Previous pregnancy favorites posts:
Today’s blog post follows a similar format to my first two favorites posts and covers everything I’ve loved during my final trimester of pregnancy.
Most of the items in this blog post relate to comfort measures (aka beating summer heat and battling lower back pain) but a handful of the favorites I’ve previously shared continued to be favorites in the final months of my pregnancy as well. (I’m looking at you, Snoogle.) I’m trying to avoid any repeats, so this blog post simply focuses on newer favorites that popped up since I hit 29 weeks pregnant.
Let’s dive right in, shall we?
Third Trimester Pregnancy Favorites
- Space Fan
I’m sporting a big belly these days and the first thing strangers say to me when they approach me to chat about my bump is some variation of, “I can’t imagine being pregnant in this heat!” We’ve hit record highs in Charlotte this summer and entering my third trimester right as temperatures climbed into the upper 90s was pretty brutal. (Especially when our upstairs air conditioning decided to crap out and wouldn’t cool below 80 degrees at night.) The space fan quickly became my BFF. It followed me around our house and was especially lovely in our bathroom when I’d turn it on its highest setting and have the cool air blast my face as I was styling my hair with hot hair tools that left me sweating buckets. (I have never sweat more in my life than I have during pregnancy. Phew!)
- Facial Cleansing Towelettes
This relates to pregnancy sweating, too. Surprise, surprise! I relied heavily on facial cleansing towelettes to help cool me off and wipe sweat off my face and chest during my final trimester. I started stock-piling these wipes and now keep a pack in my purse, in the center console of my car, in our upstairs bathroom and in one of our kitchen drawers for easy access. Love them!
I touched on pregnancy thirst in my last favorites post, but my need to drink a ton of water all the time has only continued since then. Thankfully, I re-discovered my big ol’ Bubba Keg in the back of a kitchen cabinet and was psyched! It keeps a whopping 34 ounces of water cold and went with me everywhere. I’ve been told intense thirst lingers when you start nursing, so I have a feeling my Bubba Keg will be in my life for a while.
A maternity support belt came in handy as my lower back and hip pain intensified in the later weeks of my third trimester. It felt great to have my belly lifted a bit and definitely decreased the pressure I felt in my lower back.
My birthing ball is a MUST HAVE for me right now. It has replaced my office chair and is pretty much the only thing I sit on (other than our couch) that feels comfortable. It feels good on my hips, back and belly and I have a feeling I’ll be all about it when I go into labor as well since I really liked the way it felt when I practiced various positions on the birthing ball in our Childbirth Prep Class. Love this thing!
I only discovered these podcasts a few weeks ago, but they are so entertaining! Pregtastic Podcasts touch on a variety of topics in a conversational and accessible way. The podcasts feature a ton of birth stories but I personally enjoy the ones that focus on specific topics, including what to expect during the first few days with a newborn, how to babyproof your marriage, etc.
- Prenatal Massage
Fantastic. Wonderful. Heavenly. If you’re finding yourself increasingly uncomfortable during your third trimester, please treat yourself to a prenatal massage ASAP. They’re incredible.
Shop My Pregnancy Favorites
Question of the Day
- Mamas/Moms-To Be: Is there anything in particular you fell in love with during the third trimester of your pregnancy?
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I had two fans one for home and a little USB one for work. Those and a huge thing of water and slip on shoes were my bffs during both of my last trimesters.
I LOVED listening to Pregtastic when I was pregnant! I seriously flew through all of the episodes!
leggings? haha although i was a fan of those all along!!!!
Those look great – strangely some of my favorite products, too, even though I’m definitely not pregnant, ha!
Not really something I “fell in love with” but definitely ended up being a necessity…When I hit my third trimester my Mom suggested I get a waterproof mattress cover/pad for our bed to protect it in case my water broke while sleeping (you can pick one up at Target). It’s a small percentage of women who actually experience a full on water break, but I ended up being in that small group and it definitely broke while I was sleeping so had it not been for the mattress protector I would have spent my time as a new mom mattress shopping (warning TMI – the fluid can sometimes cause a staining/smell that you’ll never get out, yikes!) So it was more like an end of third trimester favorite of mine!!
I’m loving everything grapefruit right now and those facial towelettes are incredible! I also seem to pick them up at Nordstrom Rack since they’re always on sale. Hoping you have a smooth couple of weeks until your little guy makes his debut!
I still have a waterproof mattress cover/pad on my bed! It also protected my mattress from the milk that leaked EVERYWHERE and the inevitable baby messes that happen in the middle of the night 🙂
I LOVED pregtastic podcasts! They were funny but taught me SO so much about pregnancy, birth, and babies that I didn’t know. I always listened during long walks or long car rides and it made the time fly by.
Comfy tanks, dresses and leggings. I was all about comfort!
I loved Pregtastic when I was pregnant with #1 but ran out of episodes so this time around, I’ve been addicted to the Pregnancy Perfect podcast. It’s a good one to listen to after baby, too!
I’m 24 weeks pregnant and also love the Pregtastic podcasts! I started listening to them backwards and when I got to some of the earlier episodes I was sad to discover the Sunny wasn’t the original host 🙁 BUT, I was so thrilled to find that there is a more recent podcast series called Preggie Pals and in the older content (anything before 2014), Sunny is the host! Yay! She actually went on to have another baby boy and then TWIN girls… so cool! She also produces several other podcasts for once the baby is born… you can see them all here: http://www.newmommymedia.com/shows/
Try putting some of the facial wipes in the fridge. The extra cold wipes is a must for me sometimes in the summer (i.e., after a sweaty workout). Feels amazing.
I am not a mama or mom-to-be (well I do have 2 furry kids who have 4 legs…haha) but the Burt’s Bees cleansing wipes seem very refreshing!
I’m not pregnant, but that online radio channel sounds like a wealth of knowledge!!!
I’m only 14 weeks pregnant so I’m nowhere near the 3rd trimmest yet. I can’t thank you enough for all of your pregnancy posts! I have read them religiously and have used a lot of the products you recommend!!
Water in a Bubba Keg is awesome! We use them for beer on the beach 🙂
The bubba keg looks so neat! I’m always in the market for new and innovative water bottles, mugs, etc, so this looks like it would be great!
Hi Julie,
I just wanted to tell you that I saw (and did) your full body workout on Pop Sugar. It was fantastic!! I am actually the RD/sports RD for ECU in Greenville NC and I am always looking for ways to add activity into my day. This workout was great because I could totally do it in my office. 🙂
Thanks again and good luck with motherhood. It will be the best time of your life!
I got great use out of my Snoogle in my 3rd trimester! Im about to break it out again soon. It was the most comfortable thing to sleep on.
I’m not preggo but those face wipes sound great!
You should check out The Longest Shortest Time podcast. Here’s Joanna Goddard’s description of it: “This podcast (by a mom in New Jersey) gets up close – sometimes uncomfortably so – and personal with what motherhood looks like to me: There’s anxiety and messy husband-wife dynamics and wanting to murder your ob-gyn when she says, “You’re fine to have sex!” six weeks after you gave birth. It also features stories about parents in atypical situations who are all trying do the exact same thing every parent is: their best.”
This was so helpful! We just entered our third trimester! I may be looking into that support band, my back and belly could use a little lift!
On my gosh! The belly band saved me through my second and third trimester with my twin girls!!! I also ate ice by the bag!
I’m not pregnant and I want a massage! haha Great post!
That massage sounds lovely! Also, I can’t imagine being pregnant in the summer heat of NC!!!
Third trimester! Whoooop whoooop! Birthing balls / stability ball, Po-tay-to / Po-tah-to. 🙂 Love those things.
Love my new Bubba keg travel mug! FYI they are WAY cheaper if you order them from home depot and get free in-store pickup!
If you are into podcasts, I recommend Totally Married! It’s very conversational, and it is just a wife and a husband chatting about their lives and answer people who are looking for advice.
This brings me back. I’m usually a person who overheats easily, and it was hot the entire time I was pregnant (March-ish to November — then I remember the weather finally changing when I left the hospital, AGH). But I don’t think the pregnancy made it any worse than normal.
From my third tri, I remember a shoe horn coming in handy. I couldn’t bend over and put my non-sandal shoes without them. And I guess that means sandals make the list, too, lol.
I got one of these for the same reason. I read only 10% of women actually have pre-labor water breaking, but I was one of those 10%. And it happened in bed. But it woke me up and it wasn’t a sudden huge deluge (lol), so nothing got on the bed, anyway. I plan on using the mat when the kiddo is older and potty training or something.
Ugh, I blew this reply, lol.
Those burts bees cleansing cloths are the best! They remove makeup really well, and smell delicious! A tad expensive given I use one a day, but definitely worth it.
So excited for you Julie! Home stretch! I’ll be praying for a healthy delivery and healthy babe! 🙂
Ever since you first blogged about the Burt’s Bees face wipes I’ve been addicted to them! I keep them in my gym bag for a quick face refresher after workouts. My husband also keeps stealing my extra packs for his soccer bag — guess they work well for him too 😉
Ice Cream #35 weeks ?
I loved my labor ball and it came in handy after to put my son to sleep. Besides walking around, he preferred the bouncing instead of rocking when being put to sleep. I think I finally put it away when he was about 10 months old.
I also loved meditating and yoga. Lara Dutta’s prenatal yoga video on youtube really helped me relax and clear my mind. I did not want an epidural so I practiced meditation and deep breathing beforehand so that I could be prepared during labor.
I loved my maternity support belt! It was a lifesaver!
My Snoogle was my best friend during the last trimester – it provided great support for the belly so I was as comfy as I could get at that stage! I was also a fan of leggings and flats – bending over to zip up boots or tie shoes was just too much work!
were yo in labour while you wrote this????
<3 you all
In her birth announcement she wrote that she’d already written and scheduled Wednesday’s blog posts before she went into labor. So they were on auto-post while she went into labor.
I wanted to be very aware and present during the birth.I didn’t want to be drugged up. So I did a lot of preparation, I did yoga and meditation, and I managed to have a very
tranquil birth at home. It didn’t hurt in the slightest.
i need to add the bubba keg to my office. it’s so hard to get up and refill a smaller bottle/cup during the day.