30 Week Pregnancy Update

The final 10 week countdown starts now and I could not be more excited! I feel every bit of pregnant at this point and my symptoms are less than glamorous but I’m feeling very blessed and extremely excited to meet my little girl. With that being said, this point in my pregnancy has definitely been pretty rough and I’m going to breakdown just what’s been going on.

First Up: Mental Health Check

Girl, to say that I have been struggling would be an understatement. I’m barely pushing through to be honest. There have been a number of things that have contributed to my less than optimal mental health and I want to walk through them with you in case any of you lovely ladies can relate.

1) Hormones

This is the most obvious one but I definitely want to highlight it because they definitely wreak havoc on your mental health. I’ve had the craziest mood swings these past few weeks! Literally laughing to crying in minutes. It’s actually a terrifying sight I’m sure. And going from one extreme emotion to the next is exhausting. The past few weeks I’ve also just been in a negative mood overall. Not to say that I’m sad or upset constantly but I’m definitely easily irritated and my patience has been extremely thin which has affected how I interact with people and it sucks. But I’ve been trying my best to do things to uplift my mood which I’ll highlight later.

2) Tiredness and Fatigue

I have been next level exhausted! Like zombie level, can barely hold myself up exhausted and it is the absolute worst! I am definitely a go go go type of person. I make daily lists and I’m always planning and organizing but because I’ve been so tired I haven’t been able to be as productive and it is killing me. Granted this fatigue is forcing me to sit my butt down and rest (which at 30 weeks I definitely need) but it’s frustrating because I have a little boy that still needs my full attention and a bunch of other responsibilities that don’t stop just because I’m pregnant.

3) Anxiety

I’m naturally an anxious person due to being a chronic over thinker but on the regular basis I can manage it really well. (I guess that’s why I’m always planning and organizing). But pregnancy anxiety is a completely different animal, seriously. I am overthinking every possible thing. Labor and delivery, buying stuff for baby girl, the possibility of getting Covid while pregnant, maternity leave, the baby’s health, being a mom of 2, the list goes on and on. And when I don’t manage to get a hold of these thoughts I end up spiraling and it affects my mood and how I interact with those around me. It’s so frustrating.

Let’s Talk Physical Symptoms

Oh, the beauty of your changing body during pregnancy. It’s a lot that our bodies endure creating these tiny little miracles but as beautiful as it all is, we can all admit that it can be really draining.

1) Round Ligament Pain

Wow, this one is no joke and is definitely my worst physical symptom. It’s basically a sharp pain in your groin (I know, it’s lovely) and lower belly and can happen suddenly when you make a sudden movement or the pain can last for a while. It’s basically caused from the strain on the ligaments in your groin due to your growing uterus. It makes it hard to walk when the pain is really bad too and is just annoying to deal with.

2) Constipation

Okay, we’re all adults here so I think we can talk about bowel movements for a second (or in my case, lack thereof). I literally can’t go. At least not regularly and it causes me to feel bloated and more huge than I am. Your digestive system slows down during pregnancy to reserve energy for more important tasks like making your baby so as a result you get backed up. Mine is made worse by the fact that during pregnancy I have low iron levels and as a result I have to take an iron supplement that just further causes constipation.

3) Weight Gain, Stretch Marks and Body Changes

In this third trimester I’ve suddenly started to put on weight quickly and it’s caused me to suddenly se myself as huge! My belly is stretched to capacity so obviously I have stretch marks showing through and my breasts are growing and getting darker in preparation for breastfeeding. As beautiful as I find my body during pregnancy, the changes still take a bit of time to get used to and sometimes I find myself getting upset knowing that my body will never look quite the same.

How I’m Managing These Mental and Physical Changes

Although this third trimester has been kicking my butt, I’ve been trying my best to find different ways to boost my spirits and push through these final few weeks until I meet my baby girl. So here’s a few things I’ve been doing.

Taking Time For Myself

This sounds like a no brainer but it’s really hard for me to make myself a priority. I know I constantly preach the importance of doing this but on my list of priorities I am almost never at the top. But I’ve been making a conscious effort to take time for myself and it has helped a lot. Whether it’s been getting a prenatal massage, getting my nails done or just taking a break from everything including my blog. I’m making time for a mental health break when I need it.

Napping When My Baby Naps

This is tried and true advice and has been getting me through my days as of lately. The fatigue and tiredness have been real so instead of trying to get it all done, I allow myself to nap when my son takes his nap and it is the much needed energy boost I need to finish out our day.

Journaling and Organizing

When the pregnancy anxiety is at its peak I find that writing down my anxieties and fears helps a lot. Brain dumping seems to free up space in my mind so that I can actually think. I call it closing the tabs that are open in my mind. And nesting and organizing help a lot too. Getting things together for baby girl help me to feel more prepared and help to check off some of the things that have been causing me to stress out in the first place.

Taking Care of My Physical Symptoms

So there have been a few things that I’ve been doing to combat these physical symptoms that have helped me out a bit. For my round ligament pain I’ve been wear a belly band. It helps to support your abdomen and take some of the pressure off of your pelvis. I do find it works pretty well sometimes but other times nothing really helps besides laying down.

For the constipation I’ve had to take a laxative like Colace when it gets really bad. But for the most part I’ve been trying to deal with it naturally. I’ve done this by drinking more water or eating probiotic rich foods like yogurt.

Lastly for the body changes I’m mainly just learning to accept them. I’ve been here before with my son and I know that more than dwelling on what I want to change I need to accept the changes that my body is going through and notice the beauty in them. I’m naturally a smaller girl size wise so seeing my body stretch and grow so much is always a shock but when I focus on what I’m creating rather than the physical changes I’m undergoing it makes me appreciate my body and how powerful it is to be able to create life.

So how are my fellow pregnant mamas coping with the not so glamorous side of pregnancy? Let me know in the comments below. We’ll get through this together. And let’s all remember the miracles that we’re creating. They’ll definitely be worth it in the end.❤️