Well, hello 10 PM! It is so nice to see you again!
It’s been about 3 and a half months since I could stay up this late. I had forgotten what it feels like to be a functioning member of our household while I was laying comatose on the couch, wishing I had the energy to get up and fix dinner. Thank goodness for my husband and take out!
But I’m back to the land of the living! I’m still feeling a bit nauseous most days, but my energy level is back and I can finally stay up later than Miles! This is the part of my last pregnancy that I loved. Even though it’s all smooth sailing from here (haha, wishful thinking!) there are a few tips and tricks I learned last time around that are coming in handy now. I’d love to share with you, in case you don’t know —
- Belly Band — This lovely friend came from Target, although I’m sure you can find them at most maternity stores. Since my normal pants and jeans no longer fit and the maternity pants just keep falling down at this point – this is my lifesaver! It stretches over my belly and under the zipper on my jeans and holds my jeans up when I can’t button or zip them any more. I also love the rubber band on the button trick, but with some shirts I’m worried that if I move wrong I’ll expose myself. But not with the Belly Band – this bad boy keeps me covered and stylish and saves me from buying jeans for another 3 months!
- Body Butter — This belly is a-growing and my skin is starting to stretch! Which means it’s time to start slathering on the Body Butter! Who knows if this stuff really helps with stretch marks (from everything I’ve read, it sounds like they are just hereditary). But what I do know is that my skin is so dry and Body Butter saves me from scratching my legs and arms raw. I found a great Cocoa Butter at Target that I’m in love with and slather on several times a day. It might not save me from stretch marks — but, it smells great, feels good and the Target brand was oh so inexpensive!!
- Babymoon – My first pregnancy I had no idea this was a “thing”. But it makes perfect sense — in your second trimester you’re starting to feel better and you can finally stay up late again! And soon you’ll feel too big to travel and then the baby comes and you’re home for a while getting into your groove. Now the time is right to get out of town! If this is your first baby – a babymoon is that last chance to go out baby free. Since this is our second, we took a babymoon with our son and made him feel special on our little vacation of 3. Both times we just went to Austin – but it’s a special memory for us to share before things get crazy in a few months. If you can’t get out of town, a Staycation can be just as fun. Just make your intent on enjoying this time together and making it special — you’ll be glad you did!
- Mocktails — I’ll be honest – I miss wine and margaritas! 10 months is a long time to go drinking water, sprite and ginger ale. Especially out to dinner or at a friends house — it’s just fun to sip something bubbly along with everyone else! Which is why the mocktail has become so important to me! Before I even knew they were a sponsor for Mom’s Night Out I was buying these Cascade Ice sparkling flavored waters, pouring them in a wine glass with a lemon and some strawberries and sipping away! I feel less “frumpy, pregnant lady” and more “chic, classy lady” with this in my hand!
- Thick Skin – This one is easier said than done, but with all these pregnancy hormones – it’s really helpful. People seem to LOVE pregnant women, but have no clue what to say to us. Either that, or we are just overly sensitive and take everything wrong. It’s probably the former. Either way, learning to let things roll off your back and not bother you is essential. Most people don’t mean “you look huge” they mean “you are going to have a big, healthy baby”! And when they tell you that you shouldn’t be drinking that cup of coffee (even though you are technically allowed one a day) they are really trying to look out for your bests interests (even though it’s none of their business!). Just remember that trying to raise a baby from jail for murdering them would be really hard. They mean well, it’s just that our pregnancy glow has gotten them all flustered and tongue tied!
Those are my favorite tips and tricks for my 2nd trimester. Any tips you can share with me??
