Are you ready for Baby Strand: 2nd Trimester Recap?? If I learned one thing while pregnant, it’s that everyone’s pregnancy is truly different. My husband and I watched the movie “What to Expect when you’re expecting,” and I laughed pretty hard as I found relatable aspects with each of the mom characters. 

My dreams of doing yoga/barre, and exercising through my pregnancy definitely didn’t happen, especially with the pandemic. And I’m trying hard to let that go and realize I’m doing the best I can. My husband invites me to go for walks daily, and i probably say yes half of the time. 

My body:

I already can’t believe there’s any possible way my belly can get any bigger. My skin feels stretched to the max, and my belly always feels like I ate an entire watermelon. It’s very hard to the touch. The tiny flutters I felt in my first trimester are now full blown punches and kicks that happen all day long. It’s definitely visible and looks like there’s an alien inside of me. My belly button is all the way out. My 32DDs are visually much bigger and my nipples have changed color to a much darker shade (TMI, sorry).

So far no stretch marks or linea nigra (pregnancy belly line). I find it uncomfortable to bend over to put on shoes, and am definitely struggling with body aches, especially lower back. A “sweet” soul told me that means I’ll have a painful labor 🤦‍♀️!

Baby girl loves to take naps and jump on my bladder, causing me to need to pee all the time, and wake up at least twice during the night. The heartburn has been pretty bad, and I haven’t found a solution to make it better. Tums helps a little bit. 

I’m so glad we got maternity photos done before things got too cold! These were taken at 28 weeks by my sweet friend Brooke (and edited by me)!

Closet maintenance: with my body changing daily, I decided early on to order these storage containers from Amazon, and every time I try something on that doesn’t fit me anymore, I immediately put it away so it’s not visible to me in my closet anymore. I find it easier to know that if it’s still in my closet, it still fits, or away it goes. 

Favorite pregnancy products: 

Leggings: Lululemon Align is currently my favorite. I normally wear a 2/4 for leggings at Lulu, and bought a size 8, which I believe will fit the entire pregnancy. Fabletics also has a nice maternity legging option, however, they are always sold out!
Belly oil: Hatch 
Skincare: Primally Pure

Pregnancy cravings:

My first trimester craving of McChicken has “evolved” into a much less toxic BLT. Also loving granola, especially this one from Kind. Unfortunately my sweet tooth hasn’t taken a break so I’m struggling as I don’t want to overload baby with sugar. 

Baby Purchases: 

I probably spent way too much time researching what to add to my registry, and trying to understand what products were everyone’s must haves. The greatest advice I got was that less is more, and to just get things as needed once baby comes. 

I’m definitely in love with our stroller, and excited about the option to make it a double if we are blessed with a second child. Also love our car seat, and the fact that it’s one of the lightest ones in the market.

I also bought a birth class that was a game changer, called The Push Lab! 

I hope you enjoyed Baby Strand: 2nd Trimester Recap! We can’t wait to meet Baby girl soon! Hopefully I get the 3rd Trimester blog post done before she comes! And if you want to ready the 1st Trimester recap click here!