My Pregnancy Journey and Essentials post from when I was pregnant with Rex still ranks as one of my most popular posts ever so I thought I’d update things a bit after this second time around. This pregnancy was very different but in ways very similar too. And although I complained a lot more this pregnancy (really I chalk it up to the exhaustion of chasing a toddler around and trying to balance work) and at times I’ve said “okay never again”… thinking back on this sweet journey I truly do love being pregnant, and I feel so very fortunate to have had this experience twice now! It’s such a miracle and incredible what our bodies are capable of.
Reading back over my previous pregnancy essentials post I still 100% agree with everything I wrote but wanted to share what was different this second time around for those curious as well as some new finds I loved. Breaking it down by trimester again which I hope is helpful!
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First Trimester:
This first trimester was rough for me (harder than with Rex). I was super nauseous and, although I always pictured myself with all boys, I think the nausea tipped me off on the fact that it could be a girl. I wasn’t sick with Rex and loved being pregnant. With Rex I was on cloud nine the entire 9 months, in love with my husband, my changing body, and everything involving growing that little babe. This time around I was just exhausted, sick, and hormonal (I swear those extra girl hormones made me feel like I was on my period 24/7). Poor Tanner!, who really was the only one who got the brunt of my moodiness. We would agree and laugh, “let’s get this girl outta you!”
Similar to when I was pregnant with Rex–we found out right away. I just “knew” again. Although this time around I felt like keeping this pregnancy my little secret for much longer. It’s funny sharing your world in such a public way sometimes and I found that this wasn’t something I wanted to share quite yet. Although we told Rex and our families right away… so it was a sweet family secret for about five months!
The real difference between this trimester and my first with Rex was that I obviously had a toddler this time around and was juggling work so I didn’t get the daily naps I took when I was pregnant with Rex. I did hire a more full-time nanny this time around and transitioned to working outside of our house as well which helped me get my work done during the day so I could go to bed earlier. Huge!
Workouts: I didn’t get in the daily mileage I was walking when pregnant with Rex (because he doesn’t always want to ride in a stroller so our walks together are more of a one block exploration–he stops to pick up every rock along the way etc.)… but I did keep up with my weekly personal training sessions of weight lifting this first Tri. I later dropped this due to my travel schedule and honestly just getting lazy and not wanting to do anything too strenuous… but keeping up with some kind of workouts in the beginning did help me stay toned for sure. Also just chasing Rex around and keeping busy with him is a workout in itself. Carrying him around, and later the all of the extra weight of my belly, that was a major whole body workout.
Beauty: I had a pretty clean beauty routine, which I think I became a lot more serious about when I was pregnant with Rex, but I cleaned things up even more this second time around. Especially my makeup bag. Here are my favorite stretchmark oils, lotions and bath time products.
Apps: The only app I checked this pregnancy was The Bump. Mainly just to remind myself what week I was in because I rarely remembered, ha!
Second Trimester:
Gender Reveal (at 20 weeks): We planned a gender reveal with our families when I was pregnant with Rex but this time around decided to find out just the two of us and surprise everyone on Christmas with the news. They loved their surprise gift! I would have been happy boy or girl, but since I always pictured boys I think it just took me a bit longer to wrap my head around having a girl. I thought another boy just sounded easy (we already had all of the clothes etc.). But after a couple of days and browsing the baby girl section I quickly got SO excited about all of the girly things I love to do that maybe one day she will want to do with me as well.
On Sharing Our News: I waited to share our news until I was 23 weeks. Those first weeks I just wanted to keep the news our secret… but then I also wanted a bump to show when I did announce it online. It took me a while to pop and then while we were in Paris I looked like I had a six month belly almost overnight. Could have also have been all of the indulging I was doing on our trip, ha!
So as it turned out all of the stereotypical “girl” wives tales proved to be true. I craved sweets. Was moody. She was riding higher than Rex did crowding my lungs. I had breakouts (I swear when I was pregnant with Rex I had the best glowing skin of my life). I’ve gained more weight.
Undies!: As mentioned in my original pregnancy essentials post, these high-rise bikini bottoms are my obsession. Any high-rise, full bottom underwear… granny panties were my jam.
On Choosing a Name: It took us a while to decide on a name. Rex was a family name so that was easy, and we had our favorite girl name from when I was pregnant with Rex but we were still open to others. It wasn’t until I was in New York early in the year that I kept feeling this super strong feeling that I just knew what her name was. It’s a name that Tanner had mentioned and I had put on our list but it wasn’t necessarily a top contender at the time for me. Then I kept getting these signs and instantly felt connected to her in a new way. We decided to keep the name a secret the rest of my pregnancy also unlike with Rex (we shared the name with close friends and family early on).
On Style: I pulled out my maternity jeans much earlier this pregnancy. I also bought two more pairs this pregnancy since I was mainly pregnant throughout the cooler months so having bump friendly denim was very necessary. But really besides my denim, I didn’t invest in any other maternity pieces. I only bought loose dresses (Dôen has my favorite bump friendly dresses) and pieces I knew I’d be able to wear again afterwards. My favorite maternity denim brand is Citizens of Humanity (I preferred under the bump styles this time around), and I also like Madewell’s maternity jeans. I lived in sneakers and any kind of slip-on slide or sandal! And also lived in an oversized Citizens of Humanity denim jacket that wasn’t maternity but had very convenient side slits for my growing bump. I can’t find it online but love an oversized white denim jacket for the warmer months.
Third Trimester:
I felt pretty great my entire second and third trimesters (same as with Rex) besides intense nerve pains in the final weeks… but it really wasn’t until the very end that I started slowing down. I traveled quite a bit and kept up with my regular pace. I even flew internationally at 33 weeks pregnant and surprised myself with how easy it was. (Tip: compression socks!). I was also set for one last trip to Santa Barbara at 36 weeks but my doctor put me on “lockdown mode” (a.k.a I couldn’t leave Sacramento) after my 36 week check-up as baby girl looked like she would be arriving early. Although he told me the same thing with Rex and he ended up coming a day late so I was super bummed to miss out on that trip but also didn’t want to risk a highway baby. (One of my college besties recently did!!!!!)
Meditation App I loved: Expectful. I ran into a girlfriend a few weeks out from my due date who mentioned her experience with hypnobirthing and how this type of meditation helped her have an amazing natural birth. I did some browsing around for a meditation app at that time and ended up really coming to love Expectful. At first I thought it was a bit cheesy, but it really did wonders for my sleep at the end. I would listen to it in the afternoons when Rex was napping and again right before bed. And if I got up before Rex and had time I’d put on a morning meditation as well. I think it really helped ease my mind and put me in a relaxed state.
As mentioned I slowed down a lot a few weeks before my due date. Scheduling out as much blog content as I could and really soaking up my time with Rex. I am so thankful I could do this, to give my body that rest, and be with him. I really wanted to make sure we prepped him for his sister’s arrival and began reading up on best practices to do so. But really what worked for us was just explaining to him all along the way what was happening. He’s a super adaptable little guy and seems to really understand everything (he’s an old soul, wise beyond his two years) so we hoped the transition would be fairly easy. He did seem to get clingier with me as her due date approached which I found interesting as if he innately knew.
Cravings: As the weather warmed up in those last few weeks I became obsessed with making fruit-infused waters. I got creative with my combinations and loved various mixes of berries, pineapple, watermelon, grapefruit and strawberry. So refreshing!
Nesting Mode: Nesting mode kicked in again during the last few weeks as well. We cleaned out our guest room (a long time project I had been wanting to tackle) and finally ordered new furniture so I was excited to get that room officially set up and comfortable for all of the house guests that might be coming once baby girl arrived. Not sure if it’s smart to edit your closet when pregnant or not as it sure makes you toss things left and right but it felt so good to pare down and organize a bit for the warmer months.
I also pulled out this book that I had bought earlier on in my pregnancy but hadn’t cracked open yet. It inspired me to stock our pantry with dry goods and make some homemade broths and soups to freeze. Although in this day of easy / healthy takeout options I didn’t go overboard with prepping meals ahead of time.
If I missed anything ask away or refer back to my original post! I used all of the same books and essentials.
Photography | Andriya Rances
