One of the biggest questions I had when I was pregnant was “Why am I so hungry all the time?” The doc’s answer was “Hormones, everyone reacts differently when they are pregnant.” This is so true. Some women eat more in their first or second trimester and can’t seem to look at food in the last trimester. When you only have a few weeks left, some women can’t eat because the baby is pushing on so many internal parts that it may feel that they are sitting on your stomach.
Another question you may have is “When will I get a good night’s sleep?” When the baby is six months old and starts sleeping through the night. Another question is “How do I know I’m in labor?” Again my doc told me “You’ll know.” Well that is not totally true. There are contractions called Braxton Hicks contractions. Another word for these are false labor. This can happen when you’re under a lot of stress or you’re pushing yourself to do too much. Slowing down and bed rest might help ease these. If taking it easy and bed rest don’t work, then call your doctor. He should be able to tell you what else you can do.
Another question I asked was “What happens if I go into labor early?” The first thing to remember, if you deliver in the first part of the third trimester your child will be born small and fragile, but has a very good chance to survive and become happy and healthy. They can do so much more for preemies now then they could twelve years ago when my daughter was born.
And the last question is “How do I know when my water breaks?” You will know. I was having back pains really bad, so I called my doctor. He told me to go to the hospital. When I arrived at the maternity ward, my back was killing me but after awhile they told me it was false labor. So I got up to get dressed to go home and may water broke. Its nothing you can control or even stop, it just comes and keeps coming until it is done. Needless to say, I stayed and at 2:44am my daughter was born. This is the best part of the whole nine month experience. Even though she was bloody and not washed off, I wanted to hold her. She was the most beautiful and precious thing I have ever seen in my life. She was a gift from God. So relax and don’t feel silly asking questions. If its important to you, tell your doctor and don’t take the comment, “Don’t worry about that.” Push until you get an answer that satisfies you. Your baby’s health should be your first priority. So speak up and don’t feel that any questions are trivial or silly.
Some physical changes you might experience in your third trimester are stress and urinary incontinence, this can be caused by a sneeze. Shortness of breath can be caused when the baby grows and the lungs don’t have enough space to expand. Fatigued at the end of the day? This is due to the extra weight you’re carrying around and the hormones. Constipation, heartburn, and hemorrhoids are all very aggravating, but can be lessened with laxatives, Tums and Tucks pads. But before you try any of these, ask your doctor what you can take. Being dizzy or faint are other complaints women have in the third trimester. This can be lessened by getting up from laying down and sitting a couple of minutes on the side of the bed and standing slowly. Leg and feet cramps and swelling can not only be aggravating, it can also be painful. To help relieve these conditions, sit down and put your feet up, don’t eat a lot of salt, and drink plenty of water.
With high risk pregnancies, getting to the third trimester is a sigh of relief for all concerned. Even if your baby is born in the twenty seventh week, it stands an excellent chance of surviving. It will be small and skinny, but otherwise look like a fully developed baby.
The most wonderful experience in your life is coming up in just a few weeks. You need as much rest as possible. You may have trouble sleeping because you can’t breathe when lying down. Propping yourself up with a few more pillows is a wonderful way to sleep when you’re in your third trimester. From the twenty seventh week until you deliver can be the most uncomfortable time of your pregnancy you encounter. Just remember that this is temporary, so keep a good attitude and don’t get frustrated. You will meet your little one soon and you will have a lifetime to get to know him.
