Third Trimester Already??

At 28 weeks I've finally made it to the third trimester, though my brother insists I was already there. You can't divide 40 weeks evenly by three, but most websites do say that by 28 weeks it's definitely not 2nd trimester anymore.

I haven't started to notice a lot of differences from trimester two just yet, though it is definitely getting harder to bend over to pick up things. It is nice to have a more noticeable "baby bump," though it's still not as perfectly round as all the pregnant women you see in photographs (and I'm beginning to think it might not ever be). But it is rounder than it was before (back when it was pudgy/poochie), and  I still have people telling me I don't even look pregnant, while others who tell me I look VERY pregnant. I'm happy to take both as compliments.

I still can't say I've had any real food cravings. I've gone from a first trimester of mostly wanting meat and cheese protein with hardly any dessert, to being able to tolerate just about anything (except Baby's still not a big fan of spicy food), to now only having cravings for the occasional junk food of French Fries and soda. I try hard to avoid soda since none of it's really good for Baby and I wasn't much of a soda drinker before pregnancy either. So I usually fulfill the craving by mixing a little orange juice with lime-flavored sparkling water. It gives me the fizz and the bit of sweetness I'm wanting without feeling unhealthy.

Thankfully, I haven't reached the point of ultimate fatigue just yet--I still have a few weeks before I'm ready to send Baby an eviction notice--so the only real complaints are the occasional leg cramp when I wake up (charley horses are pretty painful, but they don't last very long), and some round ligament pain when I roll over at night. A couple things they never tell you about pregnancy to look out for: my nose is definitely stuffier most days, which is normal while pregnant, but it can mean sometimes I feel like I can't breathe while I'm eating when my nose doesn't want to function and the food makes me unable to breathe through my mouth to compensate. Also, the lower half of my stomach is now noticeably darker (slightly red tinted) than the upper half of my stomach. Skin pigment changes is also perfectly normal during pregnancy, but it is odd to see my strange new "farmer's tan."

The best part of pregnancy is still, of course, feeling the baby move. And this part of the pregnancy is apparently when Baby is the most active, so I have been able to enjoy it a lot lately. Baby kicks pretty much every day now, and has developed a routine of being the most awake at night when I'm relaxing on the couch or lying in bed about to go to sleep. I don't mind being kicked even when sleepy, because I love the reassurance that he's there and safe. It's also fun to share his kicks with Hubby, who feels them a lot more frequently now! Also, one of the best things I've yet to experience is when Baby kicks me on the drive to work, right when Hubby calls and I play his voice through my car speakers. I hope this means he recognizes his daddy already!

Other baby updates: I ordered a breast pump through my insurance this morning to be prepared for the fun world of breastfeeding and pumping when Baby arrives. My mom has been regularly buying me maternity tops--they have a lot of cute styles out there! I've started taking iron pills to combat mild anemia and have been neglecting my baby book reading due to busy work schedules and lazy weekends. But I do hope to get back into the reading so I can stay on top of what's happening with baby's development and prepare for the actual birth!

Next updates will hopefully including our plan in the works to clean out the nursery, take some adorable photos, and get ready for showers!