Congratulations! You're in the final countdown! By now it's pretty obvious that you have a real baby in your belly not just a food baby. Your nesting instincts have probably started to kick in and you are getting antsy to meet your new babe. I thought I was pretty prepared for what was ahead of me in the next few months and weeks but I still had some things catch me by surprise! Remember that your experience might be vastly different, but here is what I wish I knew about the third trimester. (This post reflects my experience, yours may be different).

1. People can't help but comment. I can't tell you how many times someone said, " OMG you're tiny! Are you sure you're that far along?" What they didn't know is that every time they said that it struck fear in my heart because all of our doctors were worried about how small my belly was. Then there was the occasional, " Wow! You're just ready to POP any day now aren't you?! My only advice is to grin and bear it. Remember that they can't help themselves and try not to let whatever they said get to you, regardless of how offensive it might be.

2. The weirdly personal questions. " How dilated are you?" Why is it that when you're pregnant people feel like it's okay to ask you questions about your cervix, yet they wouldn't on any other day? Just put a smile on and indulge their questions, they just want to be a part of your journey.

3. Strangers stare at your belly. Seriously. It took me a while to get used to it, especially because they would never look me in the eye afterwards! They just walk by staring at it as if they have never seen a pregnant woman before!

4. Braxton Hicks. What do they feel like? You will be asked countless times if you are having them yet, but how are you supposed to know if you've never experienced them before? They don't always feel like labor contractions, mine just felt like period cramps. I actually didn't realize that they were contractions until I was hooked up to a monitor one day and the nurse pointed out all of my contractions on the screen.

5. Nesting. I knew it would happen because everyone warned me it would. But what I didn't realize was just how much I would feel the need to be constantly busy. But there really only is so much you can do to prep for a baby!

6. Sleepless nights. Not just because you have to pee once an hour but also because everything hurts and it's impossible to get comfortable! The worst part was when people would say, " Get your sleep now because you won't get any sleep once the baby comes!" Okay, I'm sorry, but either you had the superpower of bladder control while you were pregnant or you have never been pregnant because I'm not getting any sleep now!

7. The swelling. I knew my feet would swell and probably my hands too, but literally everything puffs. I've been told that I didn't have it that bad. But my arms and calves looked fat and I couldn't wear my wedding rings. Thankfully this all goes away after the baby is born! I was able to put my rings back on about a week after I delivered.

8. Acid reflux. Remember what I said about acid reflux during the second trimester? It only gets worse in the third. It was so bad that I had to prop up 3 pillows underneath me at night, yet another reason I wasn't sleeping!

9. The pregnancy waddle. As your due date quickly approaches, you will do more of a waddle and less of a walk. This is partly due to the heavy weight and partly due to the back pain but also because the baby is dropping lower and lower every day!

10. Don't put anything off for after the baby is born! Fill out necessary paperwork, buy everything on your shopping list and don't plan on having time to do it after he or she is born. Because once they come you will have a whole new to-do list!

I know these last few months and weeks are hard but you are so close! Keep chugging along and remember it will all be worth it! Once you're holding your little bundle of joy all the woes of pregnancy fade away and you'll be ready to do it all over again!

Wondering what labor and delivery is like? Read my post 10 Things I Wish I Knew About Labor And Delivery.