In case you haven’t followed along on our socials or previous blog posts, I am expecting my third child at the beginning of September this year. I’ve shared my excitement about this before, but thought I’d share a little update for all our lovely followers and readers.
As I write this, I’m in my 31st week, in my third trimester. And I’m here to share a little bit about what the third trimester feels like and how I’m managing everything.
Overall, I am currently feeling a combination of excitement, exhaustion, and a general feeling of being huge. The excitement for baby coming is starting to feel real. My other children are getting excited, and are excited about choosing baby names, looking at baby clothing with me, and asking to see “baby sister” in my tummy. They are loving the prospect of a new little sister and getting to be a big brother and sister. Myself and my husband are feeling excited too, and this has also meant lots of preparation from us.
The preparation started recently with getting out all the old baby things we haven’t used since our three-year-old was a baby. I have unpacked all the old baby clothing, the pram, the bassinet, the cot, blankets, sleeping bags, toys, everything. I spent days washing everything and sorting it into the drawers by size and when we will use it. We also went and bought a new car seat, new bottles, dummies, nappies, and a few cute things (even though we have a lot already!). Even though it’s a little early, I started to pack for our hospital bags, nappy bag, and nappy caddy with all the little bits and pieces we might need. As you can imagine, with two kids and a business to run, all the preparations have been a little bit crazy and very exhausting.
The main symptom (if you can call it that) that I am experiencing at the moment is exhaustion. I am going to bed every night before 8, I go to bed the same time as my children and often my five-year-old can stay awake later than me! By the time evening comes, I feel nothing but exhaustion and staying awake for the dinner, bath and bed routine is such a challenge! I also have been missing having my alone wind down time at the end of the day after the children go to bed. It means I’m behind on watching the new Bridgerton, as I can’t watch that while the kids are awake, and I also haven’t started the new books I bought recently. The third trimester exhaustion is real, and I remember from previous pregnancies that it is something that is likely to get more severe the closer I get to my due date. It’s not something I’m really looking forward to. But also, I know that I need the extra sleep so I am trying to listen to my body and just sleep when I feel tired.
The other symptom I am having is terrible reflux! I have a bottle of liquid Gaviscon on my bedside table which I reach for at least once a day, sometimes three times a day, and always before bed. If anyone has any tips on how to deal with this, please let me know as it is a real struggle at the moment! I know this is something that happens to a lot of women during pregnancy, so I am taking solace from the fact that I am not alone.
Other than this, I am feeling quite large, and starting to find things like bending over or putting shoes and socks on challenging. There is a giant (and still growing) belly in the way any time I try to do anything! It’s a challenge but there is nothing I can do about it other than try to remember the reason for it and be grateful. Sometimes that works and sometimes it does not.
Otherwise, I am still managing to keep up with all the day-to-day activities, and looking after my children. I am still running the business, although have slowed down on certain activities lately (such as blogging and posting to tiktok). I am in the process of looking for a wonderful new person to take on this wonderful business while I enjoy my maternity leave, and I will hopefully be making an announcement about this in the next few weeks. It will be a relief to not have to carry multiple boxes of orders out every day to my car and then into the post office, but I also know I will miss creating all the beautiful gifts and memories that come with running this business.
Over the next few weeks, I will be writing some more blogs about what I will be packing in my hospital bag, nappy bag and nappy caddy, and will be sure to do a birth announcement once the time comes in September!
To all my wonderful followers and readers, I hope you’ve enjoyed hearing about my pregnancy journey as I’ve shared it with you! I’d also love to hear hints and tips that any of you have about pregnancy and life with three small children!
Lots of love,
Rachel
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