Second Trimester Pregnancy Update

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HOW I'M FEELING:

Seeing as I'm writing this update well into my third trimester, I'm pretty tired now, but the second trimester turned out to be the magical honeymoon period that everyone said it would. I felt pretty good considering that we did some intense traveling, settled into our temporary California groove, and traipsed all over everywhere with family in San Francisco and LA. I rounded out big time and bid farewell to that awkward "is she pregnant or did she eat too much pizza?" stage... I'm definitely visibly pregnant now. An interesting development this time around: I've embraced the bump and am feeling great about it. When I was pregnant with Lorelai I was on the fence about my changing body but now I am 100% all about the bump. It's so refreshing to be in a space where growing and letting it all hang out is encouraged and I feel better about my body than I have in a long time. While the bump made things feel more real figuratively, and I started to actually feel a ton of movement too. Baby girl is super active and spends most of the day hiccuping or moving around which is fun to experience and it also serves as a little reassurance that all is well on the inside.

With the good also comes the bad of the second trimester. With each passing day, it's increasingly hard to get around and do the things I'm used to doing (like pushing the cart at Target... I got totally winded yesterday!). I've been experiencing some sciatica pain, some minor foot swelling, and I'm sleeping pretty terribly now. Oh well, par for the course!

PROGRESS:

Our due date is still October 31, 2018, and everything seems to be on track. I have an OBGYN appointment tomorrow but I'm sure she'll tell me just to keep growing and doing what I'm doing in preparation. While we're on track, I somehow feel like things are sneaking up on me this time. It just seems to be going so fast and I feel like I'm running out of time!

SLEEP:

Wanna hear something overly romantic and kinda gross? I'm sleeping so bad now that Ainsworth has returned to the island. It's probably just a symptom of pregnancy but I like to think that I just miss my snuggle buddy. That said, I wake up about thirty times per night to pee (no exaggeration) and the pregnancy dreams are getting crazy. I could definitely use a nap!

FOOD:

Since we've been back in the states after a year of pretty limited options, I feel like I've gone a bit off the rails when it comes to food. It's been fun to eat the things we've been without for a while but, going into the third trimester, it's time to rein it back in. p.s. No more cravings!

WEARING:

I'm still wearing leggings every chance I can get but I've picked up a few Doen pieces, put my jumpsuits and overalls into heavy rotation, and added a few comfy lounge pieces to my wardrobe. sidenote: I had major issues with maternity clothes and have ZERO things that are maternity wear. Oh well!

BUYING:

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For me: not a whole lot. I'm still on the fence about actually buying a diaper bag vs. using my favorite Madewell tote with some kind of insert. Aside from clothes to accommodate the bump, I recently picked up Erica Chidi Cohen's book Nurture.

For baby: A sweet pacifier from General Store, the best color palette of onesies, two very light african indigo cloth throw blankets from the Rose Bowl flea, a precious coming home outfit, a Moses basket + stand, the Snuggle Me Organic lounger, a new Solly Baby Wrap, and a previously loved crib from an on-island friend. I'm still keeping things pretty minimal but I recently started to panic when I realized that we had nothing for the baby and possibly as few as seven weeks left until her arrival!

HOW LORELAI IS DOING:

She's so excited as so incredibly sweet! See here.

PLANS FOR THE NEXT TRIMESTER:

Keep on keeping on, make sure that Ainsworth is able to make it home in time for delivery, and finalize all of the preparations for baby. Oh, and maternity portraits... hopefully!

FAQ:

Was this pregnancy planned?

Yes. We tried for a couple of months but were pleasantly surprised at how easy it happened.

Will you find out the baby's gender?

It's a girl!

Do you have a name/names picked out?

This has been the hardest part of this pregnancy! We have a "top five" list and a definite middle name but nothing seems quite right just yet. Lorelai, Ainsworth, and I each have a different favorite name so here's hoping we'll be able to agree sometime soon.

 

MotherhoodChelsea Jackson