The Last Few Months of Pregnancy

The Last Few Months of Pregnancy

During the last few months of your pregnancy, you’re going to be experiencing the most rapid and drastic changes to your body. Fun times. I remember it well. The baby is going to be developing at a very fast pace and he or she will begin to gain a lot of weight. This will put strain on your body and require you to intake more calories as the weeks progress. Inevitably, this means you’re going to be gaining weight and this will only add to the levels of discomfort you might feel. 

Things Get a Little Harder in The Last Few Months of Pregnancy

Doing normal everyday chores around the house during the last few months of pregnancy is going to be challenging and even the small things like going to the toilet won’t be without event on occasion. Don’t allow late-stage pregnancy to catch you off guard with its numerous trials. Here are some ways you can prepare yourself for what lies ahead.

 

 

Start Moving!

Once upon a time, when a woman was pregnant she was told to get as much bed rest as she could. However, times have changed and now the advice is the opposite. As you grow larger and larger, the extra weight is going to be a strain on your skeleton and muscles. So getting as much exercise as you can, is going to make your joints and soft tissue stronger and able to bear the weight. On top of this, your movements won’t be so constricted in the last few months of your pregnancy thanks to the continual exercise you’ve been getting. More fresh blood will flow around your body and repair damaged tissue quicker.

The Last Few Months of Pregnancy: The Extra Help

From what I can remember from the few months of pregnancy housework was hard! A housekeeper would be a great extra hand around the house, to help you wash clothes, cook meals and generally keep the house clean. Here are some tips on how to find a housekeeper and what kind of process you should employ. Interviewing the housekeeper face to face is paramount because when you’re 7 to 9 months pregnant, you want to be able to trust him or her.

Equally as important as your care, if you already have small children the housekeeper will be the primary babysitter that you can rely upon. A trial period is recommended whereby you set the housekeeper some practical tasks and see how they get on. 

 

 Some Creature Comforts

During the last few weeks, you may begin to feel some harsh chemical reactions in your body. Keep your heartburn medicine nearby at all times. A pregnancy pillow should be taken everywhere with you as the baby’s weight is going to be trying to your pelvis. Sitting on the pillow is simple but effective relief. I called mine Artificial Roy as I would drape myself over it to get comfy in bed for naps when Roy wasn’t there. 

A final couple of months are going to be a bit challenging. But with these helpful suggestions in mind, you will be well-prepared for them. My hard and fast rule for this period is to do whatever you need to do. This is coming from the woman who for one of her pregnancies ended up in A&E with a thrombosed “pile”. There’s a blog post about that experience somewhere. Remember, you are growing a life in there so even if you feel slow, sore and a bit rough don’t be sad. You are doing a brilliant job! 

 

The Miracle of Pregnancy Pillows

Anyone who knew me in real life during my last pregnancy (Taylor!) will know that it was a hell of a ride. We’d been trying for four years when we fell pregnant and pretty much from that moment on it was just one of those pregnancies. Nausea seemed to last forever, then we moved onto leg, pelvis and back pain.

Me at 17 weeks pregnant with Taylor, what a face!
Me at 17 weeks pregnant with Taylor, what a face!

I have fairly horrific varicose veins which start at the top of my thighs and work their way down. When not pregnant they are fairly manageable, when pregnant they stand out a lot more, are very raised, very painful and there is little relief.

Shortly before I hit 29 weeks I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes with readings off the charts which resulted in my testing and injecting at least four time a day. My levels only came under control properly the week before I had Taylor.

Every week I dropped Kieran off at school, walked to the bus stop over in town (I don’t drive), travelled to Northallerton where our hospital was. Walked to the hospital from the bus stop, had a morning meeting with the diabetes team, a scan just after lunch, walked back to the bus stop, travelled home then went straight to pick Kieran up. Seeing as walking with poorly legs and later horrible pelvic and back pain was difficult needless to say I was shattered by the end of the day.

Shattered and in pain the much needed sleep I craved was often harder to come by than it should be, until I started using a pregnancy pillow. A simple solution which worked so incredibly well! Firmer and easy to shape than bunched up ordinary pillows it gave a great amount of support. I could lie on my side, with my leg over the bottom of the long pillow, which helped with my pelvic pain and back discomfort and being properly positioned seemed to reduce the ache in legs.

Our pillow was laughingly named “Artificial Roy” because I cuddled it constantly, I slept with it and yet it didn’t snore or steal a duvet like the real version. I continued to use it after Taylor arrived (C Section) to promote supportive and comfortable rest and then shaped it in a V shape for him to later start to sit up with. These pillows are so simple and yet they do so much more than ordinary house pillows and cushions.

If only I’d thought to get one when pregnant with Kieran, especially after the incident surrounding the thrombosed pile…. Oh the indignities of pregnancy!

Nearly there now, tired and waiting to go down for our c section
Nearly there now, tired and waiting to go down for our c section

Today’s sharing is not because I am pregnant again or planning to be, however I do seem to have an enormous amount of pregnant friends at the moment and have mentioned pregnancy pillows to most of them so in for a penny, in for a pound. Post pregnancy I wish I’d held onto mine for longer because they really do help you get comfortable for a really good night’s sleep.

I hope this helps someone – they really are worth looking up. Did or do you use one?

 

*Written in co-operation with the mentioned business yet true to my own thoughts, feelings and experiences.