Peace Out 2nd Trimester (2nd Tri Faves!)

This week marks 27 weeks for us on this journey. Which, according to this handy chart from BabyCenter.com, is the last week of the 2nd trimester. WHAT?!?!

To be honest with you, I think the trimesters are broken down as they are, so you'll have a measure of why you feel like you do. For instance, all through the first trimester I felt hungover. Nauseated (or is it nauseous...), tired beyond belief, and with a nagging headache. It was like I had all the repercussions of a night of drinking without actually boozing. Not fair in my opinion.

But then came the second trimester. It was like as soon as I hit 14 weeks my body was like, "OK, here's some energy! And while I'm at it, I'll take away that nausea, so you no longer look hungover while lecturing at 8am." The second trimester was relatively painless. I had energy (relative, of course), even though I wasn't sleeping great. All around, life was good.

Until this morning. I swear I woke up unable to breathe. Which could be in part due to the power outage we suffered late last night, causing us to wake up to single-digit temperatures and snow flurries outside and no heat inside this morning. Still, I have to think it's partly due to our little princess, making herself more than comfortable, cramping my lungs and diaphragm. I'm sure she'll be awesome when she's here, but I wish she could be awesome a little bit lower and off my diaphragm. Selfish, I know. But so begins my trek into the third trimester.

Before I say peace out to the second trimester, however, I want to share a few of the things I have found especially helpful during those 3(ish) months.

Starting from the top-left: Burt's Bees' Mama Bee Nourishing Body Oil. I'm kind of in love with this stuff. It's great at helping me with my itching belly (seriously, my skin doesn't want to stretch like this and I need to constantly apply something to keep it from being miserably uncomfortable). I like this oil better than pretty much any other oil I've found because it's light and smells good. You would be shocked at how many oils really smell terrible. I mean like Paul wants to kick me out of the bed, horrible. This one has a lemony scent that makes me happy. Plus, it's pretty inexpensive! And I really like all things Burt's Bees.

Next, Edy's Fruit Bars. I have been craving sweets pretty much this whole pregnancy. These actually help quite a lot. I mean, when I want a milkshake, nothing is going to satisfy that craving quite like a milkshake, I'm not claiming that. But, these are sweet and keep you a bit hydrated, without a bunch of added sugar. Win-win in my opinion! Also, I'll take any excuse to have a popsicle.

Rosie Pope's Mommy IQ. There are tons of pregnancy books out there. It's really overwhelming. I'm also reading The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy, which is OK, as well. But that one tends to be a bit cynical and tries too hard to be funny. I will say, that is the only book that I've read that fully grasps what happens during pregnancy - meaning the insanity that comes a long with it. That chapter alone was worth the buy. But I digress. Back to Mommy IQ. This book is pretty great at breaking down what's happening month-by-month during the pregnancy. I also love that in the back of the book, it has some helpful lists. The baby registry must-haves was helpful for me. The nutrition list, not so much. I'm sorry, but no amount of people telling me how healthy plain oatmeal is will ever make me stop putting brown sugar on my oatmeal. It ain't gonna happen. Anyway, this has been a very long, convoluted paragraph, but basically, this book has been helpful, and aside from the sometimes overly-cheesy attitude, I've enjoyed it.

Body pillow. That's right. I brought this back from Trimester 1 Favorites! Seriously, if you're pregnant, thinking about being pregnant, might accidentally get pregnant, whatever the case may be, get yourself a body pillow (or a fancy pregnancy pillow, if you prefer). Just do it. You will not sleep without it. I promise you.

And finally, THIS cami from Gap. It's a maternity tank, but seriously, you can wear this not pregnant, too. It's great because it's actually long enough to cover your belly and the top of your jeans (maternity or regular). Everyone told me to get the belly band (from Target) and that will help me wear my regular clothes longer and cover up my jeans when I'm trying that flattering hair-thing-through-the-button-hole trick. That belly band sucks. It rides up and in no way helps to cover your jeans if you plan on sitting, standing, walking, or moving in anyway. This tank top was much better at that. I feel very strongly about this, so I apologize if I came on a bit too strong.

That wraps up some of my favorites. Even though I only brought back the body pillow from first trimester faves, I want to emphasize, I still love everything on that list.

Now that I have made this one of the wordiest blog posts ever, I'll wrap things up with a "belly" picture (or two!)...

That's right, our little girl is weighing in at about 2 pounds now! She's quite a hoss if you ask me. I, on the other hand, have stopped keeping track of my weight gain because I find it a little depressing. Last I checked I was up about 18 or 19 pounds.

Also, Layla may be onto us now that something may be happening. She's been even more neurotic and needy than usual. But look how cute she is!

Also, also, now that hockey is back, I may need a new Red Wings' shirt. You know, one that actually covers my ever-expanding stomach.

Heading back to the doctor's office this week (I'm now going every 2 weeks!) for a 3D/4D ultrasound, so stay tuned for those pictures on the next post!