My 3rd-Trimester Pregnancy Essentials
**This post might contain affiliate links. I am no medical professional so always consult with a qualified health professional before taking any action.
Today I am officially 35weeks pregnant. I am super excited since this week me and my husband are going to talk with the doctor about delivery and hopefully, I can show my birth plan. Me, always wanting to be super organized, I already wrote down a list for that. But of course, I know that everything might come differently in the end. I just hope not too different…
For this week’s blog post I decided to share some of my favorite products that I’ve been using during my 3rd-trimester in order to get ready for delivery. Since I’ve found out that I was pregnant I started to listen to different pregnancy- and baby-related podcasts, so most of the products that I’m listing here are a small selection of their recommendations.
Almond Oil / Coconut Oil: Let’s start with this wonderful product. I’ve actually been using these oils already before I got pregnant. Generally, I use coconut oil in summer, while in winter I prefer using almond oil. I think they have almost the same benefits, although personally, I like coconut oil a bit better. The only reason why I don’t like to use coconut oil in winter is that it only becomes liquid at a temperature over 25C. Basically, it’s only a laziness factor. The main reason why I prefer coconut oil is that it penetrates the skin much faster. Coconut oil has a lot of benefits and I use it for my skin, hair, and cooking (even for my plants) but right now especially for my belly to prevent stretch marks. I don’t think it is necessary to buy a separate cream or lotion or even oil which is specially advertised to avoid stretchmarks. I just use almond or coconut oil in its purest form (100% and organic if possible) so that I’m sure that there are no other chemicals or perfumes in it.
Compression Stockings: Almost exactly with the beginning of my 3rd-trimester I started regularly waking up in the middle of the night with some severe cramps on my calf. I literally felt my muscle tighten together and became hard like stone and my husband had to give me a strong massage in order to make it stop. Since I do a lot of fast walking as a workout I thought I might have a magnesium deficiency. Before pregnancy, I was doing a lot of cardio as well and since I was always sweating a lot I was consuming magnesium supplements regularly. However, I wasn’t sure if I could take magnesium supplements during pregnancy, especially because some of my pregnancy supplements already contain a little bit of magnesium. I decided to talk to my doctor at my next visit, and she immediately told me that I have bad blood circulation and that wearing compression stockings might help. Now I always wear them while working out or while taking a walk and these annoying cramps at night never came back. Compression stocking from the pharmacy might be quite pricy so if you experience the same trouble as me, try to talk to your doctor first. Here in Korea, or at least at my hospital, they provided me with the first pair for free. I just hope I won’t lose them.
Refresh Leg Roller Gel: This is actually a product that I never would have bought on my own and I also never planned on buying at all. But after having my doctor tell me that my blood circulation was bad I was wondering if this might help as well. I already had this ‘Artichoke Refresh Leg Roller Gel’ by BOBONNE at home, since I got it as a gift from a Korean skincare brand almost two years ago but never ended up actually using it. Right now I am using it every night before sleep. It’s a very soothing and refreshing gel and the product itself has two rolls so that you can simultaneously make a massage while applying it. I looked up the product online again because I wanted to buy more of it but sadly they seemed to stop producing it. However, I looked up some similar products that might work as well and consider buying when this one is empty.
Perineal Massage Oil: I try to prepare my body as much as possible for a natural birth. I frequently read that in order to prevent episiotomy doing perineal massage 3-4 times a week starting from week 34 will help a lot. In general, you can actually use organic natural oils like coconut or almond oil, however, this time I decided to invest in a real ‘perineal massage oil’ by the german brand WELEDA. It is a well-known high-quality brand that I grew up with and I really like also all of their other products. And on how to do a perineal massage there are plenty of YouTube videos or blog articles with detailed explanations along with some pictures as well.
Gym / Birthing Ball: If you read my previous blog post on prenatal couple yoga or even watched the related YouTube video, then you’ve already seen that I regularly do exercises on the gym ball in order to prepare for labor. It is said that also simply sitting on a birthing ball before and during labor can relieve pain and pressure on your pelvis, lower back, and spine. I also replaced the desk chair with my birthing ball so I can make use of it even on the days when I don’t have time to do the exercises. It is kind of difficult to pack a birthing ball into a hospital bag but I really hope that I can (and remember to) bring it with me on the day of the delivery.
Raspberry Leaf Tea, Lady's Mantle Tea, and Flaxseeds: Raspberry leaf tea is well known to relieve premenstrual symptoms or enhance fertility but it is also helpful to drink during the last weeks of pregnancy. It is said that it might strengthen the uterine walls thus decrease labor time. However, it’s also suggested not to start drinking it before week 36 and not more than one cup a day since it might lead to early labor. Therefore I didn’t start drinking it yet but I already bought one package and I’m curious how it will taste. Lady’s mantle tea is a famous herb to combat fertility problems and tone the uterus. However also this one, like many other herb teas it’s not suggested to consume during pregnancy but rather in the very last weeks. If you’re not a great tea drinker, you might consider trying eating flaxseeds. They have very similar benefits like the raspberry leaf and lady’s mantle tea and additionally, they are known for preventing constipation which many pregnant women struggle with especially in the late stage of pregnancy.
These were my 3rd-trimester pregnancy essentials. I hope there was some new information for you and let me know if you consider trying out one of these products as well. Also, I am always open to learn about new things, so if you have any other nice products that you think are essential for labor preparation please share them in the comments below.
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Sources: Podcast ‘Hebammensalon’ - healthline.com - indigo-herbs.co.uk
