Getting ready to enter the third and final trimester of pregnancy has come with new excitement and anxiety. I have finally started to feel the baby’s movement frequently. My son and husband have also been able to feel the moves and sometimes even see little kicks as my belly continues to grow.

But with this comes that anxiety when baby is quiet and there’s less movement at certain times of day. I start Googling and asking friends if not being able to feel the baby’s movement as often as I’d like is normal. Of course this is common, the baby sleeps and if you are like me and have an anterior placenta, it’s actually harder to feel the baby swimming around at this stage.

We’ve also started to get excited about potential names for our baby girl. My almost five-year-old son Nero has also been giving us the names he likes, mainly names of his classmates. We have also been sharing some of the names with family and friends that are curious to know what we have in mind, and the reaction is mixed.

We’ve learned that everyone has an opinion, and they are not afraid to share it with you. Often they'll tell you how much they hate the name you’ve suggested based on their personal experience with someone they knew who had the same name. We’ve even been told that a name was not good because it can’t be shortened. Moving forward, the names we have in mind are going to be kept between the two of us, though if anyone has any suggestions we are open and willing to hear them out.

Considering the fact that this is a rainbow baby and our first girl, I thought I would have been out shopping for cute little girl outfits. That has not been the case. I have actually resisted the urge to purchase anything for a couple of reasons.

I know I have some clothes from when my son was a newborn that will be great for baby number two. And we all know how quickly they grow in the first few months, so buying a ton of outfits that will most likely only be worn once seems unreasonable. I also have a number of friends who have had daughters, so luckily my hand-me-downs drawer is packed already. Let me tell you, going through the little girl outfits was a lot of fun.

But one of the main reasons I haven’t actually bought anything is my fear of losing the baby. I know I said I’d stop stressing out and start enjoying this pregnancy, and I have done so this past month. But the question is always in the back of my mind - What if the worst happens?

As for physical activity, I have been able to get a pregnancy massage, visit my chiropractor this past month and start an at-home yoga video, once a day for 10 minutes. I am also trying to take walks every day to keep active and help blood circulation, and visiting the local YMCA pool for a family swim.

It just seems to be getting a bit more difficult as my belly continues to grow and my back pain worsens. I also still get occasional headaches that feel almost debilitating. And the heat that closed out May certainly didn’t help either.

Luckily I have a few friends with a pool, so I am going to be visiting them often this summer to try and stay cool before baby’s arrival at the end of August!