I had my 38-week appointment on Thursday and found out I am already 3 centimeters dilated! This means that baby really could be here at any time. I thought I ought to get a third trimester bumpdate on the blog just in case I don’t have very much longer in my third trimester!
Glucose Test (and Fail)
At around 28 weeks you do a glucose screening to check for gestational diabetes. You drink this drink that has 50 grams of sugar in it and then they check your blood sugar. Well, I ended up failing that test! If you fail, it does not mean that you have gestational diabetes, it just means that you must do another screening that is 3-hours. I went back a week later for the 3-hour test. This time I had to drink 100 grams of sugar and then they checked my blood sugar every hour for 3 hours to check for certain levels. This one I passed! I was very stressed about this whole thing, but it all turned out okay! The doctor said that certain women have more of a sensitivity to glucose while pregnant, and I probably have some sort of “sensitivity” but I did not need to change my diet or anything.
Girls Trip
My mom and my sister took me on a fun girls’ trip to San Diego! It was kind of like a second ‘babymoon’ but this time with my girls! We spent Memorial Day weekend relaxing on the beach, eating great food, and enjoying the spa! It was so fun and a great last trip for me and the baby. The doctor was a little concerned that I flew over to San Diego at 30 weeks pregnant, but everything went great. I wrote about it here if you want to learn more about traveling this late in pregnancy.
Baby Showers
I had three baby showers during my third trimester and each one was extremely special! Tony’s family had a shower in Chicago, my work ‘family’ had one at work, and then my mom had one here in Minnesota for friends and family. It was so fun to celebrate the baby with my special people. It was also so fun to open all of Baby Schrank’s presents! Once we got all of those presents (and things we really needed!) I really started to feel more prepared for baby’s arrival.
Nursery Setup
We spent a lot of the third trimester prepping the nursery. Tony had to spackle and paint the room, assemble a lot of furniture, and do countless other things for the babe. He is the best! Baby’s nursery is a littler non-traditional being that we live downtown in a condo. Baby’s room has no windows, no door, and no closet. We had to be innovative in how we set it up! I can’t wait to reveal it soon! If you want a ‘sneak peak’ of sorts, I showed our changing table area and organization the other day on the blog!
Baby Classes
We took 4 different classes through Amma Parenting Center (if you’re local!) We took childbirth (the 1-day 7-hour session), breastfeeding, newborn, and infant CPR. All were very informative, and we learned a ton! There was a lot of overlap in the breastfeeding and newborn classes, so if you are going to eliminate one I would eliminate breastfeeding. Overall, it was a great experience and I highly recommend!
Appointments
Because I am high risk, we began having weekly appointments at 32 weeks (normally this does not start until 36 weeks). At each appointment, we do an ultrasound, a non-stress test, and we see the doctor. The appointments are around 1.5 hours and quite the commitment! At the appointment the put the baby through all of these “tests” that are scored out of 8. Baby has gotten an 8 every single week and is doing great! The tests are things like movement, practice breathing, growth, etc. Because of these tests, we have been able to track how big our baby is. Right now (38 weeks) it is measuring 6 pounds and 13 ounces, which is perfect!
Hospital Bag
Tony and I packed the hospital bags (for all 3 of us!) so we are ready at any moment. It was kind of fun putting everything together (especially all of the newborn clothes!) I showed what I packed in this post and so many of you have found it helpful. Some of your favorite items are the slippers and the nursing bras which are both steals of a deal!
Sciatica
I’ve had this pain since about 14 weeks pregnant. At around 30 weeks, the pain became excruciating. I think it’s because that is when baby went head down? It’s hard to be sure. I could barely function. I couldn’t walk, it was extremely difficult to sit down and stand up, etc. I thought, there is no way I can do 10 more weeks like this. Luckily the pain went away (for the most part!) I think it helped to get prenatal massages, keep using the heating pad, and also stretch!
Other Symptoms
- Swelling – It’s been excruciatingly hot and humid across the whole country these last few weeks. Unfortunately, this late in pregnancy it’s hard to control the swelling, but I am wearing compression socks, keeping my feet up, and just trying to take it easy. I have been ‘dry brushing’ my legs sometimes to try and help.
- Back pain – This has really been ramping up as the third trimester has gone on!
- Sleep – Getting up in the middle of the night a lot and getting up super early! This is just getting me ready for a newborn! I’ve used this pillow the whole pregnancy.
