The Final Stretch! The 3rd Trimester

Wow. My 2nd trimester flew by. Seriously. I remember counting the days and hours until my 1st trimester was over, maybe because I felt so crappy during those first 13 weeks (Read all about my 1st trimester HERE). But the past 13 weeks have gone by so fast! I guess when you feel fabulous, time goes by faster.

The grossness I felt in the first trimester lingered a few weeks into my 2nd, so I was hopeful that I would continue to feel great a few weeks into my 3rd trimester. I was wrong. At around 26/27 weeks I started getting sharp pains in my back! I think this little baby is sitting on my sciatic nerve and it doesn’t feel great. It’s hard to walk sometimes. When putting pressure on my right leg while walking, a sharp shooting pain will almost bring me to my knees. It’s intense! It’s worse some days than others and I’m hopeful that my little babe will move off my nerve and this won’t continue for the rest of my pregnancy- REALLY hopeful. Ha!

You can get this dress HERE OR HERE. Limited sizes left!
You can get this dress HERE OR HERE. Limited sizes left!

1) BLUE DRESS 2) WEDGES 3) BRACELETS 4) NECKLACE 5) RING

I’m also starting to get pain in my pelvic floor. Carrying around an extra 20 lbs is doing a number on my pelvis. My legs go numb around my hips every night and this little baby loves to keep me up at night doing gymnastics in my uterus. Don’t get me wrong, I am thankful for every little ache and pain. I know how blessed I am to be able to experience pregnancy, so I try to remember that when I’m laying in pain on my couch. It’s weird how much you can love someone who is causing you such discomfort. Ha!

On top of all this, I was feeling SO cute in the second trimester (read about how beautiful I felt HERE) and that isn’t quite the case now (even though I LOVE how I look in the maternity dress I’m wearing in this photo. You can get it HERE or HERE). I am really started to fill out and pack on the pounds. It’s honestly probably a good thing that I am noticing quick weight gain because it’s motivating me to eat better. I have eaten VERY poorly lately. I still get my veggies each day but after dinner is done, I indulge!!! In everything from ice cream to whip cream to Peeps! Yes – Peeps! Those things are pure sugar but I just can’t get enough of them (I stocked up after Easter). At one point I was putting whip cream ON my Peeps. Really Ali? And did I just say “after dinner”, who am I kidding, I’d eat them for breakfast sometimes! Horrible – I know. I’m not going to beat myself up about the poor food decisions I’ve made, but I am going to make a real effort to eat better moving forward. And not because of my weight (even though my weight brought all this to my attention), but for the health of my baby girl.

Being a first time mom, I don’t always know what is normal and what isn’t – and it can be terrifying! A few days before my baby shower (see my gorgeous baby shower HERE) I was experiencing bad back pain coupled with cramps. After talking to a few of my friends who are moms, they told me I needed to call my doctor because cramps and back pain are two of the major symptoms of pre-term labor. I was pretty sure that I wasn’t going into labor but I needed to call my doctor to be safe. Of course, my doctor was on vacation that week and the on call doctor couldn’t see me so I was told to go to labor and delivery at the hospital. They especially wanted me to go after I told them that I haven’t felt the baby move in 24 hours and she normally kicks ALL the time! I REALLY didn’t want to go because I was almost certain I wasn’t in labor but when it comes to the life of your child, you should always be safe rather than sorry. So Kevin and I headed to the hospital to check on our little girl. While we were headed over there, I realized that I was SO unprepared for our little girl’s arrival. What if I was in labor? I didn’t have a hospital bag packed. I didn’t even have a birth plan! Yes, Kevin and I have talked about what I would like out of my pregnancy (obviously the baby is going to do what she wants to do, but it’s good to have some sort of plan). He knows I want skin to skin contact after the baby is born and he knows I don’t want a ton of people in the room- but that’s about it. This trip to the hospital was certainly a wake up call that we need to be prepared for our little one’s arrival because you never know when she will decide to join us in this world!

When we got to Labor and Delivery they hooked me up to a machine with straps that went around my belly to monitor the baby. After an hour of monitoring, they determined I was not in pre-term labor. Thank goodness!!! I was most likely experiencing cramps from my ligaments stretching due to my growing uterus and the back pain is most likely caused from a pinched sciatic nerve. What a relief. When I say I can’t wait to meet our little girl, what I actually mean is I CAN wait and want to wait. She needs a little bit more cooking in my belly before we see her beautiful little face.

Given my experience and all the pain I’ve been feeling the past couple weeks, I am curious what other moms have experienced. Did the pain start this early for you? Did it go away? Some moms tell me the aches and pains come in waves in the third trimester and I will feel better soon. Is this true for any moms out there? Please tell me it is! Let’s discuss in the comments below.

Oh and here are some products I could not have lived without the last couple months! First, THESE maternity jeans by Isabella Oilver are BY FAR the best maternity jeans I’ve tried. I wear them ALL THE TIME! Also, I’ve been using THIS pregnancy pillow, but I’m thinking about trying out THIS one instead. Mine is pretty firm and I find my ear hurts when I wake up in the morning sometimes. I also think the Boppy might give me better support around my knees. Would love to know all your thoughts!

This maternity “bra” for you belly by Baobei Maternity SAVED me when I went to Disneyland with my niece a couple weeks ago. I also use it on all my hikes. It helps take so much stress off my back and supports my growing belly. And lastly, I really want to tell you guys about these prenatal vitamins! I have been taking them for about a year (I started taking them when we started trying for a baby) and I love them because they don’t make me sick! I have such a hard time taking multi vitamins because they make me nauseous. But I can take these without food! They are amazing! Only down side is you have to take 3 a day instead of one.

Real quick about this dress. It’s the FIRST maternity dress I’ve gotten and I LOVE it! I love how it has a built in bra so I don’t have to wear one (SO much more comfortable). And it flatters me in all the right places while showing off my bump! You can get it at Nordstrom HERE or from the designers website HERE. I also have it in orange. I’m wearing a size 2 (size 6 in US sizes).

38 Thoughts

38 thoughts on “The Final Stretch! The 3rd Trimester

  1. I love, love, loved my bump nest maternity pillow. My baby girl is 6 months old and I think about pulling it out of storage sometimes because I slept so comfortably 🙂

  2. Ali you look SO cute!
    I am how you were the first trimester right now! I am 10 weeks and I haven’t been able to cook in about 4 weeks! Not to mention I am so hungry and tired all the time! Then I get hungry but most things sound disgusting so I will just wait and then I’ll get ridiculously hungry and I’ll force myself to choke down a smoothie (only thing that sounds good!)
    Love these posts, they’re so real and women like me can relate!

  3. Have you considered chiropractic for the nerve pain? I had chiropractic care during both of my pregnancies and highly recommend it! Also, get a prenatal massage…you will leave feeling AMAZING! Blessings to you!

  4. Currently 32 weeks along, and I think it just depends on the person. Hopefully your pain will subside. For me, I experience most of my back pain in the 2nd trimester and my 3rd trimester is when I feel my best. So it really just depends on the mama 🙂 hope the rest of your pregnancy goes well!

  5. I’m at 23 weeks right now and right around when week 21 hit I experienced insane pain in my pelvis. It hurt to walk or move. I went to my osteopath, my acupuncturist, my chiropractor and my massage therapist all in one week and I’m happy to report that most of that pain is now gone. Have you been getting regular care by any of these kinds of practitioners? Maybe look into it. Wishing you the best…b

  6. Best maternity pillow ever… I’m on baby no. 2 and I couldn’t wait to bust it out this time around 🙂 Fortunately we have a CalKing bed… And the hubs cuddles up in it when I’m traveling for work ha! And I feel ya on the pains. I don’t remember when they all hit during my first pregnancy but this time around I started getting the ligament pains/stretching at like 20 weeks! It all happens so differently the second time around!

  7. Ali, Your symptoms sound very similar to mine! I had a healthy baby girl on Jan. 1, 2016….born a couple weeks early due to low fluid and high blood pressure. I remember the sciatic pain as well, VERY uncomfortable… Right around same time as you! After a couple weeks, she moved and that pain didn’t come back! I too felt great between 1st and second trimesters, but towards the beginning of 3rd trimester I had horrible back pain that never went away. At 32 weeks I went in and they were preterm contractions so I had to take it easy. I think I gained too much weight and didn’t exercise enough, plus I had a big baby. My advice would be to keep a positive attitude, enjoy these last few weeks and take care of yourself. I went from exercise every day to none in pg.. I.let loose a little :(! I’m normal size but my husband was 10lbs pounds and ours ended up at 7, 11 3 weeks early.

  8. Hi Ali, I used the boppy maternity pillow and used it even post baby for breast feeding and comfort. Unfortunately, I had severe back pain throughout my entire 2nd and 3rd pregnancy and experienced soreness in my rib cage. My daughter was wedged up underneath my right rib cage and apparently it was her favorite spot and she always settled back into it. You will have ebbs and flows of different discomforts…. I had several trips to L&D when I wasn’t sure if some symptoms were normal. Thankfully they always were but you definitely want to be safe! You look fantastic by the way – believe people when they tell you that you look great… They mean it! Enjoying your blog since I discovered it recently and wish you a safe and speedy delivery!

  9. Ali, I had similar issues. I do agree they come in waves in the 3rd trimester. My biggest problem was the ligaments stretching.. especially when I would roll from back to side or vice versa. OUCH! I would always be careful when I was doing that.. and support my belly with my hand, if that makes sense. I also had swelling in my ankles and feet in the last trimester.. which was NO fun. It was a little more swelling than normal.. and he called it "pitted edema’. It was gross looking, and not fun. I hope you don’t get it that bad.. if at all. I had a gigantic belly.. and both of my children were over 9lbs. You look fabulous!! And love love love your growing belly! No matter how crappy you feel sometimes, just rest as much as possible.. and listen to your body. 🙂

  10. You have been my pregnancy motivation! I am one week behind you with my first (a boy!) and have been reading your blog daily and enjoying the journey with you. Thank you for being so real and sharing your experiences!

  11. Love that dress and color on you!! I had lots of cramping and ligament pain with both of my kids. I carried WAY out front and all the stretching can be uncomfortable! My hips used to hurt a ton too and I waddled my way through the 2nd and 3rd trimesters 😉 As for the eating–my philosophy was much like yours. Eat well AND give the belly what it wants. It’s ok to indulge! With my daughter I craved root beer barrels (candy) and I bought a 10 pound (yes…10 POUND) bag of them online! With my son I ate 5 or 6 Flavor Ice ice pops every day for 10 months. Enjoy the rest of your pregnancy. Can’t wait to meet your little beauty! Ps. Do you have a name yet? Not asking you to share (we kept ours a secret) just wondering if you decided?!

  12. Congrats on your 3rd trimester! I’m 29 weeks myself. My back pain started around 26 weeks too. I recently started going to the chiropractor and liking my results so far. He’s helping realign my back and also my pelvis (one side sits higher than the other) which should also make delivery easier down the road too. Maybe you should look into it if you’re in a lot of pain! Some days are better than others. Some days it’s harder to breathe if he’s sitting higher and those are the days I’m in the most pain. But I know I’m lucky to be experiencing this and that my symptoms are relatively easy compared to many others.

  13. CHIROPRACTOR!!! Every.Single.Week. I swear by it and did for both my pregnancies. They can stretch out your round ligaments so they aren’t so painful and gives the baby more room to move, adjust your pelvis (including pelvic inlet which is where I feel the most pain and pressure), and of course the rest of your back and neck. By staying in alignment by getting adjusted, it assures a nice straight path for baby to exit in a few weeks. Enjoy the last trimester!

  14. I had Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD) or Pelvic Girdle Pain with my 2nd pregnancy – it was the most horrible & painful experience. I was so ready for him to be here, however it wasn’t until 3 days past his due date that he came and the pain was instantly gone! So… I feel ya girl! I also experienced the same exact 1st trimester that you did with both my children, lost about 10lbs with both of them but steadily gained it back throughout the rest of the pregnancy. You’re doing great so far – enjoy this last trimester, it goes by fast. Soon you’ll have your precious baby girl in your arms! Blessings to you & your family <3

  15. Hey Ali! I just wanted to comment on the pregnancy pillow…. I am pregnant with my third and have used a ton of pillows. By far the best one is the Bump Nest pillow! Look them up and consider it- I promise you won’t be disappointed! Helped me with my back pain and hip pain in the third trimesters! You look gorg- hang in there!!!

    Whitney
    {Bumptobabylife.blogspot.com}

  16. Congrats on the third trimester!! I am 22 weeks today and having a baby girl as well. Your symptoms sound sooooo much like mine, especially the stretching and cramping you experienced. I was in bed for two days because of it and could barely do anything, thankfully it was a weekend…but I researched it and I discovered it was the ligaments. I actually received a newsletter from Baby Center about it around the time I was experiencing this. So have no fear, you and your baby sound like you are right on track for a healthy pregnancy!

  17. If you’re looking for an amazing pillow, check out The Bump Nest. It’s amazing! I think I tried every pillow on the market with my first baby, and never found one I liked. The Bump Nest was recommended by a friend with my second baby, and it was a total game changer. I’ve now used it for my last 3 pregnancies (currently 37 weeks with baby #4). Seriously, you should check it out. I can’t imagine you’d be disappointed.

  18. I started getting sciatic pain in my right butt/leg a couple of weeks ago also. I’ve found sitting on my stability ball with as good of posture as I can handle during some tv time (that’s usually spent on the couch with horrible posture) has helped! I also just bought the "upsie belly" belt from Belly Bandit which had great reviews. I haven’t recieved it yet but I’ve used a non-pregnancy belt in the meantime while I wait and it has helped so much taking a lot of the pressure off that area of my lower back/butt when standing/ walking and even working out. So I’m excited to get it in the mail soon! You’re looking gorgeous and the last trimester will fly! Hope you get some relief from the pain! ?

  19. I have four great kids but two of them loves to hang out in my back and legs were always going numb until I started seeing a chiropractor. Let’s just say if I was not married I would have kissed him the first visit. I felt so much better and I could sleep!! Also just a heads up those are the two I had back labor with. Kept thinking it was just back pains. Ya I was in labor!! Also take your sweet angle to a Chiro within her first week. She will Stay healthy and she will be less fussy! Good luck and enjoy every minute! Oh and run to a pregnancy Chiro soon! Helped with my labor also!

  20. Get to the chiropractor for those aches and pains 🙂 thankfully my husband is a chiropractor which is the only way I made it through my first two pregnancies 😉

  21. I thought I was going into pre-term labor with my daughter Stella at 27 weeks, but nope — KIDNEY STONES! Wow. Worst. Pain. Ever. Even more so than labor! As soon as they hooked me up to a fetal monitor and I knew it wasn’t pre-term labor, I calmed down enough to be able to take the water bottle and Tylenol they gave me. Yikes! But in the end, we had a beautiful, baby girl who turns two in May! Hard to believe how time flies.

  22. I stumbled across your blog a few weeks ago while looking for maternity dresses on Pinterest. I’m 26 weeks pregnant and absolutely love reading your blog posts. I appreciate your candor and totally relate to your happiness and struggles. I was diagnosed with a hypothyroid and anemia, both of which are common during pregnany but are really bringing me down. I feel for you as you struggle with back and body pain. Thank you for sharing! You’re in the home stretch. And, you have a small army of pregnant ladies cheering you on!

  23. When I was pregnant with my first (11 years ago!), I had a lot of painful ligament stretching. My childbirth instructor said to fill a tube sock with rice, tie it, and heat it for a minute or so in the microwave. I would put that on top of the pain and it really helped! Good luck, I had a lot of pain with my first! Less with the second though, everything was nice and stretched out for him 🙂

  24. Hi Ali – I am 38 weeks along and as soon as the 3rd trimester hit I felt lots of pain I my pelvic floor too! Yoga seemed to really help tho. Running or walking a lot actually seemed to make it worse!!! Also I experienced very bad cramping around week 25 and my doctor also thougt it could’ve been preterm labor so I also had to be checked out. My doctor actually told me it was probably related to digestive issues. After eliminating certain foods I found it it was red meat causing me issues! I have never had a problem since! You just never know what the baby wants or doesn’t want I guess! 😉

  25. Hey Ali! I am also 28 weeks (due July 11th) and live in San Diego! I have been following your Instagram since the bachelor. When I saw you were prego and we were due close to the same time, I started reading your blog and had to comment on this post! I am feeling all the back pains too! I always wonder is this normal!?! You look too cute and hope everything goes great in the rest of your pregnancy!

  26. FYI with my 4th child I too had ear pain and it’s just another "fun" side effect of pregnancy. I wouldn’t purchase another body pillow. Good luck with the rest of your journey. "It’s the hardest job you will ever LOVE ."

  27. Hi Ali! With my first child, I had similar back pain and thought around week 27 that I just couldn’t workout anymore, but I was wrong. I found a really good, reputable chiropractor and he took away my pain completely. I couldn’t even believe it. I was able to return to walking the track, elliptical, whatever! Just a thought. I’ve heard prenatal yoga is good too.

  28. If you end up with bad sciatic pain go to a chiropractor that is trained to work with pregnant people! That is the only thing that helped my pain, I had it to bad there were a few days when I couldn’t even walk! Hope this helps

  29. I had the same pain, but i think they call it pelvic girdle pain. I couldn’t take a step further than a couple inches apart otherwise I was in 10 out of 10 pain, worse than labor. I saw a physical therapist that specialized in women’s and pregnancy. She gave me great exercises and stretched out my pelvis. The exercises helped so much. I would be happy to email you the exercises. My second pregnancy thankfully I didn’t experience that. So just so you know every pregnancy is different.

  30. I love that you share everything with us. You look Fab in everything you put on Ali.
    So happy it was a false alarm. Can’t wait to see your little girl.

  31. Oh my goodness, the models look so frumpy in those dresses, but you make them look amazing! I would not have considered either of them had I not read your blog.

  32. Happy you’re not in pre-term labor!! I had contractions from 28 weeks, went to labor and delivery to have the baby checked and I was in pre-term labor. I was put on bedrest at that point and ended up delivering at 35 weeks. Our baby boy is thankfully healthy, but we had a bit of a scare! I do wish you a long and healthy third trimester, there is no rush for your little girl to come out!!

  33. I felt aches and pains going into my 3rd trimester too especially at night. I stretched my legs each night before getting into bed and tried to up the water intake. Also if I was out and about walking I’d get shooting like pains "down there" which I think some call lightening crotch. I felt heavy like the baby was pushing down towards the last few weeks but I still felt pretty good! You feel like the baby can come at any moment and you and Kevin will say "any day now" he he. I ended up going to 40+6. My pregnancy was wonderful and so was the birth. Just go with the flow and trust the doctors. They didn’t even look at my birth plan! They will do what they need to do to deliver a safe baby. Good luck! Try to keep your legs elevated when you can which will take pressure off xx

  34. Hey Ali! I’m trying to find a post that I thought you wrote about your delivery/hospital experience. I remember I loved what you wore in the hospital and wanted to locate the store. Can you help? Thanks!

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