Hooray for the Third Trimester

It’s official: I’ve hit the third trimester. This poor fourth baby has gotten a bit of the shaft–only two blog posts compared to dozens of posts with my first, second and third pregnancies.

What’s His Name?

James Michael’s and Scarlett’s names were chosen before inception, and we decided on Beau by the time I was 6 months pregnant.

But here I am, 7 months pregnant with baby No. 4, who has yet to be named. My husband said I could choose the name for this boy, but then when I’ve run nearly 10 names by him, he doesn’t seem impressed. So basically, he hasn’t said no to a name, but in turn, he also hasn’t said yes. He likes classic names–if he could have three boys named James he would–but is open to southern names. And I tend to like southern names that aren’t too classic. So there’s that.

My top faves I keep coming back to are Knox, Brody, Brady, Austin and Hunter. Hopefully, we’ll decide on a name soon. Right now, my Rowdy boys call him Shock and Scarlett calls him Feliz Navidad. All the more reason to cement a real name soon!

Good News

Last Friday, I went in for my 28-week appointment, which included another ultrasound to check on the location of my placenta, which was categorized low-lying at my 20-week appointment. I’m so thankful to report that it has moved considerably. From what the ultrasound tech told me, my placenta was 2 cm away from my cervix at 20 weeks and has moved up to 5 cm away at 28 weeks. This is great news for me, as I now no longer have any restrictions for working out and this also lowers my risk for a C-section.

Baby boy is in a bit of a weird position with his head crammed right above my belly button and below my stomach, but the tech confirmed there is plenty of fluid and plenty of time for him to change to head down. Fingers crossed that happens before things get too crammed in there.

I had been measuring about half a week ahead at my appointments, but at this ultrasound baby boy was measuring 1.5 weeks ahead! Though he’s due the first week of August, I’m hoping this means he will show up the last week of July. Beau was due Aug. 1 and came exactly two weeks early. Only time will tell for this baby.

My blood pressure is still good, no swelling yet and so far I’ve gained 20 pounds. So hard to believe that’s how much I had gained when I delivered tiny Scarlett (6 lbs 9 oz). But I’m trying not to worry about the scale because this baby will definitely be bigger, and most days my stomach already feels stretched to the max, making me wonder how I will make it 10-12 more weeks.

I also took my glucose test at my 28-week appointment. I was a bit apprehensive just because of my history. To recap, I passed easily with my first pregnancy, failed the one-hour test with my second pregnancy but passed the three-hour test. Unfortunately, that test made me so sick in the waiting room that when I failed the one-hour test with my third pregnancy, I adamantly refused the three-hour test. So they sent me to a gestational diabetes class, which was interesting. In the end, I monitored my blood sugar for a couple weeks and my results ruled out gestational diabetes.

Going into this appointment, I got the doctor to agree to letting me monitor my levels for a week if I ended up failing the one-hour test again. But thankfully, I passed with flying colors this time, getting 74 mg/dL. Passing for this OB is anything under 140 mg/dL. So that was great news to hear that I don’t have to do any follow up testing.

Not So Good News

I also received my CBC with autodifferential test results from my most recent appointment, and it appears I have mild anemia. I don’t ever recall having this issue with my other pregnancies, but something different always seems to pop up for each pregnancy. Thankfully, I don’t have to go on iron supplements at this point; my doctor has only prescribed a change in diet.

Even though I feel like we eat a good amount of red meat—maybe three times a week, I’ve made a point of adding more fish in our diet lately. Let’s just say the husband will be thrilled to eat steak a couple times a week. While we do eat salad nearly every day (thanks to our hydroponics gardening), spinach and kale make up a small portions of those salads. So I’ll start adding more of those leafy greens into our lettuce mix. Hopefully these changes will be enough to counteract the anemia before my next appointment.

How I’m Feeling

Let’s just say that being pregnant a fourth time is no joke. And I’m sure my “advanced maternal age” of 36 is playing into things. The good thing is my body knows what to do. The bad thing is it’s doing that super early–aka all the hip and pelvic spreading started happening at 5 months. Overall, I’m having tons of Braxton Hicks and lots of tightening. And though I feel good in the morning most days, by the afternoon I feel heavy and achy, which I predict will only continue to increase now that I’m in the third trimester.

From a fitness standpoint, I’m still working out, alternating between BodyPump classes, 20 to 30 minute sessions on the elliptical and “kitchen sink” light weight/body weight CrossFit WODs. I will say that it doesn’t take much at all for me to be sore, so I’ve scaled back working out 4 to 5 times a week to about three now that I’m in the third trimester. And now that the weather is nice, I spend a couple days a week going on hikes or walks.

My two most recent CrossFit workouts were perfect, getting my heartrate up just enough before switching to a different movement.

Chiropractor in the Third Trimester

I had my first chiropractic appointment this pregnancy on Monday–nothing like waiting until my third trimester. I saw my chiropractor in Atlanta all throughout my first three pregnancies, but just hadn’t taken the time to switch to someone locally until now. When standing on a split scale, instead of standing evenly, I place 14 more pounds on my right leg. I’ve always had issues with my right hip, so this was no surprise to me. I was gently adjusted laying on a belly pillow–basically a flat foam square with an oval cut out for your belly to fit into.

By the end of the appointment, my right hip had loosened up and my right leg was much closer to being the same length as my left. I also received some tweaking to address sporadic SPD, which is likely exacerbated by the uneven weight distribution in my legs. I go back for another appointment next week before we leave for the beach. I’ll plan to go every 10-14 days during the third trimester until delivery to relieve any discomfort and to keep my body align as it preps for delivery.

The rest of May will be jammed packed with wrapping up school and preschool for the year, then leaving for Hilton Head Island, S.C., for a week with my family. Considering the state of my hips, I predict it may take us full day to get there as I may have to get out and stretch every hour!