Surviving the Third Trimester.

I cannot believe that we are in the 3rd trimester! Today I am 30 weeks and 1 day pregnant ... when you break that down, it means that I have 10 weeks - give or take a few weeks - to go before birth, and just 6 weeks before I could start my maternity leave. I cannot believe how fast this has all been going! It seems like only yesterday that I crawled into the bed next to Josh at 730am to tell him we were pregnant and now we are starting our sprint for the finish line.

I started the third trimester 2 weeks ago (28 weeks) and believe it or not, a whole new set of symptoms started around that time ... maybe even a little bit before. I have started growing at a significantly faster rate, and with that have come feelings of physical heaviness, some lower and middle back discomfort, sore, tired and swollen feet, physical tiredness and a growing sense of anxious excitement.
I am incredibly excited to finally meet my son, though am increasingly nervous about the whole giving birth part! hahaha! For the most part I am just taking the aches and pains as they come because I knew I would hit this point. Also, I know that it will be very much worth it  :)

So I have put together (in my mind) a new set of survival skills to help me finish out this pregnancy as comfortably as possible. Here are some of the ones that I follow on a daily basis:

1. I start each day with a big breakfast ... a bowl of cereal (usually a mix of a healthy and sweet sweet cereal) with my lactose free milk. And I also have a side of 2 slices of whole grain toast and a nice big glass of water to wash that and my prenatals down.
2. I drink plenty of fluids through out the day ... mostly water, but sometimes juice and tea also.
3. If I am working all day, I make sure to take sit down and snack breaks whenever possible to take the pressure off legs and feet and lower back. And of course to stop me from turning into a bear when my blood sugar levels drop.
4. When I get home, the first thing I do is sit down and put my feet up.
5. I do my best to get a decent amount of relaxation time every evening and get to bed at a good time to ensure a full night's rest.

So I am doing what I can to take care of myself. I have also taken to just accepting my emotions. If there is a time (when I'm alone) where I feel I just need to cry, then I do it. I almost always feel tons better afterwards. And I havent been depriving myself of any foods except the foods that are dangerous while pregnant. I am just doing what I need to do to feel good.
I do try to get some exercise in when I can. It's usually walking, prenatal pilates or prenatal yoga. But I no longer push the exercise ... if I am feeling up to it then I do it, but if I am too tired then I feel that resting is much more important.

Before I sign off there is a cool fact that I learned recently that made me feel good. Did you know that once you are in the third trimester, should the baby be born as a pre-me, the survival rate goes up to 90%  :)   Not that I want him to be born early, but it puts the whole preterm labor fear more in the back of my mind rather than right up front any time I feel a cramp or a new sensation. I cant wait to meet my baby :)