Are We There Yet?
No, this isn’t coming from your 5 year old in the back seat, or a premonition of what is to come several years down the road. Rather, it is the way most women often feel during the third trimester of their pregnancy.
The longest nine months of a woman’s life has to be the nine months that she is pregnant. Holidays, summer vacations, and your baby’s first year all fly by…but the nine months that your baby is growing inside of you can seem endless.
If you aren’t one of the lucky ones, the first trimester often consists of fatigue, nausea, and frequent bathroom trips. Add in the visits to your doctors office, and there is really not much to look forward to during the first 3 months of pregnancy. With a new life growing inside of you, your life has to change in some ways as well. You will probably find that you aren’t able to stay up or out late anymore, and that you prefer to be at home in bed quite early. You also have to give up that Friday night glass of wine or margarita when you go out with friends. While the first three months of pregnancy can drag, it does end eventually!
The second trimester is when the fun begins and you should definitely try to enjoy it! During the second trimester you will probably start feeling better and find that you have more energy. You will be happy to find that you are able to stay up later to watch your favorite TV shows, or enjoy a night out with friends, minus the alcohol, of course! You will also have an ultrasound, find out the sex of your baby if you choose, do your baby registry, start shopping for baby gear, and feel the first movements. The doctor’s appointments are rather infrequent, which can make that part of the month drag, but at least you feel like having some fun in between them.
The longest part of pregnancy for most is the last trimester. Not only has the fatigue returned, but as you get bigger you may find that sleeping becomes very uncomfortable, especially if you are a tummy or back sleeper. Even if you do get comfortable sleeping, you might find that you aren’t sleeping much, because you are getting up several times a night to use the bathroom, and as soon as you drift off, your bladder starts calling.
In the third trimester, you get bigger, you may also find that it is more difficult to do common everyday tasks, like walking around, tying your shoes, and shaving your legs. Every day, as you get bigger and more uncomfortable, your due date nears and time may seem to slow down. It’s almost like the anticipation in the months leading up to a big vacation. You look forward to it, and it can’t come fast enough. Your doctor’s appointments become more frequent in the third trimester, eventually becoming weekly, so they can help speed up the pregnancy.
In the last months of pregnancy often women say, “He can come any day now,” or “He is due at the end of the month, but if he wants to come early that is fine!” In the last month, the first thing on a woman’s mind in the morning will be, “Is today going to be the day?” and the last thing at night is probably, “I hope my water doesn’t break tonight so that MAYBE I can get a good nights sleep.” Eventually even the most patient women will find themselves asking, “Are we there yet?”
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