Pregnancy & The Last Trimester

Pregnancy. Some people sail through it and others have a shocking time. But what is for sure, although there are many common pregnancy experiences no two pregnancies are the same.
I am due to have my second baby in the next few weeks and am well and truly over my pregnancy! 9 months seems like such a long time and I now cannot wait to meet our family’s new addition.
Four things have plagued me this pregnancy – which is pretty much on a par with my first one:
1) Extreme tiredness all the time (admittedly running a very busy business and having a very active toddler doesn’t make this easier!).
2) Terrible foot pain in my heels where if I am on my feet for more than 5 minutes my heels just burn and are in so much pain.
3) Extreme leg cramps all the way though which keep me up all night every night (and doesn’t help the tiredness) and finally migraines.
4) I have always suffered from migraines but the pregnancy hormones going up and down mean that I get some shockingly bad migraine attacks where I pass out/can’t see/hear/talk.
I find magnesium and iron supplements (I use Spatone iron) really do help with the exhaustion and cramps to a degree but all in all I just have to roll with it and I know the end result is worth it!
And although my body doesn’t love pregnancy I have a couple of friends who are having a much worse time and one is bed bound after a slipped disc and the other is having a shocking time with gestational diabetes and severe all day sickness – and she has had the sickness all the way through – so enough of my whinging as put into that context my pregnancy has been a breeze!
I also get asked a lot about pregnancy weight gain and we get a lot of people wanting to lose weight in pregnancy. This always worries us, as pregnancy isn’t a time for worrying about your weight (unless you are severely over weight and are working with your Dr on this) and as mums we all need to accept that we will gain weight and that it is entirely normal, healthy and natural to gain weight in pregnancy.
The focus, we believe, should always be on getting the best nutrients possible for you and your bub and then if you do want treats (And I do every night!) then it is fine to indulge yourself – as long as that isn’t all you are eating and you try not to overdo it.
I have not weighed myself throughout my pregnancy as I just didn’t think it was necessary for me to do so. I know I have been gaining weight but my view is what is the point in getting down about this. No one likes to see a bigger number on the scales but when we are pregnant it is going to happen. But as I am so close to the end now I did weigh myself this morning so I have an idea of where I am at and so far I have put on 16kg – but I do have a lot more water and fluid than in my first pregnancy and the baby is bigger.
So by my reckoning I will lose around 8-9kg through the birth/fluid and over the first week which will leave me around 7- 8kg to go to get back to my pre pregnancy weight.
And when am I going to start losing weight? Not for a while. I have put absolutely zero pressure on myself to lose the weight. I will do it when I feel 100% ready and not a moment sooner. It depends on how the birth goes, how my new born sleeps, how I feel and when I am in the right frame of mind. But I do look forward to be able to go for some nice walks (without my feet burning) and I will be eating healthy foods (including our tasty Healthy Mummy Smoothies of course – which are also breastfeeding safe and great for supporting milk supply).
And if you have had/are about to have your bub, I would say the same to you. Don’t give in to any pressure to lose weight before you are ready. The first few months can be so hard with a newborn and the last thing you need/want is pressure to weigh in each week.
Only start to lose weight when you are 100% ready and are in the right frame of mind – and for some mums this can be weeks after the birth and for others it is months/years – there is no “one size fits all’ for the best time to lose weight. It is your body, your baby and your life – just try and be as healthy as possible.
So good luck to all the mamma’s who are due in the coming weeks and months and hopefully the summer heat and big bumps don’t send us all crazy 🙂
If you are ready to lose weight then the Lose Baby Weight plans offer a healthy and safe exercise and diet routine.

And don’t forget to check out our current promotions and discounts page to see what specials we have on this week on our Healthy Mummy product range