I am in total disbelief that I started my third trimester this weekend! The first trimester felt mostly mysterious and a little scary, but despite a busy and crazy season, the second trimester has been pretty wonderful. I can’t believe that in the last three months, we’ve shared the news, found out we’re having a boy, officially chose his name, found and bought a house, “babymooned” in Singapore, and so much more…it has been a lot to process, but so much of it has been so joyful. Over the next three months, we’ll be moving into our house, and I’m starting the process of switching to part-time at work, so I’m hoping both transitions will help me feel more settled and ready for September. Even though I’m nervous about third trimester symptoms and having to start thinking about actually giving birth, I’m grateful to have gotten this far with relatively few complaints, and I’m getting more excited by the day to meet our baby boy!!

Highlights:

• So many big milestones, from sharing the news to finding out the baby’s gender. I’ll never, ever forget how special it was to see our son for the first time during our sonogram–Dave and I still watch the video clips they gave us all the time!
• Starting to get the nursery ready. I’m pretty sure I looked like the heart eyes emoji when Dave showed me the finished paint on the walls. Even though we don’t have any furniture in there yet, it’s still so sweet to be in the room that will belong to baby boy!
• All the movement! He kicks and bops around a ton, and I love, love, love those little reminders that he’s there.
• Kind strangers. Now that I’m showing, I’ve had some of the sweetest encounters with strangers–most notably, a kind checkout lady at Publix who went out of her way to encourage me and Dave, and a bartender at Fox Liquor Bar who surprised me with a fancy raspberry lemonade mocktail because “he didn’t want me to feel left out” when I was there for a friend’s going away party. Both have been so unexpected and sweet!
• Dave. I will cry if I try to type out how much Dave has loved me and supported me through this season. He’s just going to be the best dad. That’s all :)

Hard parts:

• Obviously, I knew weight gain would be a perfectly normal part of pregnancy, but what I didn’t expect was how much my confidence would take a hit regardless. I’ll be the first to admit it is completely illogical, but for whatever reason, it still makes my stomach turn seeing higher numbers on the scale than ever. I am SO thankful for all the encouragement y’all gave me on this post–it definitely helped so much, and I’ve been trying to pray through my pride about this a lot as well.
• I’ve been struggling quite a bit with fear of not knowing how to take care of a baby. There’s so much I don’t know, and baby books have been a struggle to get through because they honestly make me feel like I need to make flash cards and study! I am trusting that any little thing I can do to equip myself or seek counsel now will be helpful, but there will be a LOT I can learn as I go too.

Alrighty, on to favorites!

Burt’s Bees belly butter: I’ve mentioned this in a few of my pregnancy update posts, but I’ve been putting this lotion on every single night before bed. My skin scars easily, so I was definitely expecting stretch marks by now, but so far, have none to report. Yay!

Nursing sports bra: This might be TMI, but including it anyway because it has been a major favorite over the past few weeks! I resisted buying new bras for awhile, but after a particularly uncomfortable day, invested in this Rosie Pope style. Since it’s a nursing bra, I know it’ll come in handy in a few months, but in the meantime, it’s definitely my most comfortable option. I like that it has the comfort of a sports bra, but the thinner straps let me wear it with my normal clothes.

Ballet Baby DVD set by Ballet Beautiful: While I admittedly haven’t done every workout yet, I really like having the option of a workout video that I know is safe for pregnancy, especially when I’m missing Tone It Up! I also really love the 10-minute stretching routine–it has been a lifesaver on days when my lower back is hurting.

Trader Joe’s cereal bars: I always have one of these bars in my purse and my work bag lately for mid-morning or afternoon snacks. The blueberry and apple flavors are my favorites!

Maternity shorts: I was hoping I’d be able to wear my normal shorts all summer with the help of a belly band…but as it turns out, shorts that don’t fit quite right don’t exactly look classy ;) I was gifted a pair of white maternity shorts, and I picked up the cheapest pair of maternity denim shorts I could find at Old Navy. I didn’t love spending the money, but it has been 100% worth it for how much more comfortable I feel wearing them!

A good water tumbler: I’m trying really hard to stay hydrated throughout the day, and this tumbler is my current favorite. It keeps water cold for hours–a must in the summer heat.

P.S. See my first trimester favorites here!