30 Weeks Pregnant

A Purified Pregnancy | Weeks 29-31

Amanda Nicole SmithLifestyle, Pregnancy Leave a Comment

The weeks are flying by and everyday we get more and more excited to meet baby girl. Thanks to my friends and family, her room is filled with clothes, books, bottles, toys, and everything else she needs. She moves and kicks constantly, and sometimes it’s on both sides at the same time, which means she’s getting much bigger!

My lovely ladies from the studios I work at, threw me a surprise baby shower and I cried like a baby. I wasn’t expecting anything and then all of a sudden these woman who I love so much, took time out of their busy lives to throw me a surprise party complete with games, organic food, and gifts. I want to cry every time I think about how amazing they are and how truly blessed I am to have them in my life.

The third trimester has been treating me well so far, I feel like I have a handle on any discomforts, which I will discuss more in detail. I was told a lot of horror stories but I try to remove unnecessary fear from my mind.

Discomfort #1 | Poor Circulation

Every night I have been feeling this weird sensation like I have an itch all throughout my body or like my limbs are about to go numb which causes me to have what I think is restless leg syndrome. 

Solution #1

I have found that laying on my accupressure mat, alternating sides, helps keep blood flowing and stops the uncomfortable sensations so I can fall fast asleep and stay asleep. I wake up normally 20 minutes after each side, use the restroom and then remove and continue sleep. The mat does say that pregnant woman should not use because it induces labor, but the only warnings I could find were with pressure points on the wrists and ankles. It works wonders for me and i haven’t had any complications, but don’t blindly follow my solution, ask your midwife or doctor. 

 

Discomfort #2 | Back Pain

The most common pregnancy discomfort is back pain and I too get back discomfort from time to time.

Solution #2

Thankfully before I became pregnant I realized I had a lot of work to do on my posture. I followed my consistent stretching routines on The Flexibility Challenge which really helped me realign myself and strengthen my proper posture. I have continued to do a muted version of these routines, which keeps my back nice and strong. 

I also have the most amazing husband who gets out the raw shea butter, almond oil and lavender essential oil, and gives me the greatest 1-2 hour massages almost every night. We started giving each other massages 6 years ago and we told each other exactly what we like, so we became pretty good at making each other happy in that realm. I totally recommend watching massage tutorials and having massage date nights with your partner, it totally beats going to a massage place, because even though they are professionals, they just don’t know exactly what you like.

I still give my man massages to repay him for all his hard work, I’m happy to do it, he puts so much effort in making sure I’m comfortable, it’s the least I can do. 

Discomfort #3 | Gas

If I don’t eat every 3 hours I start burping up excess gas and if I don’t eat dinner by 6pm I get terrible stomach pains which is just gas build up that won’t release. Thankfully I haven’t experienced bloating or water retention. This is because I drink a gallon of water a day, eat a bunch of watery fruit and don’t eat anything overly salty, if I do add salt it’s unrefined sea salt.

Solution #3

Obviously eating on a schedule combats this problem. But I think also it depends on what I eat throughout the day as well. In all my other pregnancy posts I go over in detail what I eat to keep myself feeling my best, I recommend going back over those posts to see what my eating habits have been if you’re interested. It’s basically all organic farmer food and no processed foods.

Dealing with Stress through Meditation & Fun Activities

They warned me I would stress out, cry over everything and get over emotional, but meditation is the best remedy. My favorite part of the day is where I just shut down my overactive brain and take in all my senses outside. I enjoy simply sitting in my backyard, going to the nearby little lake and taking a hike, walking along or floating down the Potomac river, or swimming in the Chesapeake bay and sitting on the beach. This little habit of mine not only crosses off a to do on my list, take care of chico-dog, but it also keeps me centered. I feel the warm sunshine, sometimes a nice breeze, smell the freshly cut grass, the tomato plants, or the water, listen to the birds chirp, and the ducks quack and just enjoy the beauty of nature. I recently wrote a post of all the things I could think of that help me live stress free. 100 Ways To Improve You Lifestyle Today

I always try to appreciate the little good things, and not let the little bad things affect me or linger on my mind. Of course we have endured troubles throughout my pregnancy, the car needed lots of fixing this summer, my other car’s engine blew up when I was an hour away from home, so we’re down to one car. And other little things, like someone made a fake copy of my debit card and tried to make $600 worth of purchases, and our other bank’s auto pay doesn’t work so we endured late fees that had to be reversed. Shit happens, and thankfully it wasn’t anything major so I just brush it off, take care of business and get back to my routine.

The only time I cried was when I walked into my unexpected baby shower and felt tears of thankfulness, and when I watched the titanic again. 😉 Tears of joy are the best kind of tears, I’m sure I’ll do lots of crying bringing Adrianna into the world.

Food

Nothing much has changed, I’m still eating lots of fruit, I have eliminated tropical fruits because all the local fruit is in full force. I have been eating lots of honeydew, cantaloup, watermelon, peaches and berries. I wish I could eat these fruits year round, they’re soooo yummy!!!

I’m also enjoying greek salads made with swiss chard, purslane, watercress, cucumbers, red onion, green olives, roasted red peppers, and pepperoncini, I can’t get enough!

Well that’s all I have for weeks 29-31. I have definitely been slowing down and taking it easy, trying to rest up as much as possible. I’m going back to my homeland, upstate NY, for one last hurrah starting tomorrow. I’m excited to kick back and relax at the lake, soak in the sun, and enjoy family time. Everything feels like it’s in place for now.

Shout out to all you new and expecting mothers out there. I hope you find solutions to your discomforts and a routine that satisfies you and your family. So much love to you all!

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