Since I wrote a little post about my “essentials” for my first two trimesters, I thought I would add a post about my essentials for the third trimester, which to be honest wasn’t much. But here are a couple things that I found invaluable during the last three months.
Lacrosse/Massage Balls
I’ve had these balls for years and I’ve already written a review about them here. But since I was not indulging in paid massages and since my husband is not one to give massages, I found these massage balls to be a back and shoulder saver! I’ve had them for over three years now and they moved with me from house to trailer to apartment, and I even took them with me to my hospital stays back in December and January. During my third trimester I used them everyday against the wall to massage and also for pressure points, and seriously I’ve had very little back pain during my whole pregnancy.
Ovia App
This free app has been a fun little way to keep track of baby’s growth and to learn more about her development (she’s the size of a potato, a cabbage, a melon!). I also used this for my kick counter and when I started having some contractions, I also used it to time those as well. You do have to use an email to sign up and they send you updates, but just give them a junk mail email address like I did.
Books
So if you’ve been around here for awhile, you know I’m a fan of books of the “personal growth” or self-help variety. So of course when going into something as hard as parenting that I have no clue about, I wanted to do some reading (especially since as an only child with only a couple friends with kids, I have zero experience with kids. Also confession: I have yet to change a diaper in my life but I figure I’ll learn on the job lol). Anyway a couple books that were recommended to me that I felt helped me get a better idea of what to expect:
On Becoming Baby Wise: Recommended by several friends, this book gives you examples of ideal feeding/nap/activity schedules, and helps you understand what to expect for the first several months of life. I felt 100 times better prepared about becoming a parent after reading this book.
Happiest Baby on the Block: Recommended by the nurse practitioner who ran a newborn care class. This book arms you with tactics to calm a crying baby and also lets you know some babies just cry a lot and it’s not a reflection of your parenting. I feel better equipped to handle a fussy baby after reading this book.
What I Didn’t Need
Something I didn’t use or need were pregnancy belly support bands. This was something a lot of people told me were a “must” so I purchased this one, the highest rated one on Amazon. I found that since I didn’t have back pain, I just felt constricted and uncomfortable when wearing it (especially when you put it on while standing and then go to sit in the car). But I think I might be a different case than most women because I’m carrying a lot higher due to my fibroids which are taking up space in the lower part of the uterus. So of course take my advice with a grain of salt. I also purchased these from Amazon on a reader’s recommendation but found that they didn’t really provide any support. (I also tried the Blanqui tank for support and bought a dupe to do a comparison review but ended up not wearing either of them, but I plan to keep these a bit longer for postpartum). In general, I just don’t think I like any sort of belly covering (including maternity jeans with an over the belly panel as well as over the belly leggings). Anyway since I didn’t use these but I don’t want them to go to waste, I’m putting them up in the shop for free here except I’m asking for $5 in shipping costs.