What You May Be Feeling

You may experience all of these symptoms at one time or another, or only a few of them. Some may have continued from last month, others may be new. Still others may be hardly noticed because you’ve become so used to them and/or because you are eclipsed by new and more exciting signs indicating that labor may not be far off:

Physically

• Changes in fetal activity (more squirming and less kicking, as your baby has progressively less room to move around)
• Vaginal discharge becomes heavier and contains more mucus, which may be streaked red with blood or tinged brown or pink after intercourse or a pelvic exam or as your cervix begins to dilate
• Constipation
• Heartburn, indigestion, flatulence, bloating
• Occasional headaches, faintness or dizziness
• Nasal congestion and occasional nosebleeds; ear stuffiness
• Sensitive gums
• Leg cramps at night
• Increased backache and heaviness
• Buttock and pelvic discomfort and achiness
• Increased swelling of ankles and feet, and occasionally of hands and face
• Itchy abdomen, protruding navel
• Stretch marks
• Varicose veins in your legs
• Hemorrhoids
• Easier breathing after the baby drops
• More frequent urination after the baby drops, since there’s pressure on the bladder once again
• Increased difficulty sleeping
• More frequent and more intense Braxton Hicks contractions (s0me may be painful)
• Increasing clumsiness and difficulty getting around
• Colostrum, leaking from nipples (though this premilk substance may not appear until after delivery)
• Extra fatigue or extra energy (nesting syndrome), or alternating periods of each
• Increase in appetite or loss of appetite

Emotionally

• More excitement, more anxiety, more apprehension, more absentmindedness
• Relief that you’re almost there
• Irritability and oversensitivity (especially with people who keep saying “Are you still around?”)
• Impatience and restlessness
• Dreaming and fantasizing about the baby