The third trimester is pretty tough. Your belly seems to grow by the day and all the extra weight (that’s, y’know, concentrated to one single part of your body) starts feeling, well, heavy. I started feeling a lot slower and more tired in the third trimester. Normal tasks get more and more difficult as pregnancy progresses, and you have this near-constant reminder that you’re not able to do all the things you could before you were pregnant. That being said, here are the things I’ve been enjoying in my third (and final!) trimester:
Baths: I’ve never been much of a “bath person.” Part of this is probably due to the fact that I’ve never had a really deep luxurious tub since I’ve been an adult, but I also like to get showering over and done with quickly because I generally have 400 things I’m trying to take care of every night. Being pregnant though, sometimes there’s just nothing better than taking some time to sit and relax in the warm water, lighting some candles and listening to soothing music. I started taking baths when I noticed that my body was feeling especially tired and achey at the end of a long day, and man does it make a difference. My tub is just a regular 1926 standard bathtub too, so don’t think you need some fancy soaking tub to feel the relaxing benefits of a bath!
Prenatal Massage: My birthday was last month, and one of the few things on my wishlist was a prenatal massage. I was finally able to get that massage yesterday (on my first official day of maternity leave!) and let me tell you — it was amazing. There is absolutely nothing like a massage during the third trimester to help ease some of the discomfort. If you can afford to get a massage, or can talk someone into getting you a gift card to a spa that specializes in prenatal massage, DO IT. You won’t regret it!
Pregnancy Tea: I started drinking pregnancy tea in the evenings recently, and while it isn’t exactly life-changing, it’s a nice way to wind down on the couch in the evening. I think it does give me some braxton hicks contractions (though I can’t be sure since I’ve been having them off and on since 22 weeks), but it’s supposed to help ready your body for delivery, so hopefully that’s what it’s doing. I also bought some raspberry leaf tea, but I haven’t been brave enough to drink it yet because I’m kind of nervous that it’s going to send me into labor… (Probably totally illogical, but still.)
Clothing: Nothing new on this front, really. Sticking to the workout wear I mentioned in my last favorites post (and am wearing in the picture above), plus the Old Navy maxi dresses I’ve mentioned 100 times. I also picked up one of the Gap Fit Breathe V-neck Tees, which is really soft and stretchy. I love that you can wear it to workout or with jeans or shorts as a regular top; plus it comes in a lot of colors.
Skin and Beauty: Same old, same old here. Still sticking with the Burt’s Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter (and no stretch marks yet!) I’m really diligent about putting it all over my belly every single night, so I’m hoping I can make it to the end without a mark in sight. (Fingers crossed!)