The Third Trimester: Two Pieces of Advice I Needed to Hear
Hi Everyone!
So this has been kind of a tumultuous week as far as being pregnant. Nothing bad's happened, I just feel like I'm moving into a different phase, maybe it's all in my head as this week is the official start of the third trimester, or maybe there's more of a physical basis for it, I don't know. But I've been VERY tired and feeling like it's harder to move around and definitely harder to get anything done, from sleeping to errands to exercise to work...I feel in some ways like I'm hitting a wall. And I talked about this earlier in the week, how I want to make the most of these last weeks of my pregnancy--meaning, I don't know, enjoy it, keep things as safe and healthy for the babies as possible, etc.--but I'm not really sure how to do it.
Two things in the past 24 hours have helped:
1. I read this post from the lovely blog Dear Baby last night, and have been thinking a lot about it. Specifically, how the author talks about being in the moment and appreciating it, even if it's hard (eg, for her, her infant son screaming all hours of the night).
I've been thinking about how at night, unable to sleep, I sometimes get so frustrated with how incredibly uncomfortable this pregnancy has been. But last night I tried thinking, "My babies need to be inside my body right now, this is the best place for them, and yeah, I sure don't feel that great physically because of it but this is how things are today, this is what they need now and I'm so grateful to be able to provide this for them." It feels good to be thinking that. I know it's kind of Pollyana-ish and whatever, but it beats being stressed out over something (insomia and the fact it's pretty much impossible to get comfortable at this point) I have no control over.
2. I talked with a woman I know casually through work today...she has 8-year-old twins and her advice to me for the third trimester of my pregnancy was to slow down, spend more time in bed, quit trying to exercise, get rid of my TO DO list to as much of an extent as possible. She said she had gestational diabetes too and found that it was an extra drain. (I've just been acting like it's no big deal, like it's not affecting me at all...of course I have made no allowances for the fact that it might be maiking things harder.)
And I'm sure this hasn't been everyone's experience, but she was saying that the last couple months of being pregnant were harder for her than after the babies were born. I've been assuming the exact opposite, that I need to get everything done NOW, because after the babies are born life will be so much harder.
Even before talking with this woman, I've been thinking a lot about needing to rest more. My Type A personality has been fighting it (besides the fact I already feel like I'm taking it pretty easy), but maybe it's time to take a step back and really, really acknowldege the fact that I'm pregnant and I can't do everything, I need to rest, I need to stop having 30 things I'm trying to get done every single day, I need to ask my husband to help more (and he totally will, I've just been trying to do more than my fair share knowing the day is coming when he's going to have to do more than his).
So:
Being really present, even though it's hard.
Resting more and accomplishing less.
These are my strategies for third trimester.
Hope everyone has a lovely weekend. Thanks for spending some time here this week.
XOXO
