Well, Paige here, and I'm officially in my last week of pregnancy! Yay! I feel like I've been pregnant FOREVER and can't wait to finally meet baby boy!
The third trimester can be rough, but I've found a few things along the way to help me enjoy it, and avoid some of those dreaded problems (like stretch marks)! And I wanted to share :) So here are my tips for surviving, and even sometimes enjoying, the third trimester.
1. Avoiding Stretch Marks:
Forget all those special, expensive shea butter anti stretch mark creams. From what I've heard, none of them work. Throughout my pregnancy I just used Cetaphil on my stomach and the rest of my body daily. If you go to a dermatologist for dry skin that is what they'll tell you to use, so I figured it would work just as well as anything else! I lathered my stomach with it every day, and haven't gotten one stretch mark! Below is a linked picture of the kind I use and just order straight from amazon.
2. Incline walking:
I stopped feeling comfortable running about half way through my third trimester. My husband suggested slow walking at an incline instead and it's been awesome! I put the treadmill up to a 10 incline and walk at 2.5 for the first 5 minutes, then switch off between 2.5 and 3.5mph every other minute for the last 5 minutes. This sounds super easy, and it is haha. But it's a great way to get moving and get your blood flowing, and get a light workout in :)
3. Lavender essential oil epson salt baths:
Ok, if you live in Utah County you can buy this salt bath mix at Mend Juicery in Riverwoods, and they're amazing! I always lose about a pound after each bath because it helps so much with swelling and getting rid of excess water retention. Just make sure you don't submerge your baby bump all the way in too hot of water! If you're not local, you can easily make the bath salt mixture yourself if you just google it, or you can also buy them on amazon here.
4. Foot Relax Center:
Ok, my friend Shontel recently visited from California and introduced me to this place, and I'm just sad I didn't know about it sooner! If you live in Utah and are pregnant (or aren't) this place is a must! For $20 for a half hour or $40 for an hour you get your feet soaked while getting your head, neck and shoulders massaged, then your feet and calves massaged while sitting in a huge comfy chair. It's AMAZING! Especially if you have swollen pregnant feet. I wish I could go very day :) There's one in South Jordan and one in Sandy. Their phone number is 801-234-0566. You're welcome. If you're not local just do a search for foot massage and see what you can find. My friend said she's been to similar places in California!
5. Treat Yo Self:
Buy a few maternity dresses from ASOS and Pink Blush Maternity. It's so hard to feel cute and not like a fat giant bowling ball by the third trimester. None of your clothes fit, and if you're like me, you're legs no longer look cute in pregnant skinny jeans with big flowy tops. ASOS and Pink Blush Maternity are awesome because they have the cutest dresses at great prices! Below are some pictures from my baby shower where I'm wearing one of my favorite dresses from Pink Blush. Find it here. I've also linked some of my favorite ASOS maternity dresses at the bottom of this post!
Hope this is helpful for those of you currently in the same boat as me!
