 34 weeks, I am still throwing up occasionally.

That paired with the aches, pains, lack of sleep and the inability to ever get comfortable (no matter how many pillows I pile around me) makes pregnancy a challenge.

Now, this isn’t to say that I am not forever grateful that I am able to carry my baby – and there are many positives to being pregnant. Getting to feel her kick and move is one of the coolest feelings ever! And along the way, I have found different things that have helped make this pregnancy easier on my mind and body so I wanted to make sure to share those with you before my baby brain took over and I forget all of them!

How to Survive the Third Trimester

Be mentally prepared

I feel like when I was preparing to get pregnant, no one discusses the toll that pregnancy takes on your mind and body. I was blissfully unaware of all the things that we bound to come at me during the next 9 months.

Now, maybe you will be one of the lucky ones and have a super easy pregnancy (I really pray for that for you!) But if you aren’t, I find it is best to know what is coming and prepare yourself for it.

Accept help and rest when you need to

I had a hard time with this. We had to move from the USA to Germany while I was in my third trimester and so I felt like I needed to do so much. Between planning, organizing, packing and working – it certainly took its toll on my body. Often times making me have prolonged false labor contractions.

I quickly realized that I couldn’t do the same amount of activity that I could before pregnancy, and I accepted that. My husband was wonderful in taking on more things and I was able to rest and relax when I needed to – this made me feel so much better!

Take it day by day

I swear that the third trimester is the LONGEST period of time ever. I felt like each day would drag by. I was so excited and anxious to meet our little girl! However, once I was able to preoccupy my time with other things, it made the time go by faster.

Aches and Pains

There are many aches and pains that come along with pregnancy. Before we moved to Germany, I was regularly seeing a chiropractor and it made all the difference! They were able to help alleviate these pains – it was amazing!

Another great way to help alleviate pain was to wear a “pregnancy belt”. I have no idea what the technical term for this is but I had either leggings or a tank top that was able to help support the weight of my stomach, and support my back. This was the tank top that I had, and so many Mama’s swore by it that I gave it a try. I was super skeptical because of the price, but let me tell you, it is sooooo worth it!

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Heartburn

Ready to feel like your throat is on fire? And all your food is threatening to evacuate? Sorry for that graphic image… but heartburn can be pretty bad in the third trimester. I found that by eating frequent smaller meals helped a lot! It also was super helpful to stay upright and moving for about 30 minutes after eating. And at night, I always made sure to keep myself propped up when sleeping.

Take time for yourself

Each day I would take a bath or shower at the end of the day to relax and unwind. I also allowed myself to go to bed early and wake up late. Treat yourself in whatever way you can, because from what I hear, that free time is about to get a lot less!

And there you have it, those are my tips for how to survive the third trimester! Enjoy this time because I am sure looking back, it will go by fast! You got this Mama!