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FMK Baby: Third Trimester Update

Sharing a little update on the third trimester! From growing pains (literally), pregnancy books, registry favorites and hospital plans.

If you’d like to catch up, announcement here, the first trimester update, and the second trimester.

WOW. As I write this, we are entering the last (hopefully) couple weeks of my pregnancy… We made it to the end of the third trimester!

As you’re well aware, so much has changed since not only the start of this pregnancy but also the start of my third trimester, which was at the end of April… In the height of uncertainty surrounding the pandemic and COVID-19.

I’ll be honest and say navigating a first time pregnancy in the midst of a pandemic has been challenging at times. It was all of the “what if” questions that would take over my thoughts and cause a slight panic. And frustration and sadness.

Drew not being able to join me on the rest of the prenatal appointments, the cancelled in-person appointments, and feeling a little robbed of the whole experience in general…

Hearing delivery stories of mothers in different states that weren’t allowed a support person truly made me worry for my mental health and whether or not Drew would even be allowed in the room for the delivery of our first baby. It makes me want to cry just thinking about it.

Thankfully he IS allowed, but our plans for a doula went out the window.

Preparing for Labor

After chatting with various friends and their experiences with doulas (both during and before COVID-19) Drew and I decided we would not be hiring a doula, simply because we knew we wouldn’t have their in-person support.

As much as I was really looking forward to having one as another support person (besides Drew) I took this as our opportunity to learn even more about labor and delivery, and have Drew truly take the lead as the birth partner.

With in-person classes being cancelled because of COVID-19, we signed up for a couple of different virtual labor classes. One being a local class put on by a pelvic floor therapist in the area. This was fairly basic but informative in that it gave us a good idea as to what to expect during labor, as well as various positions to help with pain management.

Another virtual class we took that I highly recommend was called “Birth Without Fear” put on by a doula group, The Womb. They’re based out of Ontario and are still offering their class virtually. Highly recommend this one, especially if you’re nervous about childbirth or preparing for a low-intervention birth. The cost in USD ends up being about $17.

Our last “trip” before the baby comes. Up north Michigan, 36 Weeks.

Just recently I was introduced to The Positive Birth Company. I bought the app after seeing someone on Instagram stories share how it helped them through contractions. The Positive Birth Company reached out to me and were kind enough to let me try out their digital pack for their “Online Hypnobirthing” class. It sounds crazier than it is, trust me.

I have been trying to cruise through as much of the coursework as possible, and overall I really like this course as well – another one I highly recommend if you’re looking to mentally prepare for childbirth . The cost in USD ends up being about $50.

I’ve also been utilizing the Evidence Based Birth website, downloading episodes for Drew to listen to, listening to birth stories on The Birth Hour podcast, and reading Mama Natural Week-by-Week.

Symptoms and Growing Pains

my belly band belt

Some of the third trimester symptoms took me by surprise… Not that I thought I was invincible to the growing pains, but I think you hear about what to expect and until it happens you don’t really know.

SYMPHSIS PUBIS DYSFUNCTION – (SPD) happens when the ligaments that normally keep your pelvic bone aligned during pregnancy become too relaxed and stretchy too soon before birth (as delivery nears, things are supposed to start loosening up). This, in turn, can make the pelvic joint — a.k.a. the symphysis pubis — unstable, causing some pretty strange sensations, including pelvic pain.” (source)

I was annoyed with myself because at the time that I started experiencing pelvic pain with walking, it was right around the same time I got pretty lax with my workouts – mainly because of getting tired of working out at home due to the Stay at Home order. And then the spiral of “if only we weren’t in a pandemic and I’d be working out regularly and getting adjusted, etc.”

Who truly knows how things would have progressed, but I ended up getting a support belt (this one) which did help. I also made sure to continue with more pelvic floor exercises, watching The Belle Method’s videos on IGTV and working in some of her exercises from her The Bump Method Online Program. (code for

NUMB THIGH –  This one caught me off guard as I hadn’t heard of it as being a common symptom and (of course) had to google things like “numb thigh during pregnancy” before I went to my next doctor’s appointment. Come to find out, “meralgia paresthetica” is quite common. My outer thigh has felt tingly and almost has a burned feeling to the touch. The nurse practitioner confirmed for me that it can be a normal part of pregnancy, and should go away once the baby is born and no longer putting pressure on the nerve.

SLEEP – They (the apps) weren’t kidding when they said sleep could be rough in the third trimester. I can probably count on one hand the nights I feel like I’ve had restful sleep. Between getting up to use the bathroom to insomnia to just not being able to get comfortable. It is what it is, I guess! I’ve been using the snoogle pillow to help keep me comfortable sleeping on my side.

NESTING – It’s funny to me this is a thing but it truly is! Around 35 weeks I just wanted to have everything squared away. I washed baby clothes, constantly organized things, opened up some of our baby gifts to tinker with them. At one point Drew laughed and said I literally looked like a mama bird fussing over a nest, picking at all the little pieces of the pack-n-play.

Baby Registry “Must Haves”

I now realize I never actually shared the baby registry “must haves” that the Instagram community shared so I’ll cover some of the items shared here!

  • SnuggleMe Organic Lounger – you can get the lounger only or the natural colored lounger that comes with cover.
  • Rohm Portable Sound Machine – perfect for traveling or if you’re spending the day at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.
  • Side Sleeper Bassinet – If you plan on keeping the baby in your room for a while, we heard this was a great option. My sister has this one too and loves it.
  • Bjorn Bouncer – the classic, slim modern bouncer. It seems a little pricey for a bouncer, but we heard from so many people that they really love it.
  • Solly Baby Wraps – another highly recommended product for baby wearing.
  • My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow – heard from so many moms that loved this pillow for breast feeding.
  • Diaper Cream Applicator – sounds silly but again, so so many people recommended this.
  • Humidifier – supposedly helps create a better sleeping environment for the baby, especially during the dry winter months.
  • CLEK car seat – I’ll be working with CLEK the next 6 months and sharing more but I love so many features of this car seat. They’re a Canadian company with products made in Canada and the USA. We also got the Colugo complete stroller (Colugo code: fitmittenkitchen for $20 off orders of $125 or more). You can get the universal adapter car seat adapter and create a full travel system. Summertime baby walks here we come!

NOTE: Originally I had just registered at Babylist – they have their own “store” but I liked the fact that you could register for items from essentially any online store you like. However we hit a couple of road bumps while trying to make an exchange for an item that was purchased on Amazon with no order number provided by the gift giver. This is when I realized it made sense to just move some of the Amazon items over to their own registry.

Creating separate registries and then linking them to Babylist was great because then you could get the registry discount from each place.

When Drew says “Lay on that branch and I’ll take your picture” at 36 weeks pregnant, lol.

Hospital Bag

There were so many recommendations for hospital bag items too. I’ll share what I am bringing but just remember everyone is different. Some people want to have all of the things that will make them feel comfortable and others just go with the flow. I like to think I fall somewhere in between (haha).

Anything else you want to know?

Feel free to reach out or leave a comment below.

You can check out our announcement here, the first trimester update and second trimester update, ICYMI.

Some of the links shared are affiliate links, meaning I’ll receive a small commission should you choose to purchase through the link. I only recommend products I personally use and trust – thank you for your support!

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