Third trimester Survival Tips & Essentials

Photo by Gabriela Fearn from our Maternity Session

The third trimester will get uncomfortable everyone warned me.

Mine was pretty fine.
No major symptoms. A few sleepless nights here and there, a few leg cramps but overall I have felt energised and was able to exercise and enjoy my days. Now in my final days, I do feel the weight and pressure of our baby girl and definitely feel some discomfort, but nothing so major that it would keep me from walking.

I do feel that my vegan plant-based diet has contributed to this a lot! When you eat well, you feel well, your body does have energy naturally and you feel emotionally more balanced too.

I made a big commitment to myself to really look after myself during this special time, no matter how busy life and work got, I made my health and wellbeing a priority. And trust me, I know it's not always easy, but at the same time, there is nothing more important to do.

I am by no means an expert and this is my first pregnancy, yet all the things below have made my life so much easier and helped me feeling great during this final trimester:

Body Products / Cosmetics For The Third Trimester

Magnesium Spray & Bath Salts
Read my review about them here. If I ever got sore after too much exercise or just from too much standing or baby pressing on my lower back and pelvis a bath in these sorted me out real quick.
It also really helps with sleep, which is another common problem for many in the third trimester, as it can get a little harder to get comfy with this big belly. A warm bath in these at the end of the day really helped to knock me out and get the best sleep.

Face Tan Water
I have been raving about it before. It just helps my skin look more even and glowing without using makeup, which I kinda got too lazy for lately.
Read my review here

Perineum Massage Oil
I got myself a bottle of the Weleda Perineum Massage Oil. I will keep you updated after birth if it helped at all.
I thought it won't hurt to try it. It's developed by midwives and absolutely safe.
The idea is to keep the area well hydrated and elastic to help stretch the skin and prevent any tearing during birth.

Favourite Exercises During The Third Trimester

Gurmukhs Prenatal Kundalini Yoga
I did a class I found on Youtube over and over, as I missed out to get myself the official DVD's earlier. So: My hot tip is on getting your hands on these in time at the beginning of pregnancy. She is such an amazing teacher and I always feel great after this class.

Walking
It's probably not really news to you, but I still wanted to mention that walking has been great. Not comfortable at all days, but always worth it. Walking lots during pregnancy is recommended everywhere, helps the baby into a good position and has countless other benefits.

Swimming
I envisioned myself being able to swim every day in this third trimester, but the weather in March this year was rather horrendous and lead to too much pollution in the harbour beaches around my house on most days. I still managed to swim as much as possible and it always made me SO happy. I just doing normal breaststroke laps, nothing that looks like an olympic sport. ( I am not that sporty!) But even these simple movements and the water supporting the weight, just felt magical every time.

Favourite Meditations During The Third Trimester

I also thought I would meditate every morning during the last trimester since being off work for the last weeks. I am usually quite committed to my practice, but I also wanted to enjoy my sleep. So I did do regular meditations, but not every morning.

Kundalini Meditations from Gurmukhs book Bountiful Beautiful Blissful
Meditations from the Calmbirth Course
(If your partner is up for it, it's really great doing meditations together, Dave and I have been doing some of the partner meditations in Gurmukhs book and also listened to the Calmbirth meditations together)

My fit ball, or also called labour ball by the midwives. I just got myself a cheapy one from Kmart and used it to sit on when working on my desk. It really helps with posture. And posture is kind of a big deal when the growing belly & boobs are pulling you forward. Exercise, of course, helps to open up the chest and to stretch out the shoulders, but I still catch myself in the mirror slouching a lot. The ball is also great for little labour prep exercises and apparently an amazing tool in labour too. We will see...

My Favourite Foods & Superfoods During the Third Trimester

Raw Protein Powder
Dave always tells me I don't need it, but since you DO need more protein during pregnancy and it fills me up, stops cravings and also helps me with exercise plus makes my smoothie bowls taste extra creamy and tasty I have been loving it! It's true though that you won't NEED isolated proteins to your diet. This one , which I have also used in my Bliss Ball recipe, is a very healthy, balanced, organic, wholefoods one though and again, I have been loving it!

Everything that is fermented and probiotic!
As baby inherits your gut flora, which is the base for all good health and a healthy immune system, it's important to load up on these foods during pregnancy. Besides that it helps to keep you regular and keeps you overall happy and healthy.
I incorporated the following:

Organic Apple Cider Vinegar with the mother
I use it in salad dressings, but also like to drink a tablespoon mixed in a glass of water.
It also helps to stabilise blood sugar and to avoid sweet cravings.

Kimchi (which also has garlic and spices that work as prebiotics!)
I am addicted to the one that About Life makes, they have it in their fresh food bar and also sell their own jars of it, although it's often sold out. If you live in Sydney, you have to try this one! Husband is a fan as well.

Coconut Water Kefir, I really love the taste. It reminds me of Champagne. (Yeah, I am weird!)
This is a watery sparkling drink, I am NOT talking about Coconut Kefir, which is a rich yoghurt like food, which is made from Coconut Milk. It's healthy too, but I much prefer just taking a sip of the Water Kefir and found the other one too creamy tasting.

Red Raspberry Leaf Tea
It's an old natural herbal remedy to tone the uterus and prepare it for birth. There are so many different recommendations on when to start and how much to drink. I checked with our doula and recommend you ask your providers for approval and do your own research. I really enjoy the taste, but I know many don't and mixes it with other herbs, drink it as iced tea etc.

Lots of fresh food and veggies!
Duh... You have heard this one before, I bet!
Starting every day with a smoothie bowl gives me a portion of greens already right when I wake up. I will share my favourite recipe on the blog soon! I have had salads for lunch and steamed, grilled or baked veggies for dinner...Veggies, veggies, veggies. And fruit snacks ofcourse! If I really wanted something sweet I had a Bliss Ball or made myself a Dandelion Chai Latte with Soy Milk. Sometimes also a Tumeric Latte, yum....

That's it! I hope you enjoyed it. Again, these are just things that have worked for me. Everyone is different and so is every pregnancy, always check with your providers about exercise, foods and supplements that are suitable for you.