Third Trimester of Pregnancy

The third trimester of your pregnancy is one of the most tiresome, yet joyous times of your life as a woman. You’ll begin to really feel that the baby is about to become part of your life. This is also generally the time that your partner and other children, if present, will also build more of a bond with the baby.

Your baby is pretty much fully developed by this point, and is only gaining size and weight to become strong and healthy. The brain does more development during this stage, and the lungs also begin to practice for taking that first breath. As the baby runs out of room, movement will be felt more strongly, but less frequently. Often, you’ll feel little or no movement for the last week as the baby prepares for its birth.

As the baby grows, you’ll feel more pressure on your bladder, and later on your legs and pelvis as well. You may also have more back pain as your baby and abdomen grow, until the baby drops and the weight shifts to your pelvis and legs. This discomfort can become tiresome, and many women start to wish that the baby would come already. Just do your best to get plenty of rest and don’t stay on your feet for long periods of time. Concentrate on having a healthy baby and the joys you’ll soon experience as a mother. Pregnancy will be over soon enough!

Around this time, you should stop lifting other children, if possible, and take it easy. There’s relatively little you could do to injure the baby at this point, but you yourself are in a delicate state. With the strain put on your body by carrying the baby as it becomes larger, you’ll need to be extra careful that you don’t injure your back or lose your balance and hurt yourself.

Most women have their baby shower during the third trimester. By this time, you’ll know exactly what you have and what you need. Based on sonograms, you’ll probably also know the sex of your baby, as well as its approximate birth weight and length as estimated by your doctor. If you already have everything you need, ask for diapers – you can never have enough diapers!

If you haven’t done so already, you need to begin making plans and alternate plans for getting to the hospital when the time comes. Make sure you have more than one route to the hospital planned, and that every possible driver knows these routes well. Do a couple of practice runs and keep a bag ready at all times by the door. You never know when labor will begin.

Overall, your final trimester is a great time in your pregnancy. You’ve made it through the worst trials of the first and second trimesters and all your preparations have been made. You know that your baby is growing strong and healthy, and can feel him move often as he runs out of space. Now, you can simply sit back and await the final moment when you’ll become a mother.