I don’t think I could have ever imagined getting to say, “We made it to the third trimester!” But here we are! Twenty-seven weeks! I’m so thankful to be here, and despite having some rough times, I absolutely love being pregnant.
Everyone says the second trimester is smooth sailing and when you feel like a million bucks. Once 14 weeks hit, you can imagine me waiting week after week for nausea to pass, to feel energized, and like my normal self. But honestly… It wasn’t until I was nearly 20 weeks that I stopped puking daily. And then just about two weeks ago it stopped almost altogether.
I remember having this epiphany moment when it had been a few days. I cleaned my house, cooked my family dinner, and was just in such a good mood. And then I realized it was because I felt like my old self! Then, I promptly cried, because it was such a relief.
There is light at the end of the tunnel.
I know not everyone loves pregnancy, and that is totally ok. But I am someone who relishes in every single hurl over the toilet, crick in my hips, and kick to the ribs. It is such a short time, and I know what a privilege it is to experience. That doesn’t mean it is always easy or even enjoyable.
Towards the end of my second trimester, I started to get super uncomfortable. My pelvic bone felt like it was being split in half. I started walking significantly slower. And I swear the reason you pee so much during the night while pregnant is to prep you for the lack of sleep you are about to go through. So, I guess I had a good three weeks of feeling like my normal self.
And now I feel like I’m super pregnant!
I wanted to answer a few of your most asked questions about the second trimester and share my true must have items that helped me get through the last thirteen ish weeks.
Will the puking ever end? Mama, I feel you. As I said, I didn’t stop throwing up on a regular basis until around 20 weeks, though most women’s nausea eases around 14. I started taking B6, and I think that made a huge difference! Sea bands, ginger tea and drops, and eating did nothing for me.
Did you get an early Gestational Diabetes test? I got one at my 12-week appointment due to “high BMI” and was totally fine to take it. I know there is a lot of worry around this, but that early one is just to rule out any preexisting issues. I will have another one next week! Don’t stress yourself out too much. There is literally nothing you can do to prevent getting GD. Women of all shapes, sizes, ages, and backgrounds get GD.
What kind of pregnancy pillow did you get? Here is the tea. I bought two pregnancy pillows. One of the C shaped ones and a U shaped one. And I took both back! I don’t know how they are meant to be comfortable, but they are just so big and bulky. I am very attached to my regular pillow, and those giant pregnancy pillows kind of make you have to give up your regular pillow.
I found I really needed the most support between my legs to help my hips. I started by using a super firm, decorative lumbar pillow that did exactly what I needed it to without taking up two people’s worth of space. Then, I upgraded to this magical pillow. It is only 20 bucks and keeps my hips aligned perfectly. Highly recommend!
MATERNITY CLOTHES
Have you found any good maternity clothes? I haven’t done a ton of maternity-specific shopping. We don’t really see many people or go many places, so there isn’t a huge need for a large, fabulous wardrobe for me at the moment. If I did need to get dressed every day, I am sure that would be a different story.
I have bought a few things that I know will get me through the next few months and will also work postpartum, too! I try to look for clothes that are super stretchy, but maybe don’t have a maternity panel or aren’t just babydoll style, tops that button up the front, and all the leggings. Once it warms up, I will be wearing all the skirts and dresses.
These leggings are on the pricy side, but I promise they are worth every single penny. They feel like actual butter on your skin, have a super high, wide waistband, and are SUPER stretchy. They have just a bit of compression, but not so much that you feel squeezed. Just a little belly and booty support.
I have been living in my favorite wire-free bra and will continue to wear these even postpartum. They are so stretchy, soft, and don’t roll up. They run very large. Trust me when I say you want to size down AT LEAST one, if not two. I am normally a 3X/4X and was wearing a 1X prepregnancy and have more than enough room and stretch in the 2X. They will be easy enough to whip out a boob now and then while breastfeeding, too!
As for maternity jeans, I did buy a pair of Good American Good Mama jeans. I love the fit and quality of them, but they are still very much jeans. And this girl doesn’t really have any desire to wiggle my booty in them on a regular basis. The pair I got just has stretchy side panels, so I don’t think they will work until the very end. They are super flattering and feel like true, sexy, date night jeans.
I also grabbed this pair of jeans from JC Penny. They were only $25.00 when I bought them on sale, go up to a size 30, and have a stretchy waistband! What!? I went up to a size 26, and they fit generous. I have some joggers that are getting a little snug, but these jeans still fit comfortably. I wish the legs were a little more tapered on my, but seeing as how I went up a size I understand the fit. Highly recommend them if you are looking for an affordable pair of jeans, pregnant or not!
I also can’t recommend renting some maternity clothes enough. There are a lot of great clothing rental companies out there, but I recently did a NUULY box with a bunch of pieces from Maxey Greene’s Hutch Design Maternity collection and fell in love with so many! The white button-down is perfection, and I ended up keeping it. Can’t wait for my next box!
Prenatal suggestion? I’ve been taking the Olly Prenatal Gummies for about a year now and love them so much. They don’t make me sick to my stomach and taste pretty dang good. If you prefer a non-gummy prenatal, I was taking Garden of Life RAW, but the pills were so big, I sometimes had a hard time with them.
Any tips for headaches while pregnant? I had a few pretty rough migraines during my first trimester thanks to hormone supplements I was taking, and have continued to have random, intense headaches through my second trimester. It is so hard! I often tell Mr. G that I don’t miss the odd glass of wine but the random dose of Advil.
Some things I found helpful were drinking a huge glass of ice-cold water before laying down with a cool pack on my neck or forehead. I can’t sleep through an intense headache or migraine, but just closing my eyes for fifteen minutes always seemed to ease a bit of the pain. Turning my phone off, and having a bit of chocolate also helped things. Also a little bit of ice hot right at the base of your neck!
Help! I need heartburn suggestions! Girl, the struggle is real with the heartburn. The old wives’ tale goes that lots of heartburn = lots of hair. That was definitely true for my oldest! This baby was giving me heartburn by 12 weeks, and I powered through until I couldn’t anymore. My doctor suggested a once-daily pill of Omeprazole (Prilosec), and it made such a big difference! I don’t suffer from daily heartburn anymore unless I skip a dose or eat a particularly spice/acidic meal.
My feet are already killing me. What are your favorite shoes? Hear me out on this one. Crocs have changed my life. I kid you not. Don’t worry. I don’t wear them out of my house, but I bought a pair of good old fashioned crocs and they are now my house shoes. I literally do not take a step barefoot around my house and my foot pain has all but disappeared! They are miracle workers. Will you look like a hobbit grandma? Maybe. Do we care? definitely not.
I hated my pregnancy pillow, too! I honestly think part of the issue was my height — I’m 6′ and I felt like the pillow didn’t work for my length haha. I used a $10 body pillow from Target between my legs and it worked perfectly.