10 COMMON ANNOYANCES IN THIRD TRIMESTER 1. Frequent urination. As your growing uterus increases pressure on your bladder, you will need to urinate more frequently. Be sure to urinate as often as you feel the urge and completely empty your bladder. Do not hold your urine in, as this may increase your chances of developing a urinary tract infection or even trigger premature contractions.
2. More breast changes. Your breasts continue to enlarge and you may start leaking a thick, yellowish milk, called colostrum.
3. Vaginal pain. An occasional sharp pain in your vaginal area is normal due to the pressure on your cervix.
4. Pelvic pains. You may experience sharp pains and a feeling of pressure in your pelvic area, especially when you lift your leg up to get out of bed or put on your underwear. These are most likely due to the shifting of your pelvic bones and the loosening of the ligaments attached to these bones in preparation for the little passenger that will soon be coming through. The more pregnancies you have, the more you may experience these pelvic sensations.
5. Groin pain. You may notice a sudden sharp pain when you laugh, cough, sneeze, twist, change position, or reach for something. This is caused by stretching of the ligaments that attach your uterus to your pelvis. Adjusting and changing position will ease this pain.
6. Frequent thirst. This is your body's signal that you need to drink a lot of water to keep up with your body's increased fluid demands this trimester. Drink to your thirst's content, and then some.
7. Feeling faint. After you have been standing or active for a long time, or when you rise too quickly, you may experience a faint or dizzy feeling similar to what you felt in the first trimester. Sit or lie down immediately. Low blood sugar can contribute to this light-headed feeling, so be sure to snack frequently. Resting, eating nutritious food, and avoiding sudden moves to the upright position will lessen faintness.
8. More vaginal discharge. Expect more whitish, vaginal discharge, enough to necessitate the use of panty liners.
9. Frequent heartburn. During the second trimester you may have had a reprieve from the heartburn of the first few months, but now that burning feeling reappears. This trimester it is more the result of upward pressure of the growing uterus than of pregnancy hormones. Propping yourself upright during sleep; eating small, frequent meals; and keeping yourself upright after a meal should help.
10. Constipation. Your enlarging uterus and its growing occupant seem to push your intestines aside, contributing to constipation. Your increasing need for water elsewhere in your body may steal needed fluid from your intestines, also leading to constipation. Be sure you drink at least eight 8- ounce glasses of water a day.
Emotional Changes: EUPHORIA FORGETFUL THE NEED FOR A TIME-OUT EAGER TO GET THINGS DONE OVERWHELMED BY BIRTHING DECISIONS
PHYSICAL CHANGES: HEART-POUNDING SHORTNESS OF BREATH FACIAL PUFFINESS CLUMSY BABY'S KICKING: Studies show babies kick most frequently during the seventh month and kick more often in the night and early morning hours (from midnight to six a.m.). FETAL HICCUPS SWELLING OF HANDS, LEGS, AND FEET
How does baby grow this month? Check out the following growth milestones:
By the end of this month baby weighs around 2 to 2-1/2 pounds and measures around fourteen inches long.
During this month baby has a growth spurt, gaining around a pound. Fat deposits smooth out some of the previous wrinkles, giving baby a more filled out appearance, but he is still much skinnier than he will be at birth.
Baby is getting stronger! His limbs are longer, stronger, and these delightful little kicks make more of an impression in your abdomen. Baby's eyelids open. Baby can now see, hear, smell, and taste. Baby's bone marrow now takes over from the spleen as the major site of red blood cell production.
At this stage, baby moves vigorously and responds to touch and sound. Baby gets smarter as major changes occur throughout her nervous system. Nerve fibers are clothed in a fatty layer called myelin that allows nerve impulses to travel faster.
Cells lining the rapidly budding alveoli (air sacs in baby's lungs) begin to secrete a soapy substance called surfactant that keeps these air sacs from collapsing—similar to the substance that keeps the soap bubble expanded. Depending on how well developed are the alveoli and surfactant secretion, if baby were born now, she may be able to sustain air breathing and life outside the womb.
Before the seventh month, most babies choose to lie in the breech position because it's easier for them to rest comfortably in the pear-shaped uterus, but most will flip to the head-down position by 34 weeks.
