The final stretch - What the third trimester means to me

It still feels amazing and kind of surreal now that I'm over the whole pregnancy period. I can literally feel my uterus contracting, hopefully it will shrink back to how it was before - the size of a pear.

While people say that the second trimester is the best part, I actually enjoy the third trimester a lot too. Ok, other than needing to pee more frequently, having a hard time finding a comfy sleeping position, being able to fit into less and less clothes, I do love this feeling of being heavily pregnant.

Ok, maybe I'm weird.

Or perhaps it's because I'm lucky. I don't get severe heartburn, my cramps are bearable, my feet don't swell, I have great appetite, and my tummy isn't as huge as many other preggies. In fact, some friends thought I was only halfway through my pregnancy. And the best part is, as the hubby says, I am an 'agile' preggie because whaddaya know, I can still run, jump, hop, climb and dance. Phew. Well, it's not that I do that all the time or that I still continue to zumba, though I highly suspect I can.

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My emotions for this period were: Anticipation, Relaxation, Hopeful

Anticipating with much enthusiasm to the day when I can finally hold Ariel in my arms and once again enjoy the bliss of cuddling, kissing, breastfeeding and bonding with my little bundle of joy.

Relaxed during these last few months, mainly because this is my second pregnancy and thus there are no butterflies in the stomach (ok, maybe not yet till the day my contractions start). As of now, I am taking things easy and cherishing every single day of this wonderful pregnancy period even if that means I am starting to waddle.

Hopeful that our family of four is gonna be even better than our family of three, that Angel will be a doting big sister, that Ariel is going to bring about much joy, bliss and laughter, that life will only become more beautiful.

Although I probably didn't experience all the symptoms of the third trimester, here are some of the things I did feel.

1) Hey hubby, I'm heavier than you!

When it comes to weight gain, I think I am also one of the lucky ones whereby the food that I gobble up goes mainly to the baby. Seriously, I have very good appetites for both of my pregnancies. For Angel, I gained around 13-14kg which thankfully shed off pretty fast once she was born. For this pregnancy, I similarly gained 13kg. My gynae initially feared that I might be gaining too much too fast and thus told me to switch to drinking low fat milk every morning, which I didn't because hello, full cream milk tastes so much better. So anyway, I'm happy to announce that I'm now heavier than the hubby and can probably win him at sumo wrestling. Muahaha.

2) Do-Re-Mi *pant* Fa-So-La *pant* Ti-Do

In the span of one month, I've been to the KTV twice. Once was at a hens' night for a good friend and the other was a family event when it ended up Angel hogged the mic and held her concert for half the session. Anyway in case you do not know, I love to sing and not surprisingly, due to a lack of practice and a big tummy, I was feeling short of breath! So, much as I love to sing S.H.E or Jay Chou's fast-paced songs, I figured out I'd better stick to soothing ballads for now. Oh, did I also mention how much I need to gasp and pant after pushing Angel in her stroller up a very mild slope when previously we could scale the Alps? So much so that it amuses her and she never fails to say "加油! Mummy!" which kind of pushes me on but I concluded she just enjoys seeing mummy out of breath.

3) The fake contractions

If anything, I've learnt that having the feeling of contractions doesn't mean that you are going to go into labour anytime soon. In the last couple of weeks during the third trimester, I felt the Braxton Hicks contractions pretty frequently but they were very much painless and went away fairly quickly. Once, I felt this pain which intensified as time passed and I half thought I was going to pop. Ended up it was a case of upset tummy and the pain disappeared with the poo. Well, I actually couldn't wait for the real contractions to come as soon as possible!

4) Ouch, my back

Last but not least, I have been getting more backaches than usual. It might also be due to the fact that I try out all kinds of awkward positions to sleep and thus my back feels the pain when I wake up. That said, having experience childbirth and full fledged labour pain (without the help of epidural twice, thankyouverymuch), backache is not even the tip of the iceberg. So yes, I think I can survive this pretty well.

That pretty much sums up my final phase of the 40-week pregnancy. 9 months might sound like a long time but it has flown past and right now, I'm truly enjoying the fruit of my labour. All in all, I do deeply treasure the feeling of being pregnant for it's truly a miracle of life and the start of motherhood where all good things and happiness await me.

Do you remember how your last trimester felt like? If you have any memorable experiences or tips, do share!