PART 4 - TRIMESTER 3
THE LAST LEG!
I AM SERIOUSLY PUMPING THESE BLOGS OUT RIGHT NOW!
IM EVEN THINKING DO I add LABOR next?
ANYWAYS, HERE WE ARE AT THE LAST INSTALLMENT OF PREGNANCY. AND IF IM GOING TO BE HONEST IT HASN’T BEEN TO HARD, UNTIL THESE LAST FEW WEEKS WHICH IS WERE IM WRITING FROM.
the very start of the third trimester is when my skin became so dehyrated. actually i was just so dehyrated. i was DRINKING so much water and just couldn’t shake that yucky dry feeling.
so for my skin, i see chakra clinic where we were doing HYDRATING and DECONGESTING treatments once a month. this really helped with the dryness of my skin. as for skincare this is exactly what i have been using which if i didnt love it i WOULDN'T share it. but its AMAZING. (nothing spons)
Dr. Jart+ Cicapair™ Tiger Grass Enzyme Foam Cleanser: Morning and night
FIRST AID BEAUTY Facial Radiance Pads: Morning and night (these are my favourite pads ever!
FIRST AID BEAUTY 10% VITAMIN C BRIGHTENING SERUM: morning only. probably the only vitamin c ive found which absorbs really quickly without that sticky residue.
Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Pink Juice MoisturisEr: Morning only
Laroche posay EFFACLAR ANTI-ACNE SALICYLIC ACID SERUM: night only. i never gravitated to this brand. it was oversaturdated by influencers and i didnt believe in it. boy, was i wrong. this serum is beautiful. i will never stop using this. never
trilogy Rosapene™ Bakuchiol Oil: once/ twice a week at night. a pregnancy safe alternative to retinol.
The secret skincare Treatment cream: night only. this brand is prescription only so everyones formula is different. but i use the night treatment each night which really helps calm my breakouts and evens out my oil production.
Willow By the Sea Belly Butter: Belly Butter locks in moisture and helps support skin elasticity as it expands during pregnancy.
keeping in the skin theme, naturally i am a hairy monkey. i have spent thousands on laser hair removal. my hair on my body did grow back. not as intense as before, but there was DEFINITELY a NOTICEABLE amount especially in the third trimester. when it came to my face, it decided to grow a cluster of black spikey chin hairs. it frist started off as two or three. now i cant even count. there is so many hairs sprouting from my chin. so lucky! i have to literally pluck them daily! And if i use cheap tweezers i get ingrows. yes, on my chin. so if you see photos of me with a bunch of scabs on my chin it’s the ingrown hairs.
at the start of trimester three nothing had really DRAMATICALLY change. i still felt amazing. i ended up going back to work and punching out some really fun photoshoots.
first maternity shoot for intimo. my belly button had just popped at this point. it is the strangest feeling because it is so sensitive and when anything rubs against it.
around this time i also had my glucose and blood tests. i actually didn’t mind the test at all. so many people complained telling me it was so awful and hard, blah blah blah! it was completely fine. go early in the morning, do the bloods, drink some sugar drink that tastes like an intene hydratlyt and do some more bloods. it does take about 3 hours, i just did all my emails. hey, i probably wrote a blog!
my results were fine. however, my iron was low so my ob instructed i get an iron transfusion.
iron transfusion
my iron transfusion was pretty quick, probably about 20 minutes. i can’t remember exactly but i think it was around $200. being pregnant is actually so expensive. like it never ends. basically, you go to your allocated hospital and they attach a drip into your arm. if your not scared of needles you are fine. you then just sit there and wait until the bag is infused into you. i didn’t feel much different INITIALLY. it usually take around 2 weeks to kick in. but again i didn’t really see much change.
sydney photoshoot
my next shoot was in sydney. i was still travelling and flying up to 35 weeks. now, im quickly going to skim over this next DEBACLE because it was an awful experience. i finished my photoshoot in sydney and was in backseat of my uber heading to the airport. UNFORTUNATELY, the car behind ran up the back of my uber giving me the fright of my life. luckily my seatbelt was below my belly. however, i was kind of like ‘umm what do i do here’. i called my ob and had to wait to see if the baby was still moving. let me tell you, this baby does not stop moving. so i was sitting at the airport and for 45 minutes he was not moving. so i was this crying mess at the airport and it was awful. finally he decided to wake up and kick me about. so to anyone who saw me hysterically crying at the airport, you now know why. i ended up having whiplash and my back was sore. but the baby was completely fine!
about a week after coming back from sydney i stopped doing my normal workouts and started on pregnancy pilates. i go to coreplus studios twice a week. it’s DEFINITELY A-LOT slower than what im use to but my body wasn’t able to move like it did before. ive also had to. cut. down on my long walks because my back and hips were so sore afterwards. i didn’t realise how much this would affect me mentally and emotionally. i love moving my body and exercising. i use it as an outlet which is probably why i’m usually cool as a cucumber.
week 32 onwards
last scan
the last big scan! this was fun because we can actually see what our baby looks like. i personally think he looks so much more like michael than myself.
seriously leah
i made like full COMPARISON photos! HAHA
now this is where things started to take a turn for me.
i was already going to muscle and bone clinic and having monthly myo-therapy. treatments. simply to help with any tension i was holding through. my back. i wasn’t really sleeping great around the 33 week mark due to sore hips. however, everytime i had my treatment i would sleep amazingly for the next 3/4 nights. then i’d be sore again.
baby shower
so cute! so the night before the baby shower was michael’s awards night. wore heels for like 6 hours. then it was my baby shower. again wore heels for another 4. hours. plus all the running around i did the day before. this (i believe) really. triggered my back pain. it took me a good 3 days to recover from those high heels. lots of baths. lots of heat packs and lots of sleep.
I had my baby shower at the prince in st kilda. i hired out one of the private dining rooms there. it was exactly what i wanted. a very small group of friends, tiny family and alot of fun. extremely intimate. i don’t enjoy large groups of people and i especially do not like hosting because never feel like i give enough attention to everyone. the food at the prince was incredible. and for all those who wanted to kick on drinking afterwards just stayed there or ventured through st kilda. big thank you to my bestie cassie who organised the entire thing even down to the guest list.
5 weeks to go
this now brings me to ‘real time’. talking in the present. melbourne cup is when my hips and legs decided they didn’t feel like working anymore. i didn’t do anything differently. just woke up and it was really painful to walk. i booked in at muscle and bone again and was passed on to the oesteo lara. i’ve linked her here. lara assessed me and basically told me i had a sprained si joint. basically, sprain pelvis. it feels just like throbbing pain throughout my hips and when i walk a shooting electric current down my leg. the overall discomfort has really affected my sleep, trying to sit up and down and even getting to the bathroom.
physio anne stone
i also booked in a home visit with dr anne stone who SPECIALISES in womens health. she basically came to my home (so handy) assessed me, gave me a rub down and most importantly gave them specific exercises to help keep my body moving. which lucky for you guys because im about to share them here.
1) seated clams with belt around thighs.
2) lower belly breathing and let your pelvic floor relax.
Other safe exercise you can do if you want to move your body in general are:
1) 4 point kneeling and hug your belly to spine then knee hover (like a plank with bent knees) x 10
2) double leg squats feet facing forward and block knees so your weight is in your heels and imagine ripping the carpet apart with your heels to get glutes working
3) double leg calf raises
4) Russian twists in sitting (within comfortable range)
5) push ups on knees
6) seated row with a band or standing bent over row
Hospital bags
we just finished packing our bags this week. and a huge thank you to everyones input.
Baby ramsey bag
so he’s a little hard to pack for. like how many nappies? What size even is he? I packed alot!
8 x long sleeve onsies
10 x singlets
3 x beanies
4 x socks
2 x wraps
1 x ergo pouch 1 x love to dream
1 x custom blanket with his name - omg i cant wait to share his name!!
nappies, wipes, organic nappy balm, organic powder, a toy, dummies
im still chipping away, i think.
michael and i are still packing our hospital bag. im not too worried about it because he can always pop back home and grab something if we really need it.
but so far what i have is:
portable fan
2 x pjs
heaps of old clothes i plan to throw away
robe
slide on thongs
2 x maternity bras
box of breast pads
adult nappies
adult maternity pads
nipple sheilds
scr shorts
bumpsuit waist supporter
tolietries - hairbrush, skincare
room spray - terrified of bad smells
snacks
face mist and wipes
mami and co tens machine
so i ended up hiring a tens machine from mami and co. it was michael who had heard about them told me. basically, the tens machine Reduces pain signals from travelling to the spinal cord and brain. it Stimulates the production of endorphins. it feels like little electrical currents running through you. i actually like it. you hire the tens machine for around 6 - 8 weeks.
HELP at hand
LIFE SAVING EDUCATION FOR LITTLE HUMANS.
We just did this first aid session with megan from help at hand and it was the best thing ever!
megan is a Mum to two and an Emergency Clinical Nurse Educator. we booked in a session where she came to our house and taught us everything about first aid, cpr for infants and children, burns, chocking, everything. i could not recommend this more. i think this is essential for anymore who is around babies and kids, not just new mums. megan actually messaged me through a code if anyone wants to book in for this session which is ‘leah20’ for 20% off.
38 weeks
okay, i am at the 38 week mark now. still cant really walk or sleep but the end is near.
i’ve put on a totaly of 18kg. which i feel it’s important to share this because putting on weight when pregnant is normal and not something to be worried about. i have had a few messages where people have been fixated on how much weight they have gained. simply, your growing a person, your body is doing what it needs to suficently create a healthy human. do no rescrict yourself.
anyways, that concludes my trimester breakdown. if you have any questions please comment below.
and thank you for taking the time to read about my pregnancy journey.
x
