Hello, hello friends!
I’m so excited to be rounding the corner to the third trimester. Although that comes with a bigger belly, slower movement, and difficulty getting things that have fallen don’t the floor, it also means we are rounding the home stretch!
This month, pregnancy wasn’t just pregnancy because it was pregnancy during the holidays. It was busy, fun, and exhausting. It definitely made time FLY by super fast!
I definitely felt, in some ways, this last month was a bit of my sweet spot. I was showing, but not huge. I didn’t feel like I needed to fall asleep standing up most of the time and could generally make it through the day with decent energy. Which is great because pregnancy with a preschooler and a toddler is not for the weak. Well, pregnancy, in general, is not for the weak haha I found myself stalking Instagram for pasta recipes. Definitely an intense craving of mine! That and drunken noodles from Thai food is still a pretty strong craving too! And I’ve been eating a ton of yogurt bowls with Chobani low-sugar yogurt, banana, granola, and peanut butter!
It’s funny how different each pregnancy is. After I wrote this post, I read Weeks 26-27 with Baby 1 and weeks 24-27 with Baby 2. It made me realize how different this pregnancy is from the last ones. It’s wild how each baby gets their own story!
Anyways, I felt pretty good the past few weeks, except for one nagging issue, stomach pain around my belly button. I had a similar pain after I delivered KK, which reoccurred very briefly postpartum. A pelvic floor PT said she thought it might be an umbilical hernia, but in any case, I didn’t have much problem with it until right around 22 weeks. The pain was coming and going frequently, no matter what I did. The internet said to stop strength training and wear support bands, so I did that. It was the holidays, so it was hard to get in with anyone, but eventually, I got in with my chiropractor a couple of weeks ago. By this time, I was spiraling pretty hard. What would I do if I couldn’t work out for the next six months (4 months of pregnancy and two months postpartum), baby and I would lose all the benefits of working out in pregnancy, and would labor be harder? So. Much. Spiraling.
After the assessment, Dr. K wasn’t 100% confident that it was an umbilical hernia and mentioned it might be diastasis recti. In any case, he said we still had to work on stability the best we could. He gave me a set of exercises to do three times a day, which I followed the first week religiously, and my pain significantly improved. I’m still having issues with upper body workouts, but mostly lower body and combined activities decrease my pain. My OB also referred me to a surgeon to get imaging done and determine if it was a hernia or, instead, Diastasis pain.
PS I asked my OB for imaging. He refused to send me himself and said surgeons were the best to evaluate (even though umbilical hernia surgery has a 70% failure rate.) He hasn’t evaluated, felt it, looked at it, nothing. He said if I started vomiting to go to the ER (because it can become strangulated, needing emergency surgery.) Comforting, right? I had to press him on getting the imaging, so you know, a friendly reminder to advocate for yourself. He did say imaging would be good because it’s easier to see in pregnancy, and if it ever does become strangulated, it would be documented that it is there. So you know, that’s fun.
Overall I’m feeling 75% better working with Dr. K and plan to continue biweekly appointments until delivery.
I’m happy to be able to work out again, but I’ve also been more consistent with walking too! I asked my MIL to hold me accountable on the days she’s here, so after school drop-off, we’ve been walking Nala and KK for 30-45 minutes twice a week. That’s been great because walking was something I kept pushing off, thinking I could do it later and then it wouldn’t happen. Bad for pregnant Kelli and bad for poor Nala. So my MIL has been a big help on that one! And God bless her because I walk like a 20-minute or worse mile. LMAO, it’s slow going.
(PS I told Mr. Hungry I want to finally get the big mirrors installed in the new house after I give birth as my “push present,” haha!)
Speaking of walking, two weekends ago, while walking with the whole family, I twisted my ankle in a pothole and spent 4 hours in OB triage. Fun fact, I’ve rolled my ankle and fallen in every pregnancy, but it’s usually earlier on in the pregnancy, so I’ve never had to go to triage before. My guess is that I have an old high school ankle injury that becomes weak when the relaxin hormones hit it combined with pregnancy clumsiness, which makes me fall, haha But I had no idea how dangerous it was to fall this late in pregnancy, so that raised my anxiety 6 thousand percent. So, you know, that’s fun!
But you know, I’m just super excited to be entering the third trimester soon. I’m starting to feel nostalgic about KK not being the youngest anymore. I know he will look so big when the baby comes! Even though pregnancy is hard, I’m trying to soak up this time and appreciate our current family dynamics for what they are because I know it’s going to be a massive shift when baby girl gets here!
OH, BUT ALSO! Friends, the comments, haha Oh man, have I had some fun comments in the last few weeks! In response to random strangers finding out we are having a third baby, I’ve heard some fascinating responses that I wasn’t prepared for. Growing up, I was not catholic, went to a typical public school, and the family sizes of my friends ranged from 1-3 kids, so I thought that was normal. It wasn’t until I became Catholic that I started meeting people who had 4+ kids or were from families with 4+ kids. But I never considered three kids to be a really big family. Apparently, many people do not share that view and aren’t afraid to share their opinion, though.
- Oh, so you finally got a girl. You must be done now, then?
- Oh, you guys are just out there populating the world, huh?
- Oh, you’ve been just popping them out like candy every two years then?
It doesn’t really bother me. I think the frequency of comments just caught me off guard because I never considered three to be big, but, you know, whatever! To each their own, I guess!
In other news, I made a little list of things I need to do starting in the third trimester:
How is it there is so much to do still with a third baby? I thought there was nothing to do, but random things kept popping into my head. When I wrote it all out, I was surprised by how much was on the list! I don’t know why I thought there was nothing on the list haha I felt like, oh, this is the third baby. They just show up and join the family. Not exactly haha
- Move the dresser to our room temporarily
- Order HATCH Scale
- Order Newton Mattress
- Install car seats
- set up bassinet
- set up swing
- go through baby boxes in the garage
- order baby sensory matt from love every
- order doctor set for the boys
- order boys present from the baby
- order outfits for the newborn photoshoot
- order breast pump
- set up old breast pump, clean and sanitize, etc
- order honest diapers
- Make freezer meals
- pack hospital bag
- meet with doula
- start hypnobirthing tapes
Lastly, I’m feeling the baby move a lot in the last couple of weeks, which is so fun! I had to wait a while since I have an anterior placenta, and she isn’t measuring quite as big as the boys! In my last appointment, my fundal height was 25, and I was barely 26, so pretty much right on. Anyways, I love feeling her move because it reminds me that I’m pregnant (I forget a lot with this one, haha) and really decreases my anxiety. Although then I get anxious about if I’m paying attention to movement enough. Ha ha, I can’t win. Have a wonderful rest of your week, friends!
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