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Hi! I hope you had an amazing and restful holiday season – I did a lot of lounging in my jammies which equals success to me 🙂 We got alot of goodies for the baby, so appropriately timed for this post.

Although, this week actually marks week 26, the start of the 3rd trimester. How crazy is that?! I haven’t had a chance to write the 25 week post update, so here we go.

Before I was pregnant, I feared that the weeks would go by so slowly. It’s like when you’re anticipating something so significant at the finish line, surely time will go by slowly. But, on the contrary, time is flying. I actually feel like there’s not enough time to get everything done. We still have a bunch of classes to take (infant CPR, breastfeeding, parenting) and I have a bunch of books I want to read, but I know the due date will be here before we know it. And I also realize that there’s only so much preparation you can do. Alot of this will be learning on the go type of things I presume 🙂

Baby Size

As of this week, she’s the size of an eggplant! Last week, she was as big as the head of a cauliflower. Estimates say she’s about 2 pounds and 9.2 inches this week. I’ve heard a few “Oh, you’re starting to show” comments, which don’t bother me too much but I can see how they could be triggering to some.  I actually have a post written about pregnancy weight gain and body image that I hope to share next week. It’s so interesting to me what people will say and comment on.

this Post!

At our last check up, baby’s heart rate was 145, which is good! I do have placenta previa, which is where the placenta is a little closer to the cervix than is “normal”. They said that the majority of the time, the placenta moves on its own as time progresses, so they will do another ultrasound at 28 weeks to re-check its position. Apparently nothing I can do differently.

Food/Cravings/Aversions

Still loving the usuals – eggs, toast, hummus, chips, bagels, peanut butter, fruit, pizza, sweets – mostly carbs. I did have some more recent nausea in the past few weeks without any rhyme or reason. It just made less foods sound appealing, but nothing too bad as it appears to have mostly passed. I haven’t really kept track of my eating in any way, but I’m curious to actually track for a day – it doesn’t seem like I’m eating any more than I normally would (pre-pregnancy) but then again, that was months ago, so who is really to say?

Symptoms:

Aside from the random nausea listed above, I’ve also been having more heartburn this trimester. I’m really working on tuning in to not eating as much at one time so I don’t feel myself burping it up after. I have never been a person to experience heart burn symptoms so this is new. I think it’s mostly when I’m eating higher fat meals (which would align with heartburn symptoms), or just eating too much. As the baby takes up more space, it seems that there is less of my stomach available for digestion.

This is definitely one of those pregnancy learning lessons because I might still feel hungry but at the same time, knowing that I’m filling up. I guess it’s hard to explain. Power to the many smaller meals throughout the day!

I have also been experiencing something which I don’t know how to describe other than “pregnancy congestion.” According to some sources (and you guys!), it’s a real thing. I constantly feel stuffed up, in the mornings especially, and just overall congested. I don’t feel sick though, which sounds weird. But it hasn’t gone away or gotten any better, so pregnancy, I’m just blaming this one on you.

How I’m Feeling:

Overall, pretty great. I feel like my energy is still really good right now. I’ve heard fatigue can set in again in the third trimester, so I’m taking advantage of what I’ve got until I get to that point of exhaustion. Also, I’m not at the stage of feeling super uncomfortable yet, but I still think baby has a huge growth spurt to go through. I have a feeling that one morning I’ll wake up and my belly will be inches bigger. I can definitely tell a difference now at the end of the day versus in the morning on an empty stomach.

Baby girl is kicking so much now. I felt like I was late to the game in feeling the kicks (for most women, they start around 18 weeks). They started around 20 weeks for me, when we were in South Africa. But now, I’m completely aware of them and Ed has even been able to feel them. She’s more active at night when I’m just sitting or laying down, which makes it fun to feel and talk to her at the same time.

The only other feels are a combination of excitement and a little anxiety – anxiety just about what we actually need. We’ve started our registry (my sister and mom are throwing a shower up in Rhode Island for me in early February), but it’s an overwhelming process for sure. There are so many things to think about, but do we really need them all? Each person will have a different opinion on what we do/do not need, but I’ve heard a resounding number of comments about “you don’t need as much as you think you do.” And after reading the Magic of Tidying Up, I’m all about not having excess things – just the practical ones we need and will use.

Exercise:

Still going well. I really can’t get through a run without having to pee though. Even on the short ones. It reminds me of the Ogden Marathon, where I peed twice in the first 10 miles (though that was due to mostly nerves and chugging water on the bus ride up the mountain).

But, I’ve been enjoying my 15-20 miles/week up to this point. I continue to do lots of walking. I’m also doing 1-2 days of light strength training, mostly with 5 lb weights. I love the Swork It app for at home body weight workouts!

Overall, still loving the magic of pregnancy. In the upcoming weeks, I’ll probably start to think more about our birth plan. Some people just know everything they want/don’t want, but I’m not one of those people. I still have a lot to learn and I’ll have to consider all the options.

Let me know if you guys have any questions about anything. I’m thinking about doing a Q&A post too!

How do you handle unwanted comments from people?

For all you mom’s out there, do you have any advice for registry things?