Start of Third Trimester

As of today, we are officially in the third trimester! I'm 27 weeks along, and if the baby comes on his or her actual due date, we have three months to go. Here are some updates:

Workouts
Almost entirely walking, hiking (I'm hoping to get a hike in this weekend while my parents are here), light strength training (<--links to some of my workouts), prenatal yoga (<--links to some of my favorite free videos), and--as of this week--pregnancy exercises. These exercises focus on preparing for labor and include:

• Tailor sitting
• Pelvic rocking (terrific for the lower back and helps prevent indigestion! I would recommend this exercise for anyone!)
• Kegels (Pelvic Floor Exercise)
• Legs Apart Exercise (an unfortunate name, but it's essentially a seated version of hip abductors to build stamina and strength for pushing)
• Relaxation exercise (my favorite! Ten minutes of focusing on relaxing every muscle in my body to prepare for working with the contractions instead of our natural instinct to tense up, which is more painful)

Food

The focus lately has been to increase my protein. The third trimester is all about brain development, which is why protein is so important. But getting 80-100 grams per day is no easy feat! Even on days when I eat eggs for breakfast, yogurt for a snack, turkey for lunch, and meat for dinner (among other snacks), I'm still barely at 80. But I think the fact that I'm conscious of it and aiming for high-protein snacks does help. Some of my favorites:

• Plain Greek yogurt with applesauce, almond butter, sliced almonds, and a drizzle of honey
• Half a tortilla with nut butter, sliced strawberries, sliced bananas, and sliced almonds
• Half a tortilla with (nitrate-free--sold at Trader Joe's) deli turkey, cheese, and greens
• Scrambled eggs with vegetables
• Smoothie with Greek yogurt, frozen berries, nut butter, and milk
• Carrots and cucumber with hummus
• Lara bars

Any other suggestions?

Emotional Temperature
It's been a little shaky lately. With all the apartment hunting, decisions about where to live, planning the move itself, thinking about jobs for next year, and constant awareness that another human life will soon be in our hands, I'm a bit stressed. I've had a few stomachaches to emphasize that stress, and I'm hoping that at least some of it will dissolve once we're settled into our new place. Thankfully, I know it's all temporary, and it will seem like small potatoes come June!

General Comfort
I still get some backaches here and there, and I'm not sleeping quite as well as I used to, but overall I can't complain. Even the stomachaches are more predictable now, and I am learning how to prevent and handle them. To help avoid allowing myself to get me all up in my head, I've restarted our Harry Potter audio CDs in the car. It's wonderfully distracting and so fun to get lost in the magic.

I'm starting to notice a little swelling in my feet in the evenings, and I have slowed way down in general day-to-day activities, like bending down, running around to play with Scout, standing up from the couch or floor, etc. I'm most comfortable when I sit cross-legged or when I lie down on my left side. These positions are not easy throughout the normal part of the day, but it's a fun challenge.

Previous Pregnancy Posts:

• March Madness (our first birth class)
• Exercise During Pregnancy (25 weeks pregnant)
• Most Common Pregnancy Questions
• Another Attack of Baby Brain
• Farewell for Now, Tomatoes
• Second Trimester Update: Weeks 14-18
• First Trimester in a Nutshell
• The Announcement