I cannot believe today marks the first day of my last trimester! There are definitely moments where time has gone by very slow but most recently I’ve felt like it has flown by. We are in serious baby mode now getting the nursery ready and planning the baby shower (less than 1 week away!). I wanted to do a quick recap on my pregnancy journey and discuss some of my pregnancy must-haves.
Overall, I really can’t complain too much about my pregnancy. It has been a little bit of a roller coaster adjusting to changes with my body, but it has been pretty manageable for the most part. Mostly, I’ve been so excited to see my belly grow every week, knowing that I have a healthy baby girl in there. I give all moms serious credit who have had to deal with nausea and other symptoms!
First Trimester
The first trimester was a bit of a roller coaster of emotions. It is the most exciting moment of your life finding out you’re pregnant but along with it comes a bit of anxiety and fear for obvious reasons. The first symptom that everyone thinks of in the first trimester is nausea. Luckily, I only had a few nauseous mornings, but usually as long as I ate I was fine. I actually ended up being the quite the opposite. I liked to call my appetite – hangover hungry. Food was honestly my best friend, and the greasier and cheesier the better. I definitely indulged in my first trimester here and there but still made sure I was getting all of the nutrients I needed. My only symptoms that really bothered me were my crappy skin and cramping. After talking to my doctor 100 times about the cramps and googling for hours (don’t recommend), I accepted that cramping was just a part of pregnancy for some.
I also was really surprised by how much I had to cut back on working out. I always heard that you can continue your pre-pregnancy workouts, just not increase them. So before I got pregnant, I increased my workouts so I could continue them throughout my pregnancy. However it wasn’t long (8 weeks pregnant) before a 2 mile run resulted in feeling like I did 1000 crunches. I am still battling this today. I tend to feel great during the workout but pay for it later with aches and pains – I didn’t expect this at all!
Second Trimester
The second trimester was again totally manageable but like the first, had a few bumps. My skin was a lot less oily than the first trimester but my breakouts were still in full swing. I knew the breakouts were completely hormonal because of where they were located – all on my chin. Knowing there isn’t much I can do to help prevent the breakouts is hard but I have a few products (below) that I relied on to help treat them.
Between 18-22 weeks my cramping and new hip/tailbone pain slowly became debilitating (ok maybe that’s dramatic). Again the doctor reassured me that they were completely normal and my body is just adjusting. They casually mentioned that my uterus is just irritable? Anyone else experience this? Because of this and hip/low back pain, I had to stop my workouts completely at certain points. I was really caught off guard with these symptoms but luckily they seem to be getting better. I had to stop running completely in the first trimester, which is really a love/hate relationship anyway, so this wasn’t heartbreaking. I now try to do a mix of yoga, barre, walking, elliptical, and some of the Beachbody workouts (thanks to @krisdibs_fit!) 5 days a week. Walking has definitely consumed the majority of those days recently. I’ve thought about purchasing one of those belly bands to see if that helps the pressure on my hips and low back. Has anyone tried these? Working out has also been a little bit a struggle when you feel like you have a pee literally all the time.
Hands down my favorite thing are the baby kicks! It is the most unbelievable feeling knowing that there is a human being moving and flipping around in my belly! I really wish I could see what she’s doing in there because I swear she must be doing somersaults!
Ok enough over-sharing….and onto some of my favorite pregnancy products!
Favorite Supplements
After a lot of research, I decided on the Megafood Baby & Me 2. It is only 2 pills per day, which can be taken at the same time and without any food. I usually take them both first thing in the morning so I don’t forget and I love that they don’t make you sick at all! They are completely gluten-free, dairy free, soy free, and Non-GMO. They also use folate instead of folic acid, which is the natural form of folic acid. Apparently some people have issues with absorbing folic acid so I decided to stick with folate. My runner up and one that I took for a while was Rainbow Light.
The other supplement I take daily is Nordic Natural’s Ultimate Omega D3. Being low in D3 to begin with and living in an area that has limited sun, it is important to get enough D3, which helps with calcium absorption, infections, and helps prevent preterm labor. Omegas, specifically DHA, are even more important as they are vital for the baby’s brain development.
Along with taking these supplements, I make sure I eat a balanced diet every day. I am not always the best about incorporating veggies into my diet so I am a huge fan of juicing. There are SO many health benefits of juicing and for me it is an easy way to boost my nutritional intake.
Favorite Pregnancy Skin Care Products
Motherlove Salve – I love all things lavender so naturally this is my favorite nighttime cream. It is a salve so it is a little thicker but it melts right into your skin. I love using this on my dry winter hands at night too!
As I mentioned above, my skin has been a little bit of a mess since becoming pregnant. I have combination skin so I am used to a breakout here and there so this was new to me. I know it’s an old wives tale that girl babies suck the beauty from their mom but I think that might be true. These past couple months have been nothing but a faux glow.
Drunk Elephant Glycolic Night Serum – This has been a savior for my breakouts since salicylic acid is not an option. It is an also amazing anti-aging product! It is a chemical exfoliator so all you have to do is apply after washing, and overnight you have smoother and tighter skin. I highly recommend any of the DE products and starting out with the minis are a great options.
Thayers Witch Hazel – This toner is a natural astringent that helps to remove excess oil and reduce bacteria growth. I always love using a toner after I cleanse to not only prevent breakouts but remove any excess makeup or oil that my cleanser didn’t remove. It’s also very gentle and doesn’t make your skin feel raw like some can.
Leahlani Masks – I recently got back into my ritual of using face masks weekly and I’m not sure why I ever stopped. I like to put them on every Sunday night. For some reason Sunday face masks makes Sunday scaries a little bit easier for me – it is a form of therapy for me. I really do see improvement in my skin when I keep up on this. I usually alternate between these this mask and this one. I also always make sure to put these on at night so my skin can absorb the serums and moisturizers I put on afterwards more easily.
Favorite Pregnancy Clothes
Oh the struggle. I started transitioning into maternity clothes around 20 weeks. Below are some favorites!
I tend to prefer tighter clothes because I am super short (5’0″) and petite, and unless they fit perfectly, oversized clothing makes me look a little stumpy.
Lulu Lemon Align Pants – Oh my, these pants are extremely soft and stretchy. They are apparently Lulu Lemon’s secret non-maternity pants. I was worried that they would be too tight around the belly like my wunder under pants but these are super comfortable.
Gap Leggings – I am a huge fan of Gap’s Pure Body basics because of how comfortable and affordable they are. I was a little skeptical of these leggings at first but the quality and fit impressed me. They put zero pressure around my belly. They tend to lose a little bit of their stretch after a few wears but this was expected and go right back after washing.
Wireless Bra – Well it was so surprise when my bra size changed but I didn’t expect that much change in my first trimester! I didn’t want to buy too many bras since I’m not sure what state they will be in after pregnancy but this one has been extremely comfortable so far.
Leith Dress – I am usually not a fan of ruching (like at all) but it’s hard to avoid when trying to find maternity clothes and is actually very flattering and practical during pregnancy. This dress is a super popular non-maternity dress that comes in many different colors.
I will be posting a review of some more of my favorite stretch mark prevention creams soon! Thank you for following along and please let me know if there is any other information I can share or you can share with me!
The Bird's Nest 