Bump Pics – As of 16 weeks, I have officially been consistent with taking my weekly ‘bump-dates’! All thanks to my trusty photographer (husband 😇 – he is SO professional and complains every time 😂). I picked just a few because man this second trimester is long!
Cravings/Aversions – I definitely jumped on the pickle train in the second trimester. So cliche; right? I was going through jars of pickles and we couldn’t get to the grocery store enough in quarantine to keep up with the demand. 😂 We finally put in a delivery order with Costco and I got a two pack to hold me over. Photo below for reference – this was a LOT of pickles. One jar successfully down and working on #2. I’m sad to say I don’t eat pickles daily anymore… but we sure have enough! Also they HAVE to be the baby dills. Small, crispy, and so refreshing!!
I still don’t have a ton of crazy cravings though. It’s more if someone mentions something and it sounds good, then I will really want it. Things don’t just pop into my head. And no weird combos. I’ve been loving blueberries and have some with breakfast every morning. I was doing blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries for a while, but kept getting moldy blackberries – UGH!!! So now it’s just been blueberries and strawberries.
My guilty pleasure is cookie dough… also from Costco. It’s vegan so you can eat it raw, but you can certainly make cookies out of it. I don’t know if I should be proud or ashamed to say that I devoured the whole bucket without baking any cookies. In my defense, I ate it over 3 months so that’s not soooo bad right? 😂😳😋 IT IS JUST.SO.GOOD.
Sticking to the unhealthy side of indulgences, you also can’t go wrong with extra toasty cheez its, or sour patch watermelon. Just sayin’…
Body Changes – My body is a changin’! The bump has become a bump, albeit some days seemingly small. I’m still waiting for it to become that perfectly round, basketball under the shirt, looking bump. I just want to be a cute pregnant lady! Though as you can finally see in the week 27 photo – I think it is starting to pop out!
Okay every pregnant lady is beautiful. But it is SO hard not to compare your body to others. Does body image need to be its own post? Probably. But to keep things short, it is so hard to look at pictures of other bumps and not compare. But bodies are all so different and we are growing a tiny little human life!
I try to weigh myself once a week, maximum. It’s hard not to obsess over that number that is constantly rising. It’s scary! I did find a pregnancy weight gain calculator that lets you type in your stats, and tells you if you are within normal weight gain range. Again, I know it is completely fine to be outside of this, but it gives me piece of mind that I’m on track (for now).
In all reality whether I end up gaining 25 pounds or 100 pounds, all that really matters is having a happy and healthy baby, and a happy and healthy mama. 😘
Symptoms – I am lucky to still feel really good most of the time! Some days I’m exhausted by the end of the day, but I think this is to be expected.
Some aches and pains are starting to show up, but again pretty minimal and nothing a warm bubble bath can’t solve. This is the absolute best way to unwind after a long day. So relaxing.
Getting in and out of bed is proving to get harder. I find myself groaning on occasion. 😂 Even something as simple as rolling over in bed can be a challenge, and I know it is only going to get worse as I continue to grow.
Baby kicks are still far and few between. Every time they start getting stronger, she seems to reposition herself and they are super faint again. She must have found a hidden cave in there or something. 😂
There was one week that I could feel the kicks on the lower right side of my belly, so I would rest my hand there to feel them. One day I could even visually see the kick, and quickly called Mike over and he got to see one too. This was literally the coolest thing ever, but has only happened that one time. I can’t wait for this to be an every day thing!
The second trimester has been another enjoyable one! Looking forward to the last leg, and what I’m sure will feel like the longest yet!
Laugh Often – Rachel
Simply Stoops 