Managing it All in the Third Trimester

This is my easiest pregnancy so far, alhamdulilah, and I’m seriously looking forward to the luxury of rolling over and sitting up out of bed. The one thing that has been consistent in all my pregnancies is the fatigue, which I’m very grateful that is the worst thing I’ve experienced throughout all three.

When I was pregnant with Little Miss, Care Bear was in 5th grade and in a virtual academy, so while Care Bear was still homeschooled, it didn’t require much planning on my part and she was quite independent. Needless to say, this time around requires a bit more work on my part, especially with a toddler running around. Here’s how we have had some resemblance of keeping it all going with increasing frequent midwife appointments and battling both physical and mental fatigue:

Get grocery delivery

This isn’t available everywhere, and we don’t get it all the time, but when I’m feeling especially fatigued I definitely take advantage. Some people can send their husband or another family member to the store, but Hubby tends to not stick to the list, so I’d rather just pay the $5 delivery charge and have the list I intended.

Use nesting whenever possible

I’m starting to think nesting is a myth to make tired pregnant women feel they should be able to get stuff done. Still, I hear others talk about it, so I try to use any burst of energy I can to get physical things done. In the next few weeks I really want to get the girls’ bedroom rearranged, organize my bedroom (which will also be where the baby lives), and maybe rearrange the basement den to make it more useful for a preschool.

Create checklists

Sometimes it is hard to know exactly what to do when that burst of energy comes. Enter the checklists! I use Google Tasks to get everything down. I even have “scrub the bathroom” on my list because it’s hard to get that done after the baby comes for a little while so I want to make sure there’s a good scrubbing that happens before it gets neglected.

Lesson plan when physical energy is lacking

I wish I had a picture of what I looked like yesterday morning. Picture a big ‘ol pregnant lady laying on the couch with the coffee table pulled up within arm’s reach and the laptop at the tip of the fingers. I probably looked like a lazy bum, but I was looking through Chinese curriculum options. I had the mental energy to compare and contrast various curriculum options, but did not feel like I had the physical energy to even sit up. At least something got achieved during that time!

Delegate

I want my kids to be outside whenever it is tolerable (Charlotte Mason would be proud), but with around two feet of snow on the ground, and I lack snow boots or snow pants that fit, I am not well suited to be the one chaperoning outdoor activities. Thanks to my teen daughter, Little Miss can still enjoy some time outside, plus it is an excuse to get Care Bear out in the fresh air as well. Once parks and playgrounds lose their magic, it can be hard to get teens outside unless it is for traveling to some other fun place, or sports. Have a neighbor that can take the kids out for you, or pick the kids up from time to time from an activity? Take advantage of a helping hand if it is there!

“Do the next thing” lesson plans

Okay, we do this anyway because I am not great at planning every. single. day. in advance. Still, if we didn’t, I would definitely be looking at this as an option during these times of physical and mental fatigue. “Do the next thing” lesson planning does typically require a book to be the spine of the curriculum, which some may feel inhibits free play and exploration, but it does allow for some freedom from planning everything. If using a book as a spine doesn’t appeal to you, but you’re too tired to keep daily lesson plans, think of using a book three days, and exploring two days.