Guys, I cannot believe I am already in the midst of our third trimester. I know people say the second time around just flies by and goodness, that is so true. There is this constant struggle to stay present with Ollie as our final days as just "mommy and son" come to an end and also be able to full sit in the moments of pregnancy.
If I am being honest, pregnancy is not my favorite. I love bits and pieces of it, and I adore the outcome of it... but the aches, pains, heartburn, weird kicks and jabs... I was not made out to be that mom of 9+ kiddos, pregnant always women, and that's okay. In the midst of this season, I am doing the best I can to love the stage of where we are at and the joys of pregnancy.
Because this, I would love to share what brought me great joy during my second trimester. My second trimester has been cold, full of holiday chaos, and consumed by a basement remodel (as most of you know), but even in the winter, bitter cold season, there has been a few things that has really gotten me through.
What I'm Loving Right Now: 2nd Trimester
1. Young Living Lavender Hand & Body Lotion + Organic Shea Butter By Sky Organics
In our hopes to remove more and more chemicals out of our home, I feel like I am scanning everything on the Think Dirty App these days. Think Dirty is a mobile app (iPhone or Andriod) that rates how many nasty chemicals are in your home. Do you know how many of our products that we use daily is full of parabens, phthalates, petrochemicals, talc, bismuth, nanoparticles, lead (yes they actually put this in makeup among other things), mineral oil, synthetic colors and fragrances! This means what I'm putting on my countertops, floors, in my hair, and on my skin (which then goes into my body and affects it) is not necessarily clean, pure, and could be actually toxic, disrupting my hormones or increasing my chance of diseases.
Thus, we are starting to ditch these nasty chemicals and switch to cleaner options. I cannot get through pregnancy (or any winter really) without a good moisturizer and so this time around I have been adamant about making sure what is going on my skin is safe and clean. On a daily use, I have been loving the Young Living Lavender Hand & Body Lotion. It smells so great and a little goes such a long way. It does not leave any greasy feeling and is keeping my belly, legs, and beyond full of moisture!
On the super dry weeks, I have been lathering up with Organic Shea Butter By Sky Organics which is a unrefined, cold-pressed option. It turned into a liquid when you rub it onto the hands or skin, but kind of leaves a bit of a film for 5-7 hours. I love to turn to this more in the nighttime to sleep with when the temperature has been dropping under the freezing mark.
2. Wool Dryer Balls + Monday Laundry Days
Even in the midst of a busy season, I have thankfully had the pleasure of some rhythms to keep me a bit grounded. One of these things is my Monday Laundry Days. My family knows it. My coworkers know it. Mondays are the days I do laundry.
I hate laundry. I hate carrying down the heavy basket of clothes. I hate have wet sweaters laying out throughout the house. I hate sorting through socks not knowing if its match is in the load I just took out or another load elsewhere still dirty. I just hate it, so I try and tackle it all on one day. It sounds like a lot; however, with a work-from-home gig, I can easily swap my loads in and out during and in between conference calls and emails and knock it out in one swoop.
Wool Dryer Balls have also been my saving grace. Again with the eliminating chemicals, dryer sheets have just tons of chemicals in them. So I have invested in wool dryer balls this season. Wool Dryer Balls not only reduce the chemicals I am using on our clothes that we wear everyday, but it also helps reduce the drying time overall and decreases static in each load. I also have been dabbing a bit of Young Living's Purification essential oil on the balls every week or so to help cut out the nasty smells that linger from the gym. I'm loving it!
3. Maty's All Natural Acid Indigestion Relief Antacid
If you have noticed on my weekly bump dates, my pregnancy heartburn has been in full swing this trimester. Although the taste is not my favorite, Maty's All Natural Acid Indigestion Relief Antacid has been a lifesaver. A sip of this concoction and my heartburn is gone so quickly. I wish I would have invested in this a little sooner during the holiday food fun, but thankful that I have it now.
The winter can sometimes get lonely at a work-from-home job. Everybody has been busy with the standard holiday rush, and it has been far too cold to even make my typical midday run to Target. With little to no real interaction with my girlfriends throughout the week, the days have started to run into one another and get really quiet and lonely.
Thankfully, I have been podcasting like it was my j-o-b and loving the Coffee + Crumbs podcast. I use to read their blog religiously and have kind of fell off as Ollie grew. The podcast is great to get other motherly prospective while I'm cleaning or cooking dinner in the evenings prior to Dusty joining us after work. Their ideas, opinions, and souls just fill my heart and I love it.
5. Expecting and Empowered Pregnancy Workout Guide
During my pregnancy with baby Ollie, my aches and pains were pushed aside by my doctor as "typical pregnancy hurts"; however, after eight months of postpartum physical therapy, I now know that these were not common aches. My aches kept me from doing my daily workouts during my first and I am on a mission to share not only my story but also stay active during these months of pregnancy.
Thankfully, I discovered the Expecting and Empowered Pregnancy Workout Guide which is a comprehensive pregnancy fitness guide for each trimester of pregnancy! With the partnership of these workouts, my physical therapist, and my chiropractor (I have had a lot of issues), I can honestly say that this has been the best decision of my entire pregnancy. There are definitely still so aches and pains; however, they have been so much less this time around. I feel stronger and more motivated to keep staying active as well. I know post-delivery I will be able to recover faster and bounce back into the summer months with confidence as well!
6. Teavana Passion Tango Tea at Starbucks
If you have been following my Instagram, you know that I have been living at Starbucks these past few weeks. In between the cold, holiday chaos (and mess), and construction in our home, I have not been able to focus much in my home office. To help with this, Starbucks has been a lifesaver for an afternoon or two of concentration. Going into the new year though, I have limited myself on how many expensive coffees I can actually afford. If we want to be serious about our finances in 2018, I have to put my frappuccinos and mochas at bay. Thankfully, tea is such a healthier option for pregnancy than the caffeinated, sugary stuff. I hadn't tried Teavana's Passion Tango Tea until recently and I just adore it.
7. Bao Bei Maternity ProBUMP belly band
I have been a huge supporter of Bao Bei Maternity and their belly bands since I was pregnant with Ollie. I wear them nonstop. Originally designed to give you the proper support with prenatal movement during an active pregnancy, these belly bands are great to use as an every day band. They are slim, fit underneath my clothes without showing, and feels like somebody is helping me lift my belly all day long. I cannot do my workouts with these, but as the weeks pass, I'm not sure I could even make it a day without slipping one on. They are that magical.
