Second Trimester Update

Hi Cherubs!

I cannot believe I am already well into my 3rd trimester with only 10 weeks left off this pregnancy! The second trimester went by a lot quicker than the first which I'm super happy about because being pregnant isn't a walk in the park! I'm gonna update you on all the highs and lows of the second trimester and hopefully keep it up beat and to the point because I am incredibly happy  to even be pregnant after my miscarriage but with pregnancy hormones its hard to be merry all the time after all.

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Self care, fitness and diet

Pregnancy is definitely a time to indulge in some self care and although I haven't had any prenatal massages so far I have booked myself in for a luxury massage in a months time at the Four Seasons in Palo Alto, my husband will also be joining in on the pamper session obvs just a normal massage for him, but work has been hectic as he has been working late nights trying to get his workload finalized before baby girl makes her arrival in 2 months time. So in other words we both deserve some me time! 

There have been a few products I've been using over the past 7 months to help keep my skin looking as good as possible and trying to prevent stretch marks which I'm actually not too fussed about because at the end of the day I'm growing a human and my skin needs to expand. So far I have zero on my stomach which surprises me because it gets bigger every week, but I do have some small ones on my hips but again no biggie! The products I've been using and loving are;

Mamma Mio - The tummy rub butter - $36 - 120g - buy here | I LOVE this butter, its extremely thick but sinks into my skin quickly and is non greasy so I can put my clothes on straight away and not worry about marks. It has 3 different oils in the mix to help with skin elasticity and they are, Argon, Avocado and coconut which gives it a lovely delicate scent. The brand also claim to help your body bounce back after birth so we shall see. 

Burt's Bees Mama Bee - Belly butter - $12.99 - 185g - buy here | So this is on the more affordable spectrum and its fragrance free too. I wouldn't describe this as a butter because it has a light cream consistency more than buttery. It takes a little longer to sink into the skin than the Mamma Mio but it feels incredibly moisturizing and it doesn't transfer onto my clothes. This cream is blended with Shea, jojoba and cocoa. 

Burt's Bees Mama Bee - Nourishing body oil - $6.39 - 115ml - buy here | Another great product with a purse friendly price tag. This is a 100% natural light weight oil that has a delicious lemon scent. It does take a while to sink in so I only use this in the evenings. I do tend to slather this on though so I maybe over using it but I love how soft it makes my skin feel. I will probs use this after pregnancy too as I've bought a lot of these and it will help keep my skin moisturized whilst shrinking back into place... Thats some hopeful thinking right there!

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Halfway through my second trimester I finally got my energy back and felt pretty much my normal self, so I was able to amp up my fitness regime and clean up my diet too as my cravings and aversions had subsided. I have been working out 6/7 days a week and that is no exaggeration. Every morning I use the treadmill to do a fast paced up hill walk and I do this for an hour, I also have yoga in the afternoons (3x a week) for an hour and this is just a normal yoga class at Core Power Yoga. I'm not really into the idea of prenatal yoga as I don't think it will be a tough enough workout for me. As well as this I just try and be as active as possible, instead of driving everywhere I'll walk instead, every little helps after all. Although its a lot of hard work this schedule has helped me a lot, I've felt happier and I've also controlled my weight gain and even lost a little towards the end of my second trimester which is fine because I deffo put on more than I should in those first couple of months when I could only stomach cheese sandwiches and just carbs in general. 

My diet has been pretty good I still allow myself treats because you know if you can't treat yourself when your pregnant when can you? I have been loving kale salads for my lunch which are vegan with some rice cakes and humous and for my dinners I have just been keeping it healthy with homemade soups which again are vegan, tofu stir fry and when I'm super lazy egg on toast! I've been vegetarian for over 10 years but I've been trying to make my day 50% plant based because it ensures I eat lots of veggies and grains. My treats have been homemade scones, muffins (plant based) and the odd ice cream here and there! Balance my friends! 

Mind and Body - How I'm feeling

My hormones have been doing some crazy things to my mind and body over the past months. I am definitely overly emotional now whether I'm watching a sad film/advert or something really mild upsets me I will cry my eyes out and thats full on ugly crying FYI. I remember one time when my husband complained about me putting onion in his salad when I knew he didn't like it and I spent the whole dinner time crying uncontrollably into my food. I cry on average around twice a week now and I feel so sorry for Darius, he must feel like he's walking on egg shells sometimes. Honestly even when I'm crying over something silly I am fully aware its silly but I just can't stop its ridiculous.

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One of my favorite things about the second trimester is feeling my baby girl moving about, I first felt her move around 18 weeks and again I got so emotional... and when Darius felt her move for the first time I got even more emotional haha! Every week her movements get stronger and more visible, and now I can see my stomach moving when she is. Its super sweet when she has hiccups and I can feel these tiny rhythmic jolts. So precious! 

With all this movement and growing I have been getting quite severe ligament pain under my bump, so getting up, moving around in bed and even getting in and out of the car is slightly painful. I had a few weeks of pain and it has eased up since, I can still feel it but I have been wearing a pregnancy belt around the house and when I work out and it seems to help a lot. My Doctor also said it will get worse too, happy days! I actually think I'm carrying quite low and my bump is narrow so I think maybe the weight is not spread evenly.

My hair has always been thick and now its even thicker which I don't mind too much because it looks healthy and shiny. My skin has been amazing too, from always having problematic skin with breakouts and uncontrollable oil its such a blessing. I feel comfortable wearing zero make up. I'm still keeping on top of my skincare routine using my normal products but I'm less worried about trying to keep my skin matte because its happening all on its own... I wonder how long this will last?

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Last but not least, swelling! My hands, wrists, feet and face have been so swollen this trimester to the point where I had to cut my wedding ring and engagement rings off. If you are prone to swelling/water retention and have just discovered you're pregnant I would just say take off your rings now and save yourself the hassle. We tried everything to get my rings off, the thread technique which my sister in law used and was successful. I tried butter, oil, soap but they just wouldn't budge so in the end my husband cut through them which wasn't too difficult as gold is soft but the hard part was trying to pry the ring slightly open so I could slide it off my finger without pinching my skin. I've had my rings off for a few days now and you can still see indent marks from my rings which are still quite sore. I will get them fixed when we visit home next year because I want to take them back to the jeweler who made them. I am also living in sandals because normal shoes and trainers feel like they are squishing my feet. I hope after pregnancy the water retention goes down quickly, I definitely think that it has played a big part in my weight gain and my Dr thinks so too. I'm just one swollen lady!

Preparing for the baby

I wanted the nursery to be completely finished by the time my third trimester came around and luckily we managed to do just that. I basically didn't wanna have to build furniture whilst being big and uncomfortable. Third trimester is for chilling and nesting as they say. I have enough clothes for her first 6 months of life and lots of sleeping essentials. I still haven't got the bigger items like push chair because I'm waiting for my Amazon baby registry discount. So if you didn't know, if you create a baby registry on amazon 2 months before your due date they give you 15% off qualifying items but you have to be a prime member, So if you do look on my registry and think cheeky git putting on a $800 push chair... It's actually a tactful act on my part! 

With 2 months to go its all starting to feel very real, I'm excited and nervous. I have a few classes coming up to prepare for childbirth, breastfeeding and looking after a newborn. I probably don't need to do the classes but if I learn one thing that helps me out in labour then it will be worth it. I am just extremely excited to meet my little girl that keeps kicking me all night. 
10 WEEKS TO GO!

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I hope you enjoyed reading my second trimester update loves!

Catch up on my miscarriage and first trimester update here

Gender Reveal here

Love Sarah





1 comment

  1. Wow, you're looking glowing as usual!

    Emily xo
    www.emilynewstead.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete

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