After our overabundance of chorizo went away, I was back to the same breakfast as always. I've really just been having my smoothie followed by a late breakfast/lunch several hours later around noon. This is because I don't really get hungry again until that time. I have also been having more interest in fish, especially the smoked wild salmon from Costco. It's something that my husband always bought but seemed too fishy for my taste until now. Below is breakfast/lunch: eggs with whitefish salad and fresh dill, eggs with smoked salmon and butternut squash homefries (with the last link of chorizo cooked in) and a platter I made up for my husband and I one afternoon that has smoked salmon, fresh dill, primal crackers and a dairy-free cream-cheese type spread I "whipped" up.
Third Trimester Gripes
Swelling- I will say I've been fairly lucky and/or it's the diet and the primal lifestyle, but I haven't experienced much swelling. There have been a couple of days when I pulled off my socks and there were some serious elastic-band marks in my legs... but nothing worse than that. Sitting down and putting the feet up seems to be the best remedy. I have also read that sleeping on your left side is the best way to avoid the problem, but again it hasn't been a significant gripe for me. I would also imagine keeping up on fluid regulation will alleviate the possibility of it collecting anywhere.
Hemorrhoids- Nobody really wants to talk about hemorrhoids, so I will do it. I am pretty sure that these are inevitable. They will happen, no matter how great your diet and exercise, though these things probably make a big difference. Now, I can't speak for a 20 or 25 year-old butt-hole, but 33 years of use is a different story perhaps. The only thing you can do is take it easy on the area and hope it doesn't get much worse during labor. I highly recommend flushable wipes. I wish I had started using these when I was 10.
Babycenter says:
"Hemorrhoids are common during pregnancy, particularly in the third trimester. Some women get them for the first time while they're pregnant. And if you've had them before pregnancy, you're quite likely to have them again now. They may also develop while you're pushing during the second stage of labor and are a common early postpartum complaint. In most cases, hemorrhoids that developed during pregnancy will begin to resolve soon after you give birth, especially if you're careful to avoid constipation."
Smaller stomach- I definitely have experienced a change in the amount of food I can eat at once. I even lost a couple of pounds this trimester because of it. So, I decided to try to eat more food at more times during the day. I also probably overstuffed myself a few times to make up for the lost weight. My midwife said there was nothing to worry about and that she didn't find me or the baby to be the least bit lacking in good health. The other unfortunate thing about this is the heartburn aspect of the stomach's placement.
Heartburn- It hasn't been terrible for me. I've experienced it a couple of nights when I ate closer to bedtime and ate high acid foods such as tomato sauce. There was one night that I felt like I would vomit every time I tried to lay down. I did buy some tums and this was all it took to make me feel better. Granted, I'm pretty sure they aren't primal/paleo but they are tiny and a last minute fix. Obviously the best prevention is to know what triggers it and stop eating it.
Smaller bladder- Isn't it so disappointing to rush to the bathroom and sit down expecting a flow of relief and all you get are a couple of drops...? I basically just told myself to forget it. I'm just not going to pee. I don't really have to go desperately. I just have that sensation. And, hey I can get a little pelvic floor workout out of it. That'll show you, you heavy baby! And then one time I sneezed violently. Wah wahhhh....
Sickness/Colds- Yes, even the most primal people get sick. And yes, I am categorizing myself as a "most primal person." However, on the night after my husband returned from his Colorado ski vacation with a little bit of a cold, I happened to be enjoying a little bit of a cheat. During most of my 3rd trimester I have been having a major sweet-tooth. I have been satisfying it with extra spoonfuls of applesauce and organic fruit leather. To the average person this seems like a ridiculous excuse for a cheat. Fruit! Please. Well, add to that a 4-pack of natural ginger-ale made with the biggest inflammatory agent I could ingest: cane sugar. I wasn't just downing the entire 4-pack. I was actually just sipping it and watering it down over the period of a week or so. However, I am sure that I made my system vulnerable to the lovely little dose of bacteria my husband was so eager to share with me.
This was not the first time I have experienced a little sickness during this pregnancy. The other two times came with an overall fatigued feeling, a day of drinking copious amounts of broth and some quality bed time. It took less than 48 hours to recover each time. Yay for my kick-ass immune system!
This time is different. After about 2 or 3 days I had just about kicked my cold to the curb. Just when I was feeling almost to the end of recovery, I had a major setback. I went to eat at a place where I was led to believe they were serving pizza with no grains in the crust. I trusted these people making my food. This was a big mistake on my part. As soon as we had finished our meals, my husband and I felt a gassy, bloating feeling. This is my body's own grain-o-meter. I don't experience this unless I've eaten a grain, and since we had been without any this entire 9 months... mine was on high-alert. Needless to say, my skin rash (more on that below) became itchy and very noticeable, my nasal passages became more inflamed and began to produce much more mucous, I became more of a victim to this previous cold and woke up in the morning with a slight headache. This was not a good situation for a body that is already doing too much at such a stage in pregnancy. I am still in the last few days of recovery from what has lasted a week longer than it should have. No amount of broth, rest, vitamins or balanced meals could take this cold down faster than it has taken me to beat it. Oh, the joy of grains!
The bottom line is, as long as you know what you are eating, you will probably know what did it to you. I definitely also feel that the third trimester seems like the most vulnerable time in the pregnancy, or maybe it's just that way for me because of my sweet-tooth.
***This is about the time my water broke. I am finally finishing the posts to the best of my memory and will move on to one about my son's birth story. I apologize that these posts are so long overdue.***
Hiccups- This baby gets the hiccups at least twice a day. It's great because he is practicing breathing, but it's reallllly becoming annoying. It's especially irritating because there is no way to stop it and it feels like my whole belly is throbbing.
Loosening of the pelvis- Every time I get up, I feel like my crotch is going to rip open because there is no support in the area. Well, maybe it's not that bad, but I do sometimes wonder if it spreading my legs too wide even to get out of a car, might cause a head to poke out. I can certainly not do anything along the lines of lunges.
Baby Positioning- This may be a common worry in the third trimester. For me, I couldn't tell where my baby was and once he changed into an unrecognizable position for even the midwife, I had to get an ultrasound to see what we were dealing with. Turns out the baby was head down but facing the side or the wrong side. (I'll tell you it's a little late for me to remember or to matter) I did try to take an herbal supplement that would supposedly help the positioning, although by the time I figured out the correct dosage I went into labor. I tried a couple of movements on Spinning Babies but am convinced that one of them is what caused my water to break. This is not to say that I don't recommend trying these positions. I am simply baffled as to why my labor started this way and am looking for an excuse, as well as I really don't know.
