My Second Trimester Must Haves
Second Trimester for me is first about starting to feel more myself. A time I like to focus on eating more nutritious foods and adding fitness back into my routine. In second trimester I start to get a lot of back and hip pain from my body growing. To combat the growing pains I add a lot of stretching in during second trimester using an exercise ball and yoga flows. I also have a little bit of an obsession with belly oils and bump butters that starts in the second trimester as I start to see my bump emerge. Other than that I like to take this time to document and reflect on this journey through pregnancy in a journal. Here is a list of a couple items I like to use in second trimester:
Prenatal Gummies are the prenatal I take until nausea subsides at some point in the second trimester. With my second pregnancy nausea does linger into the second trimester and once I start to feel more myself I switch over to a different brand of prenatal vitamins.
New Chapter Prenatal are the prenatal I take during second and third trimester once my nausea is gone. I like the ingredients in this one and feel it is a good prenatal to take when i can finally swallow pills again.
Honest Glow On Body Oil is a newer product on the market that wasn't around during my first pregnancy. I really like how this feels on my skin and absorbs nicely. The honest company also makes a rock the bump body butter which is nice to use in between using the oils since you don't need to worry about it getting on your clothing. I also use coconut oil on my growing bump during second trimester before bed every night since it keeps my skin feeling hydrated the longest over night and I'm not worried about it getting on my sleepwear. Burt's bees belly butter is another product I have tried and like as well.
Pregnancy Pillow is a definite must have to pick up in your second trimester if you haven't purchased one yet. Sleeping starts to become uncomfortable in the second trimester and this makes side sleeping comfortable by supporting your hips, back and growing bump as your body changes.
Exercise Ball is a tool I start to use in the second trimester to help manage back and hip pain as well as to hopefully get baby into the proper position.
Yoga Mat is another tool I use especially starting in second trimester as back and hip pain creep in. I notice a huge difference when I keep on track of prenatal stretching.
Back pain Recovery Rollers again are another tool i use for the back and hip pain that starts for me in the second trimester. These are great products to use throughout pregnancy, labour and postpartum. I use these either against to the wall on my back, while laying on my yoga mat or have my husband roll them on the sore spots on my back.
Heating Pad for Back Pain to go with my theme of back pain in second trimester and typically for me back pain lasts right into postpartum times. This is a great item to have on hand for the whole family but during pregnancy I like to use it on low for small amounts of time just to relax those lower back muscles.
Pregnancy Journal is a super fun way to document your first pregnancy and then use it with all future pregnancies to see how they compare. I have loved to document down in a second pen colour to note the similarities and differences in my two pregnancies. They also leave spots where you can attach bump photos and ultrasound pictures which i love to look back on.
Fujifilm Instax Mini Instant Camera is the little instant camera I use to include bump updates into my pregnancy journal since I rarely get around to actually going to print photos anymore. This is also a fun way to document babies growth through their first year into a baby book.