Second Trimester Bumpdate

I feel like I blinked and suddenly I’m already into the third and final trimester of my pregnancy as of this past Saturday (2nd trimester was weeks 13-up to the start of 28). I never knew how the weeks worked until I got pregnant myself. I am now 28 weeks, which means I only have 12 weeks until my May 16th due date.  Things are really starting to feel real now that I realized I’m 70% of the way to my due date. I’m starting to get a little panicked since we have less than 3 months until baby girl is here and we still really have no idea what we’re doing, and we also still have a long to-do list. I hear our natural instincts will kick in though, and luckily we will have a lot of help from our parents. The second trimester was a lot better than the first. Everything feels real and I cannot wait to meet our baby girl soon.

How I felt/Symptoms: 

My energy finally came back as soon as I entered into the second trimeter.  I was lucky to not be sick, but I was nauseous in the morning during my first trimester (you can read more about my first trimester here). Luckily that ended and all of my food aversions have gone away too. I am not really having major food cravings anymore, except I do enjoy fruit and milk/yogurt much more than I used to. I’m glad I am able to eat healthy again. I had aversions to most healthy food during my first trimester.

Pregnancy brain has kicked in hard. I am very forgetful lately and if I don’t have a reminder in my phone or calendar, it probably won’t get done. I made a dinner reservation on Open Table when my family was in town for two people instead of four. Luckily the restaurant was able to accommodate 4. I also started to get terrible heartburn, but luckily it’s not an everyday thing. I have to be careful about spicy foods now. If I lay on my right side it instantly starts up.

My bump has continued to grow and sometime between 16-18 weeks I could no longer wear my regular jeans. Luckily I can still wear a lot of my regular dresses and jackets though. Depending on what I wear, my bump isn’t super noticeable from the front (as you can see in the pictures) unless I wear something to emphasize it like a tight dress or if I do the stereotypical hand on my stomach pregnancy pose. The bump is very noticeable from the side angle though. I am so lucky that my sister-in-law gave me all of her maternity clothes to borrow, so I have only bought a few basics (I will be sharing a post on which pregnancy basics I recommend soon). I have gained 11 or 12 pounds (depends on time of day) of the 25 to 30 pounds my doctor recommended I gain during pregnancy. I am right on track with my weight gain and baby girl is measuring right on track too.

I started to feel fetal movements around Thanksgiving, but at first I couldn’t tell if it was the baby or not. Now that I am further along and regularly feeling movements, I do think I was feeling her when I was unsure. My movements have continued to increase the further I’ve gotten along. Now she is consistently moving more and more. Jake and I can feel her move from the outside. My favorite thing is to gently tap my stomach and a lot of times she will kick me back. We can even sometimes see my belly move! Baby girl is much more active at night than during the day.

Favorite Pregnancy Items and Items We’ve Received/Purchased: 

• Our nursery bedding/furniture: You can see my nursery inspiration post here. All of our furniture has come in and I’m obsessed. We decided to go with furniture that would be able to grow with the baby and be used again with our next child.  I am also in love with her bedding. I cannot wait to see everything all together.
• Pregnancy pillow: I cannot sleep without this. I used to only be able to sleep on my right side, but due to heartburn, map left is the only side I can sleep on now.
• Pajamas: I sized up in these pjs and they’re so comfortable. I have both the shorts and pants versions.
• Coconut oil: I use this on my stomach every day to help with stretch marks.
• Maternity clothes from PinkBlush: I love their clothes because they’re not what you would expect when you think of maternity clothes. Their clothes are designed to work when you’re barely showing up until the end, and even postpartum.
• Baby clothes from Smocked Auction, Mud Pie, Edgehill Collection, Feltman Brothers, and more: I’m still new to baby clothing brands, but these are some of my favorite brands that I’ve discovered.
• Freshly Picked Moccasins: My best friend got us some of these. I had been dying to get a pair. They’re so precious. I also love their diaper bags.
• Our Barrington Gifts diaper bag: Our diaper bag just came and I’m obsessed! I have several Barrington Gifts totes, and I love that this one looks like a regular tote, but zips, has many interior pockets, and the inside fabric is designed to wipe clean if you spill anything.
• UppaBaby Vista Stroller: This is one of the most popular strollers right now and I can see why. Not only is it gorgeous, but it also drives so well. I cannot wait to use it.
• Nuna Pipa carseat: This is supposed to be one of the safest carseats in the market and is flame retardant. I did a ton of research and kept coming back to this one. It is one of the lightest car seats too. I ended up with the Pipa instead of the Pipa Lite, since you don’t have to have a base with it.
• We received so many sweet gifts (too many to list) at our first shower and in the mail from close family/friends. We are so blessed and grateful.  I cannot wait to share a post on what I registered for soon.

Highlights/Things I did:

• Trying to stay active and eat healthier: I haven’t been the best at working out as much as I’d like to, but I am trying to make that a priority.
• Ordered nursery furniture/bedding: My parents/grandparents ordered the crib/changing table on Black Friday and my in-laws ordered the bedding and recliner around Christmas. I am so glad we did it early, since it took over a month to get them delivered. I am in love with our furniture/bedding.
• Feeling baby movements
• Anatomy scan: We did this at 18 weeks and confirmed that Baby Byers is a girl.
• Thanksgiving/Christmas: having both of these holidays during my pregnancy has made everything fly by.
• I turned 29
• We attended the Super Bowl: This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and we got to see the Kansas City Chiefs win. I will share a blog post on our Miami weekend soon.
• Started a baby registry: post coming soon.
• Had my first baby shower: post coming soon.
• Picked a baby name: I cannot wait to share. My current plan is to share after she’s born if I can wait that long.
• Got her stroller/car seat/so many other essentials
• Bought some maternity clothes

What I Wish I Did Differently:

• Embrace the bump sooner: I found myself hiding it even recently. I am really learning to love and embrace it.
• Not procrastinate: I have a mile long to-do list.
• Took a babymoon with just the two of us. I am hoping we can get one in March, but we’re running out of time that I can travel.

To-Do List for the Third Trimester:

• Find a pediatrician
• Plan maternity photos: I am not sure if I will just use my tripod or if I will hire a photographer. I want to do a shoot with Jake and I though.
• Take classes (new parent, safe sleeping courses, etc).
• Hospital tour 
• Nesting: clean out every closet and organize, make freezer meals, purge/donate/sell clothes, organize/finish the nursery (I still need to order a rug and finish ordering some decor).
• Research what to pack for the hospital
• Come up with goodies to bring for the labor and delivery team 
• Get our carseat installed (the fire station will do it for free)
• Create content ahead of time for my blog. I want to continue with my blog even when I am on maternity leave. I plan to create a lot of content ahead of time as we get ready (organization projects, nursery reveal, and more). I plan to schedule a lot of posts in advance. if you have any posts you’d like to see, please let me know.

• Plan newborn photos: I have a photographer I would love to use. I just need to pick out the package with Jake.

Thank you so much for reading! Stay turned; I cannot wait to share photos from my first baby shower on Thursday. I have my second baby shower this weekend and I cannot wait to share about it soon too. I feel so blessed that we’re able to celebrate baby girl with so many loved ones.

Shop My Outfit:Use code abyers315 for 15% off my dress. This dress is non-maternity, I’m wearing my regular size. It does run a bit big.

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