Third Trimester

My third trimester was awesome...ly hard. But also awesome. Here are some of the cool things, and some of the...well..funny, but not very fun things. 

I could feel my baby move a LOT! I really loved watching my belly dance as he did his own little kick box routine. I could begin to distinguish his little body parts and loved to try to wake him up when I wanted him to move some more. I felt like he always woke up when Carter would talk to him, especially when he played the guitar. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but I'd like to think that Jayden knew his daddy's voice. It was nice to be on the homestretch. I was anxious to see my little boy.

I started really gaining weight, which normally would not make me happy, but since it was for the baby I was kind of excited. However, the major increase in hunger and thirst was not exciting, just inconvenient. I went 6 months into pregnancy without gaining a lot (about 7-8 pounds by 6 months) but then it was like KA--BOOM! I ended up gaining 29 pounds, which means that in three months I gained like 21-22 lbs. Crazy! I was ALWAYS hungry and thirsty. Especially thirsty. I thought I was thirsty in the second trimester, but holy moly, nope. That wasn't thirst. I could never get enough liquid in me.

Then I was really hot, all the time. If there wasn't moving air, I'd get claustophobic and feel miserable. Poor Carter had to deal with two fans and a blasting AC at night because I could not handle the heat. He was really nice about it though, especially after I bought him ear muffs to wear around the house. Think Father of the Bride Part 2. I almost cried with joy when our hotel room in Las Vegas had an AC that would get the room to a breezy 60'. You can bet I had that puppy going constantly.

Obviously, with the heat comes the swelling. I finally gave up on wearing my normal wedding ring because I preferred to have blood circulating in my finger. I wore my back up big ring, but missed the real thing. When we went to Vegas for the weekend we'd walk around in 95-110' heat and Carter says he could feel a very noticeable difference in my hand size. I literally had sausage fingers. I wish I took a picture because it was kind of cool looking, but oh well. Next pregnancy. All of my shoes felt too small and I'm sure I had awesome cankles. Again, I wish I had taken a picture.

I think the biggest thing that I struggled with was the fatique and discomfort that comes with having an awkward sized body. I always felt SO tired and achy. Baths and hot tubs became my best friends. I couldn't really sleep at night because I was so uncomfortable and would then feel even more tired. The Harry Potter books saved my bacon because holy cow, its hard to not go insane when its 3am and your exhausted but cannot sleep. I would pretty much read all night until I finally crashed. But hey, having to read Harry Potter is never a bad thing! I love those books

34 weeks into my pregnancy I started having contractions. There was a lot of pressure in my lower tummy and I felt really off. We went to Labor and Delivery and turns out I had a kidney infection. I really hate crying wolf so it was a real struggle to admit that I needed to go to the doctor, but I'm so happy I did because had we waited, the kidney infection would've gotten real labor going and I would've ended up having my baby. The nurse in the hospital said that it was really smart to go when I did. I'm glad we caught it in time. They gave me a few IVs of antibiotics and sent me on my way. Man I'm grateful for modern medicine. That could've been bad!

But anyways...the third trimester was definitely better than the first, but I was still more than ready to be done with being pregnant. I couldn't wait to meet my boy!

At 33 weeks

While in Vegas

Right before a run (walk)...I think 30 weeks? Not sure

37 weeks, right before I had him.