Hello everyone!
Can I just say that I miss you? I really do.
Work at the studio has been busier than ever with the start of the New Year. In turn, I feel like all of my free time has been dedicated to getting ready for Baby H to arrive in just a few months. Being a blogger at heart, it bums me out that I barely keep up with a weekly post around these parts. Now that our baby registry is finished (hallelujah!) and our final travels before the baby arrives are set, I can look back at the last trimester and check in with you guys again.
There have been a handful of recipes that have happened without documentation, too. I hope to re-make them to share with y’all in the future! I don’t get too creative on the workout front these days, simply because I work at a fitness studio and need the cardio those workouts provide during these cold winter months. That said, my goals are to share more pre and post-natal content around here because let’s face it – time is flying!
On that note, this post is all about what has been going on in our lives over the last few months. I’m currently almost 29 weeks along (third trimester – ahh!), and I shared how Weeks 13-20 went in a previous second trimester update. This recap goes back to cover the final weeks in my second trimester: Weeks 21-27.
Thanks so much for checking in, and I’d love to hear more about your pregnancy experiences in the comments section, too!
Baby was the size of a…
(Referencing the comparisons in my Glow Nurture app)
Week 21
pomegranate
Scott, baby, and I went to a New York Knicks Game this week! It was the first time that I felt noticeably pregnant when I arrived somewhere, which was a nice change from the “is she/isn’t she pregnant?” looks I’ve received in the past.
We had access to plenty of free food and drinks during the game, and I unashamedly admit that I took full advantage. Giant soft pretzels and flavored soda water never tasted so good!
Week 22
papaya
I craved a lot of Italian. I know this is the furthest thing from authentic Italian, but I couldn’t get Olive Garden out of my head and asked Scott to bring my favorite childhood meal (spaghetti with meat sauce, salad, and breadsticks) home from Times Square for me one night. I had to have it, and you know what? It was delicious.
We also got our Christmas tree this week!
We walked over to our local tree lot and brought it right home with us. I loved having Christmas decorations up this year knowing this is the last year it will just be the two (or five – including the fur babies) of us.
Week 23
ear of corn
My belly button totally popped at Week 23! It had been slowing morphing for weeks, and is currently a true outie.
Scott joined me for workouts whenever he wasn’t traveling (yes, that’s a medicine ball in his tank), and I felt good. Moving actually felt better than sitting down … most of the time.
Week 24
large zucchini
I attended a fun and festive event with POPSUGAR and Old Navy during Week 24! I was invited to drink hot cocoa and spread the joy of giving around the holidays by creating my own POPSUGAR Must Have Box at a beautifully decorated warehouse in Dumbo, Brooklyn.
It was the first big snowfall of the season, too, and I remember being terrified of slipping on my commute over. I’ve pretty much lived in my winter boots ever since!
Also, I remember that pain in my ribs started this week. We figured out that the baby has found a home in my ribs, and I’m pretty sure his/her head and hands are fluttering about in the left side. It almost feels like I have an extremely tight sports bra on or like someone is pushing or poking into my ribs from the side. Nice, right?
I’ve been stretching and asking Scott to give me “rib rubs” to help work out some of the pain and hopefully get the baby to move around a bit.
Week 25
large cucumber
Baby H and I had a great time at holiday parties! We drank mock-tails and spent the weekend before Christmas busy with outings and celebrations.
It was hard not to eat alllll the sugary treats, but I had my fair share. I’ve been all about eating nutritious foods and indulging in sweet or not-so nutritious foods when I want to – in moderation – just like I did before pregnancy.
Week 26
coconut
This was our last Christmas before a nine-month-old rocks our world and steals the show next year! We don’t know where we will be or what state we will be celebrating in (our families are already fighting over us to come home for the holidays in 2018), but I’m already looking forward to that time.
We had a very low-key Christmas and are soaking up as much time for “us” that we can now!
Week 27
acorn squash
New Year’s Eve was my favorite night with the bump so far. While I wasn’t able to partake in the cocktails or champagne toasts, we had a true VIP New York City experience, thanks to Scott and his side-job.
I couldn’t help but to tear up after the ball dropped this year. 2018 is the year that we will finally meet our rainbow baby! <3
How I Changed & Weight Gain
I gained a total of 26 pounds at the end of Week 27, which is about 5 pounds “above average,” according to my pregnancy apps. I’m beginning to think that these standards aren’t really “average” … or … is that just me?
I shared my weight gain concerns in my last recap, and those concerns are still there. But, I’m also learning to appreciate everything that my body is going through to grow a human, and as long as I continue eating reasonably healthy and working out as much as I can, I’m okay with it. There are a few weeks where I don’t gain any weight at all and others where I can’t keep the pounds from spiking. At the end of the day, I feel like my body is just doing what it needs to and all I really care about is a healthy baby after delivery.
As expected, my doctor is still on me about weight gain. My last doctor’s appointment was at Week 26 and I had my glucose test.
(By the way, I actually liked the taste of the drink you have to take before the appointment. Maybe I got an updated version – I’ve heard they taste horrible – but it tasted like a lemon-lime soda to me.) My doctor had to leave before my appointment to deliver a baby, so I saw another doctor in the practice and he didn’t seem too concerned about anything. He measured my belly with a tape measurer and found the baby’s heartbeat within seconds of putting the heartbeat doppler on it. It was nice to leave feeling good about my pregnancy progress again!
But enough about weight. Other changes I experienced include my belly button popping, the line on my stomach becoming more and more prominent, and growing ta-tas. Everything about my body feels wider — my hips, my waist, my arms, everything. I can feel joints move and pop around at times, and I know that’s something that is pretty common.
How I Felt (Symptoms)
The end of the second trimester was the best so far. I felt the most like myself and loved working out, eating nutrient-filled foods, and staying busy. I noticed my belly growing bigger by the day, and as a result, the aches and pains began.
Week 24 is really when the baby started kicking hard enough for Scott to feel, too. Finally!
I felt (and still feel) the baby move and settle into my ribs quite often. This leads to uncomfortable, sharp pains, and the only way to help it subside at times is to get up and stretch. I finally got a prenatal massage a few weeks ago to try and help with knots that have formed in my back, and it helped a little, but the massage therapist wasn’t able to dig as deep as I’m used to. (Prenatal massage therapists should know about trigger points to avoid and the appropriate amount of pressure to apply.) I might try another one, just to see if it helps, but leaving without a full feeling of relief was a bit of a disappointment for me.
I also got (and still get) leg spasms during the night, mostly in my calves. I’ve read that this is normal, as my blood circulation is working twice as hard. I have to be very aware of how I’m sleeping to avoid turning on my back throughout the night, but the Snoogle pregnancy pillow has really helped me switch from side to side as comfortably as I can.
Fitness
I stepped up my fitness game quite a bit during Weeks 21-27. I took anywhere from 3-4 Orangetheory workouts a week and tried my best to stretch and foam roll after every workout.
The winter weather really rolled in, so I’m not walking Roadie as far as I used to, but that comes with the season. I haven’t taken any barre or yoga classes in a while, and I hope to change that soon.
Other usual activities included walking to work (a mile each way), walking up and down the stairs to get to our apartment (this is becoming harder and harder), and navigating my way through public transit on trips into the City.
What I Ate/Drank
I started craving sweets again, especially chocolate. I introduced small amounts of caffeine back into my daily routine, starting with a half-decaf / half-regular coffee in the mornings. If I felt tired in the afternoons, I went for hot chocolates from local coffee shops and the walk outdoors and back really helped wake me up!
I was excited that I also craved fruit, salads, and meat again. I haven’t been too keen on sea food, but I’ve been enjoying chicken, ground turkey, steak, pork, and other protein sources like eggs and beans.
What I Didn’t Eat/Drink
Lobster. Oh my gosh – Scott brought lobster macaroni and cheese home and I almost threw up after the first bite! It totally threw me off and made me more sad than anything. I hope that aversion doesn’t stick around post-baby!
Some highs …
- reading about how our baby is changing week by week
- continuing a baby registry and slowly piecing our nursery/guest room together
- Scott talking to the baby – he’s officially nick-named our baby “Fish” for a few reasons
- the reality that this baby will be here in just a few months setting in!
Some lows …
- the aches and pains that started appearing
- everyday things like putting my winter boots on, cleaning, and reaching for things became more like workouts
- experiencing shortness of breath out of nowhere
- frequent trips to the bathroom and a handful of nights of insomnia
- worrying about how Roadie will react to the baby coming home (I’d love to hear about your experiences with introducing a new baby to a family pet!)
- continuing a baby registry (it’s incredibly overwhelming, ha)
Pregnancy/Baby-Related Purchases
The most exciting purchase during this period was our stroller and travel system!
A dear friend offered to give us her brand-new Cybex Cloud Q car seat (she ended up using a different one that was compatible with her stroller base), and I couldn’t turn it down. This spiraled into me researching different types of strollers and what car seat goes with what base and what baby/toddler seat along with what kind of travel system would require the least amount of parts for someone who doesn’t have a car and lives in New York City. As you can imagine, this search went on quite a while, and I finally decided to get the Priam base and 2-in-1 Light seat that doubles as a carry cot (bassinet), toddler seat, and is compatible with the car seat for when we need to Uber somewhere or travel.
This was quite the task, y’all.
I was finally set on what I wanted, and after searching the Internet high and low for weeks for some kind of discount (the brand runs rather pricey), I asked and received some great advice from a local Brooklyn Moms facebook group that got us the 2-in-1 seat for free from Magic Beans! So, basically all we had to pay for on the stroller/travel front was a base. This was the best news ever!
The stroller is currently set up as a bassinet seat in in the corner of our dining room (City living), and I cannot wait to stroll our little one around in it in just a few months (<- crazy).
We are starting to receive a lot of baby gifts, which is also pretty surreal.
Other purchases I made during the end of the second trimester included this diaper bag, bigger sports bras, a pair of black maternity jeans from Stitch Fix, and a new winter coat from J.Crew.
I shared the details in a previous Friday Favorites post and absolutely LOVE it! With temperatures getting down to the single digits lately, I couldn’t imagine the bump’s winter season without it!
(Oh, and I finally figured out to tie the waist band into a bow. So much cuter!)
I haven’t bought many other maternity items since my last haul. In general, I’ve been sizing up or going for styles that allow extra room in the belly that I can wear post-baby, too.
***
Thanks so much for popping in today! I’m staying incredibly busy at work right now, but I really do hope to check in with y’all more regularly soon. In the mean time, you can catch up on what you’ve missed in the LIL Baby archives below.
Happy Tuesday!
Previous LIL Baby Posts:
LIL Baby: First Trimester Updates
LIL Baby: First Trimester Favorites
Why We’re Not Finding Out Our Baby’s GenderLIL Baby: Second Trimester Update: (Weeks 13-20)
Patricia @ Sweet and Strong
Oh I can’t even imagine how busy things have been at OTF since the start of the new year. I love reading these pregnancy updates as my husband and I hope to start a family one day. You are the cutest pregnant woman! And so good to hear things are going fast.
Patricia @ Sweet and Strong recently posted…Sweet and Strong Top Posts of 2017
Heather
Hi Patricia! Thank you for reading and for following our journey. <3 I'm excited to share more, hopefully more frequently in the third trimester. Have a great week!
Jessica
I am so glad you are feeling well for the most part!! I do have question — would yo umind sharing how you got the stroller for free?
Heather
Hi Jessica! Thanks 🙂 sure, it started with the car seat the my friend gifted me. I ended up finding the Priam base I wanted (links above, or you can find it at http://cybex-online.com/us) thanks to advice from a local to look at Magic Beans. They had a weekend crazy weekend sale right after Thanksgiving that included the 2-in-1 light seat if you bought the base. Before this find, I searched the Internet for WEEKS for any kind of deal. A lot of coupons exclude stroller manufactures but every now and then you can find a steal at buybuy Baby! Google search coupons! That’s what I did, but Cybex was tricky. Best of luck!
Hilary
Thinking of having my first kid in the next couple years I can’t thank you enough for the raw and real updates on your thoughts and feelings about everything from food to working out and more!
KDO
You look amazing HB! Roadie will be a great big brother. Izzy has learned to love Ellie more now that she drops food for her all time. We did the whole bring a blanket from the hospital that Ellie used home before we brought her home. Izzy was really interested with Ellie and used to take her socks off of her so she could lick her feet. Roadie will be a dog dog caregiver!
Courtney {Alkeks Abroad}
I love reading your updates! My daughter was breech and made her noggin home in my ribs from 28 weeks on, so I know the rib pain well! Lucky you don’t have to drive to work because for some reason that position was the worst for me (probably because I drive like a grandma). You are so close to the finish line, can’t wait to see if baby h is a he or she.
Courtney {Alkeks Abroad} recently posted…Baby A 2.0 {The First Trimester}
Deanna
So glad you’re having a good pregnancy. We brought a baby blanket home from the hospital for our dogs to check out before we brought our oldest home. With our second baby we didn’t and each turned out perfectly fine. I think the dogs knew the whole time I was pregnant and I think they knew who the babies were as soon as we walked into the house with them. They were a little excited and sniffed a little but that’s about it. My dog’s favorite person in the world is our 23 month old. She feeds our dog all the time and gives her kisses and hugs all day. They are two peas in a pod. I think roadie will be just fine
amy
my son was breech and I had terrible rib pain as well, so I can relate to that well! I used to do stretches/ ice packs/ massages, but what seemed to help the most though was getting adjusted at the chiropractor.
it felt like it almost aligned me enough to give him a little more room.
so I went and got adjusted once every other week which seemed to help a little bit.
cant wait to find out if the baby is a boy or girl. Enjoy 🙂 this time goes so fast and before you know it he/ she will be here!
Ashley @ A Lady Goes West
Ohhh doctors and their weight-gain comments! I have four doctors in my practice, and two of them (the men), told me I was on the fast track to gaining too much weight around week 25 or so. They said if I continued gaining like I did, I would have put on over 40 pounds and then would have risk of a bigger baby. However, I was then told by another doctor that your baby is not necessarily bigger if you gain a lot of weight and I was totally on track. That being said, I ate a ton of carbs, fries, treats and burgers throughout pregnancy and ended up only gaining 34 pounds. I didn’t gain as fast in the third trimester. Nonetheless, don’t worry about it! Oh and the first week after being home after having Brady I remembered the JOY of being able to roll over in bed easily and put shoes on haahha!!
Ashley @ A Lady Goes West recently posted…Our first weekend in the new house and my weekly workouts