It is so hard to believe that I am almost in my third trimester! I spent weeks praying the first trimester would get over as soon as possible because I was so anxious during that time, but once I entered the second trimester, time flew by. I am so excited to meet our baby, but I am also loving being pregnant and don’t want it to end!

We waited to tell most people until we entered the second trimester. We sent a package to Kyle’s grandparents with the ultrasound photos and some cute great grandparent gifts. We were able to FaceTime them while they opened it. Their reactions were so sweet, and I can’t wait for them to meet the baby. We also gave our parents a set of the Grandma and Grandpa mugs pictured above. My parents already knew, and we told Kyle’s parents when we were 14 weeks! We waited a little longer to tell them because we wanted to do it in person, and they visited for Fourth of July. It felt so good to be able to tell our families!

We had our anatomy scan at 20 weeks and announced our pregnancy to everybody else after that. This scan was so amazing, and we have a happy and healthy baby!

15 weeks>27 weeks. Crazy, right!? I started taking weekly bump pictures at the beginning of the second trimester, and we are obsessed with watching my belly and our baby grow.

Most days, my work outs consist of walking. On the really hot days, I would walk for 30-60 minutes on the treadmill. I tried running again towards the end of my first trimester when my morning sickness was better, but I felt terrible and decided to stop. Walking is perfect! I also am doing lots of stretching and a little light lifting.

I started using the Hatch Belly Oil in the second trimester, and I love it! It feels so good on my belly, and it doesn’t leave my skin greasy.

Baby didn’t let our ultrasound technician get all the photos of the heart she needed so they had us come back at 24 weeks to do another one. Baby STILL wasn’t having it so we will go back in a couple of weeks to try again. We are loving all of the ultrasounds though so we’re not mad about it! They did tell us that everything else looks really good, but they just need a few more photos for the radiologist to “pass” the ultrasound.

I was SO NERVOUS about my glucose tolerance test, but I PASSED! My blood sugar needed to be less than 140, and mine was 68. I was so relieved. I didn’t plan on taking it when I did, but during our second anatomy scan, my nurse came in and asked if I wanted to do it that day so we decided to just get it over with! I think it was better that way because then I wasn’t stressing all day before it. Just for reference, they took my blood at 4PM, and I had my results at midnight. I wish I had tips on how to pass this test, but it’s really mostly genetics which we have no control over! Also, the drink was not as bad as everyone told me it was. I had the lemon lime flavor, and it just tasted like strong gatorade.

I started doing more and more research about babies, labor, and breastfeeding this trimester. I found a website called The Baby Academy and can’t recommend it enough. They have tons of free, awesome classes. I took the free Prepare to Breastfeeding course first. It was so good so I decided to take the Ultimate Breastfeeding course too. The ultimate class costs $59, but insurance SHOULD cover it. However, if they don’t, The Baby Academy will reimburse you! Definitely check them out. They have free courses on newborn care, first aid, and many more topics too!

One not so fun thing I’ve been experiencing is insomnia. I have never had a problem sleeping, which is such a blessing- I know! But after about week 16 or so, I would wake up around 1AM wide awake. I would just grab my kindle and read for at least an hour or two and then fall back asleep. I started drinking half a serving of Tart Cherry Juice before bed every night last week, and it is a game changer!! I just bought the concentrate at Publix, but they have it and several other options on Amazon too.

Another thing I was not prepared for was feeling like my ribcage was going to explode whenever I wore a bra! Anything with a band felt so tight and like I couldn’t breathe. I ordered these bras from Amazon, and they are AMAZING. I still wear something more supportive when working out, but I wear these bras the rest of the time. They came with bra pads in them that I just pulled out to make them comfier. I ordered a large and love the way they fit. Just for reference, I was a 32DD pre pregnancy.

I started kick counts at around 27 weeks using the Count the Kicks app. It’s free, super user friendly, and stores everything for you! I count baby’s kicks every morning around 9AM. I also started using a pregnancy pillow at the beginning of my second trimester and LOVE it.

I started feeling some flutters around week 18, and Kyle was able to feel them a week later! It is truly the most amazing feeling. We can now see them moving around, and it is incredible.

We also started building our baby registry and are slowly starting to buy stuff for baby. I’ll share a whole post about what we get for the nursery once it is finished as well as any other items we get! I highly recommend starting your baby item shopping at consignment stores- Kid to Kid and Once Upon A Child are two of my favorites. We have been able to buy so many awesome items for a quarter of the regular price, and they are all in almost perfect condition!

I am starting to share more on my Instagram so if you don’t follow me yet, please do! @miriamleighgreen

If you missed my first trimester recap, you can read it here!

If you have any questions or comments, please comment below! I’d love to chat.