Welcome to the pregnancy series! I decided to do a series of articles of the different trimesters of (human) pregnancy on a homestead because that is exactly what I have been/am going through myself. Welcome to the third trimester of my pregnancy!
Did you miss the article on Second Trimester of Pregnancy? Read here.
Please keep in mind, these articles are based off my pregnancy experiences and are not true for everyone.
*This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Please see my full disclosure for further information.
Changes
During the third trimester, you learn what’s important and what isn’t. Let me explain: If I drop a pencil on the ground, it is now not important for me to struggle trying to pick it back up. If I drop an egg and it splatters everywhere, it is mostly important, as long as there is a countertop or other device to aid in my getting back up from the ground, or bending that far over. It has definitely become a hassle to bend that far over, and to pick up things off the floor. Plus, if I bend to where my head goes below my tummy…Hello heartburn!
Weight and Diet
I seem to be holding steady at 40 lbs of weight gain during this part pregnancy. I’m not sure where it’s all going though!
It seems like I am always hungry but the amount of room I have in me for food is decreasing fast! I feel like I’m snacking all day long now.
Still no outrageous cravings. Just craving food in general, and my occasional sweet tooth acting up.
I have added Red Raspberry Leaf tea to my daily routine. I started drinking 1 cup a day around week 28, then upped it to 2 cups around week 32. If you google it, there are many benefits to drinking it during the end of your pregnancy, but please discuss with your doctor prior to use.
Shop Amazon – Create an Amazon Baby Registry
Bodily Changes
The first obvious change in your body is the pop of the belly. Mine has been getting bigger gradually through this whole pregnancy, but it kind of “popped” recently.
You may notice your stomach moving around on it’s own like an alien is trying to claw its way out! Don’t worry! This is just the baby moving around. (But it can look really weird sometimes.)
Sleep
I am really missing the sleep of second trimester. Other than the occasional pee breaks at night, I slept pretty decently. During this third trimester, I’m in bed (mostly sleeping) for at least 10-12 hours. During the day though, I am pooped. Even when I don’t do anything!
I am definitely getting use out of my pregnancy pillow and so happy I got it! Between the pillow, the pregnancy ball, and a local chiropractor (trained in the Webster Technique), my back and hip pain has almost gone away!
Homestead Life
Around 32 weeks, I have pretty much become dependent on others now. The kids mostly do all the animal chores by themselves while I supervise and help with the little things. When they are not here, my mom has been coming by to help me out. Obviously when no one is around, I get myself to handle what needs to be done, but I definitely take my time and am more careful while doing anything. I have my phone on my body at all times just in case something happens.
Animal Care
Of course it seemed like the animals were needing more care as my ability to do so was declining:
- We took in 4 rescue ducks. That meant moving a few other birds around to accommodate the newbies.
- I had a bantam hen that decided to go broody on over a dozen eggs. She was due about a month before I was, but none survived.
- The egg layers decided the weather is warm enough to increase the amount of eggs they give everyday.
- The duck ponds just keep getting dirtier very fast.
- Babe, one of our Kunekune pigs decided to have a litter of 7 babies on 3/7. Only 5 survived. Those 5 babies became bottle babies since she would not feed them (and actually tried killing them).
Yard Care
Since we handled the weeds last month, there is little to do in that regard. We did have to rototill the garden and get seed started indoors, but thankfully Greg did the garden, and the seeds were easy to do myself.
Maintenance
I had a couple hoses spring a leak that I had to fix/mend. Thankfully, those were easy jobs!
We did have to replace some sunshade over a few pens. The winds out here an be horrendous!
House Care
I am still able to do little bits everyday around here. Seems like I’m getting a load of laundry done every day (or so), and same with dishes. I was able to clean the stovetop and half the kitchen countertops yesterday. I felt so accomplished!
Healthcare
I had an ultrasound at week 29 and that doctor said everything is looking great and I wouldn’t need another ultrasound until week 36, unless I felt the need to have one earlier. Baby was 3 lbs 7 oz!
At week 35, I had another ultrasound showing the baby weighing in at 5lbs 14 oz. It was moving along great!
My primary doctor is wanting to see me every 2 weeks from now on. Just to make sure all is good.
Baby Will Arrive Shortly
We got the baby’s room cleaned out around week 30. The room was painted and we got everything we had set up.
We had our baby showers set to happen on 3/5, so I had to make any necessary adjustments to items that we were needing to our registries prior to that date.
At the end of week 35, the pains got so much worse. It was difficult to walk 10 feet.
Time Is Here!!
So… baby decided to not come before week 42 so the doctor wanted me induced.
Even though this is not the way I wanted to deliver the baby but things happen.
Keep updated on the next step (fourth trimester of pregnancy)!
