The first and second trimester of my pregnancy completely flew by!  As I quickly trudge through the third trimester, I wanted to do a overview of some maternity must haves that are making for a more comfortable pregnancy.  Being pregnant is such an amazing experience and we should enjoy it.  Sometimes when nausea, hip pain or whatever-else-ails-you decides to rear it’s ugly head, it’s hard to fully enjoy some phases of pregnancy.  I’ve put together a few items that have helped me out while growing my little bundle of joy!

Pregnancy must-haves and essentials for all moms-to-be! | Life's Tidbits

Pregnancy Must Haves

Ovia Pregnancy App // Somehow I find it easy to forget exactly how far along I am.  Not sure if it’s just a case of the second pregnancy OR pregnancy brain.  Either way this app helps track pregnancy stats (gestation, weight, doctors appointments and more) as well as providing updates on baby’s weekly growth throughout the pregnancy.

Water bottle // It’s important to stay hydrated throughout pregnancy and I’ve always struggled with drinking enough water.  I find it easier to track how much water I need to drink when I can count how many times I’ve refilled the water bottle.  Silly as it may sound, I’m more likely to drink from a cute water bottle.

Oyster Crackers // Every morning of the first trimester and a few weeks into the second I woke up feeling nauseous and queasy.  Every.Single.Morning. And, unfortunately it stayed that way for most of the day.  The only thing that helped was to eat a small handful of crackers every once in a while.  I could barely stomach a full meal and the crackers helped keep me from hurling.  Gross, but true.

T-shirts // These t-shirts are flattering, comfy, hold up well after multiple washes and, the.best.part, they last the entire pregnancy.  I had a couple from my first pregnancy and bought a few more for this pregnancy.  My favorite part about these t-shirts is no matter how big my bump gets it’s always fully covered.  No mid-drifts for this pregnant Mama!

Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth // This book is divided into two parts.  The first part contains various birth stories.  The second part is very informative with information on pregnancy and birth, forms of interventions, mantras and mindsets.  I really wish I had read this book during my first pregnancy.  I found the positive birth stories coupled with substantive birthing information to be very helpful.

Raspberry Leaf Tea // Raspberry leaf tea is thought to tone the muscles of the uterus and help it to work better during labor.  Read more about it here.  I started drinking the tea around the 24 week mark.  What surprised me the most was it doesn’t taste like raspberry {mind blown!} instead it tastes more like a black tea, which is right up my alley so I enjoy my daily cup!  This should go without saying, but talk with your healthcare provider to decide what’s right for you before drinking the tea.

Snoogle & Boppy Wedge // Moving from the second trimester into the third I have found sleeping to be more of a struggle.  I prefer sleeping slightly on my stomach or on my back.  With a growing bump it is was basically impossible.  The snoogle body pillow is very comfortable, but sometimes I just not in the full body pillow mood.  The boppy wedge is the perfect solution.  Pop the wedge under the belly, throw a regular pillow under my head and between my knees and goodnight!  While I’m still feeling a bit like an insomniac I’m as comfortable as possible doing it.

Check out my pregnancy essentials list from my first pregnancy!  What are your pregnancy essentials?

signiture_nicole

Best of Worst
Share

Oh BOY, Jellybean is going to have a little BROTHER!!  We couldn’t be more thrilled to be adding a little boy to the family.  Jellybean is working on perfecting her pronouns and for the most part she gets that she’s the big sister and Kiwi is her little brother.  The second trimester feels like it’s flying by and I can’t believe we are already more than half way through the pregnancy.  I am so excited to meet our little man in March.

The 20 week scan was so much fun.  The doctor who performed the ultrasound was great about saying things like heart normal, stomach normal, etc.  Hearing the feedback real time allowed the hubby and I to really enjoy watching Kiwi moving about on the screen.  Kiwi is pretty opinionated and wasn’t really into being ‘pushed around’ by the ultrasound wand.  Anytime the doctor pushed down a bit to see something Kiwi would kick and/or punch that exact spot.  Seems to me we have another spunky child on our hands … and, honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

It’s hard to believe there’s only 1 month left until I’ll be in the third trimester!  Below is a little update on the 4th and 5th months of my second pregnancy.

Pregnancy Update: Second Trimester, 4 months and 5 months pregnant | pregnancy, baby bump, pregnancy silhouette | Life's Tidbits

Second Trimester: Months 4 and 5 in Review

Craving …

fruit {still} and chocolate.  I’ve moved on from watermelon and I am now obsessed with oranges.

Food Aversions …

still not really feeling meat, however it doesn’t make me nauseous to think about eating anymore.  If chicken looks or smells even a little bit off from what I’m feeling at the moment there’s no way I’ll eat it.  Eggs are back in my good graces.  So thankful, they are a breakfast staple.

Feeling …

pretty darn good overall!  If I’m being really honest I’ve been having some restless legs at night and a bit of hip pain.  Compared with the first trimester nausea and headaches and the upcoming third trimester physical discomfort, I’m soaking up the second trimester.  It really is the sweet spot!

Missing …

my family.  It’s weird being so far away from my parents and sister while pregnant.  We are the kind of close nit family that talks daily, okay truth – when I lived in the same timezone as my parents I talked to my father almost daily and my mother usually twice a day sometimes more.  Being abroad has changed those stat drastically, but we all do our best to chat often.  My sister keeps having me stand in front of the laptop and/or iPhone when we FaceTime so she can ‘see the belly’.

Wearing …

mostly maternity clothes at this point.  I was able to ‘hide’ the belly under normal t-shirts until about 16 weeks and then I gave up.  I would say shortly after the 14 week point I started wearing my maternity shorts.  My regular shorts still fit, but the pressure on my stomach just wasn’t worth it.

Movement …

lots of it!  Feeling the baby move is one of the best parts of each day.  I started feeling pressure around 14 weeks and by 16 weeks flutters.  The husband felt him give a pretty good kick for the first time on week 19.  I was definitely able to feel Kiwi’s movements earlier than Jellybean’s.  Let’s keep those baby kicks a-comin’ Kiwi!

Excited About …

the nausea FINALLY being over.  It was also really exciting to find out Kiwi is a boy.  The gender reveal also unleashed The Mimi {aka my mother} to purchase an ever expanding sea of blue clothing.  Can’t wait to see the wardrobe that has been acquired for him.

Nervous About …

how we will manage two kids.  We went to dinner with some friends a couple of weeks ago and they were kind of chuckling about how their second child rocked their world a little more than they anticipated.  They were also very forthcoming about the lack of sleep associated with a newborn.  Seriously, I understand why keeping people awake is used as a form of torture … because not sleeping is torture hahaha.  While I know we will rise to the occasion it’s still a wee bit nerve racking.

First vs. Second Pregnancy …

As I already mentioned there’s a lot more movement with this pregnancy than the first.  The first pregnancy I definitely felt worn out from growing a baby.  I thought I was tired with the first pregnancy; I wasn’t.  Tired it what I feel this time around.  Growing a baby takes a lot energy.  Growing a baby while simultaneously toting around a toddler, help her potty/pull up her pants not to mention the emotional energy expended … now that’s a new level of tired.  :)  Check out the fifth month recap of my pregnancy with Jellybean.

Any pregnancy tidbits you care to share?  I would love to hear them!

signiture_nicole

 

 

 

 

Best of Worst

Share

Each pregnancy is different and everyone has their own list of must haves for being pregnant.  I really appreciated all the tidbits my friends, coworkers and family shared with me on what I need or will need to help me enjoy being pregnancy.  Let me be honest; I have good days and bad days.  Sometimes I LOVE being pregnant and other times December can’t come soon enough.

It’s a roller coaster ride for sure, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.  It took some trial and error in the first trimester, but I slowly identified what “stuff” was essential to a “happy pregnant Nicole”.

So here are my pregnancy essentials … at least so far! :)

Pregnancy Must Haves and Essentials for all trimesters |  Life's Tidbits

{1}  Snoogle Total Body Pregnancy Pillow with Jersey Knit Cover
After sleeping SO well the first trimester I was shocked at how uncomfortable I was in the second.  While maternity clothes shopping, my mom made friends with another grandmother-to-be and her daughter.  The woman swore by this pillow and after a 5 minute conversation on “why this pillow is a-mazing” I was sold.  I LOVE this pillow … I’m not sure the husband does though as he keeps joking he has been “replaced”.  I should have invested in a pregnancy pillow sooner!

{2}  Kashi Chewy Granola Bars
I keep at least two granola bars in my purse at all times. I learned the hard way in the first trimester that if I skip a meal or wait too long to eat I start to feel horrible. Granola bars have been a life saver when we are on the go!

{3}  Manis and Pedis {I love the OPI colors!}
A little pampering for the Mom-to-be never hurt anyone, right?!?!

{4}  Cotton Lace Waist Thong
Comfy underwear is a must! I purchased these a size larger than I normally wear to give the tummy room to grow.  They have a good amount of stretch and I probably could have stuck with my normal size (at least so far … we shall see how the 3rd trimester goes).

{5}  What to Expect When Your Expecting
To quote myself from an older post … “This book is a classic.  It comes in handy when I have questions like “is this <insert pain/ache/feeling> normal?”.  Unlike Goggling it doesn’t give all these horror stories …”

A lot of moms and moms-to-be have mentioned Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Lotion is a pregnancy must.  I just started using it about two weeks ago when the belly started getting itchy.  Luckily my friend warned me this was on the horizon so the lotion had already been purchased before the itchiness began.  I’m not sure if it will make it onto my pregnancy essential list, but will definitely keep you posted.  :)

What are/were your pregnancy must haves?

signiture_nicole

Share

Nine times out of ten (it seems) the follow up question to “when is the baby due” tends to be “are you going to find out the gender?”.  As I mentioned in my first trimester tidbits post we quickly decided knowing the baby’s gender was a MUST.  I’m a planner by profession (what, what PMP certification LOL) and, well, it naturally carries over to my personal life.  The husband always jokes I’m his walking/talking calendar and to do list.

Anyways, here were the gender predictions:

  • Team Boy – Me, my sister and my dad
  • Team Girl – The hubby, my mom and 3 of my girlfriends
  • Team Who Knows – Everyone else.

I’ve heard stories of people who are at the doctors for over an hour trying to get their little one to turn/move into a position where they would be able to determine gender.  In fact, one of our cousins had to wait until her bundle of joy made HIS debut to find out her baby was a boy.  Jellybean on the other hand was chilling in the perfect position and it took the ultrasound technician just seconds to say …

ItsAGirl

I was absolutely shocked, because I was 100% convinced the baby was a boy.  Clearly, I am not a gender whisper-er  hahaha.  Either way I am THRILLED to being having a girl.  The hubby is very excited as well.  Some of his hilarious comments after finding out Jellybean was a girl included …

  • “I need to learn to play barbies.”
  • “What do girls like to play with?”
  • “She’s not dating until she’s 30!”  said completely straight faced and he was 90% serious.
  • And my personal favorite … “I guess this means we are paying for a wedding.”  If you know my husband, you know he’s extremely sarcastic and this was said (mostly) because he thought he was being funny.

I have vivid memories of being a little girl sitting at the dinner table, in the car or even walking down the street with my mother and sister chanting “girl power, girl power girl power” while pumping our fists into the air!!  My poor father was seriously outnumbered and soon enough the husband will be too.  With two daughters, a wife and a dog (who was also a girl) my dad was the only male in the house.  While he might like to pretend he’s a “man’s man”, luckily for us girls he is really a big teddy bear!  In honor of my “Girl Power” childhood memories I purchased the perfect onesie for Jellybean.

girlpower_onsie
Source

Now that we know we are having a GIRL it is time to get started on prepping the nursery, registering and all the other good pre-baby planning stuff.

Did you find out the gender of your baby?

If you enjoyed this post, please add your tidbit by commenting below.  Don’t forget you can follow us on PinterestInstagramFacebook and Twitter.

Share

It was a whole 16 weeks since I last blogged until last week  … *hangs head in shame*.  I have been thinking about blogging and I even had a few posts 90% completed, but just couldn’t muster up the energy to complete them.  BUT here is the thing … I am back and have some great new tidbits to share with you.

For starters I guess I should provide you with my REALLY GOOD excuse for being an absentee blogger … wait for it … wait for it … are you ready?!?!

I’M PREGNANT!!!

pregnancyannouncement

{Sorry for the bad camera phone photo … and as you can see from the tags I was trying to some new maternity pants}

Oh wow, oh my, yup, I just put that out there on the world wide web for the world to see!!  The husband and I are beyond thrilled to be adding a new member to our little family.  I’m not so sure Sophi, our dog, is going to feel the same way come December.  Poor little pup is about to have her world severely rocked.

At 22 weeks, I am just a little over 1/2 way through the pregnancy and it has been a wild ride so far!!!  The first trimester took a lot out of me.  There was morning sickness that lasted all day and “power naps” after work that were always 2-3 hours.  Luckily the second trimester is treating me a lot better than the first!  I feel like myself again … except that my clothes no longer fit and when I look down I can see my belly sticking out.  LOL.  So there you  have it … my excuse for not blogging.   Baking the bun in the oven briefly took precedence over blogging.  =)

I have a number of fun stories, tidbits and baby related projects to share with you in the coming weeks so I hope you will forgive me for being an absentee blogger.

If you enjoyed this post, please add your tidbit by commenting below.  Don’t forget you can follow us on PinterestInstagramFacebook and Twitter.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Share