Today I am officially 26 weeks pregnant with my third little love and this is the last week of the second trimester!
This pregnancy is flying by in many ways and I am cherishing every single moment I can! I have been wanting to share about my pregnancy for some time now and hopefully help out some other preggo mamas out there. For those of you new to my site/ Insta page, this will be my second home birth (more on that later!) and third birth with midwives. This is actually my 5th pregnancy (my first two loves are waiting for us in heaven).
Pesky Pregnancy Nausea
I started off this pregnancy with my typical all-day “morning” sickness/borderline HG. Luckily I tend to not lose weight in the first trimester and I can manage my symptoms naturally. My nausea subsided around 15-16 weeks but came back at 25 weeks as just true morning sickness, thank goodness! During my past two pregnancies, I used things like Preggo Pops, extra vitamin B-6, and acupressure wristbands which helped so much. This pregnancy has been different and my typical go-to’s did not work. The one thing that’s helped and I literally can’t live without is peppermint essential oil. It helps with nausea and also my pregnancy rhinitis (chronic stuffy nose). I literally use it throughout the day and night, every single day. I also had to let go of my typical eating ( I count macros and eat generally very clean) during the first trimester. Sometimes you need to “give in” to the cravings, which for me seemed to be mostly carbs and basically anything that sounded good while I was the most nauseous. I was not eating a tub full of ice cream or a whole carton of cookies, but things like cereal, crackers, toast, applesauce, and oatmeal were favorites. Now I am back to my macros and incorporating a wide variety of foods into my daily diet.
Diastasis Recti
During my first two pregnancies, I developed a split in my abdominal muscles…a condition called diastasis recti. The vast majority of women who have been pregnant (even just one time) will develop this condition but I would venture to say that most women have no clue as to what it is or how to heal/ prevent it in the first place ( I know I didn’t!). After my second pregnancy, I had a 4 finger width gap between my ab muscles and I went to a women’s health physical therapy specialist basically the whole summer of 2020. After months of hard work, I “healed” my DR. I put healed in quotes because you can never actually completely heal DR to the way your muscles were pre-baby (unless you have surgery), but you can get it down to around a 0.5-1 finger width separation.
I wore this abdominal splint for months, 23 hours a day, and did my DR exercises diligently every single day. If you aren’t familiar with DR, it is the baby “pooch” that continues on in your belly area long after you’ve given birth. It can also contribute to back pain, poor posture, and it means you have a super weak core.
Fast forward to my current pregnancy, I was still practicing my DR breathing and some exercises during my trimester and luckily I was not showing until week 16. Then around week 17 I got sick with a cold and had a terrible cough. A few weeks later I got a sinus infection and had so much sneezing, coughing, and blowing my nose that I could literally feel my ab muscles splitting again! I would have burning pain around my belly button with every cough/sneeze unless I braced my belly or had my splint on. It was a good reminder that DR is a lifelong problem that we always have to be aware of and that we must take proactive steps to avoid worsening it.
There are a few products that I highly recommend for pregnancy related DR. The first is my number one go-to legging which luckily comes in a maternity version and provides a great amount of belly compression. I wear these almost everyday, especially around the house. I actually went down a size to XS and find that it gives me just the right amount of compression but not to the point where it affects my breathing.
Second, my abdominal splint from The Tummy Team was originally recommended to me by my physical therapist and is what I wore post-partum as well. I had to move up to a 3-panel and larger size to accommodate my growing belly, but their website explains in detail how to measure yourself and also guidelines on how to wear it during pregnancy. When I am wearing these maternity jeans, I will typically have my splint on too.
Third, Blanqi makes some amazing maternity under clothes and jeans! I tend to wear these shorts under my church dresses or other outfits where the splint would be too visible. You could also wear the shorts as workout clothes! They are super cute!
Lastly, it is never too late to work to prevent or heal DR! I highly recommend my trainer and to also see a women’s health physical therapist both during pregnancy and post-partum. I started working with my trainer Andrea back in February of 2020. I originally signed up for her macros and 12 week fitness plan and it literally changed my life. Now I use her pregnancy fitness guide and calculate my own macros to adjust for the trimester of pregnancy that I am in. I plan on jumping right back into her fitness and macros plan at 6 weeks post-partum after this baby is born. Here is a link to her DR guide!
Vitamins/Supplements
I’m going to keep this short and sweet!
I have been using Garden of Life Prenatals throughout all my pregnancies and also during the times we were TTC. I like the fact that they are organic and whole-food based. During this last TTC time, I alternated taking Garden of Life with Sakara’s prenatal pack. Once my first tri nausea hit, I couldn’t stomach 7 pills so now I just stick with GOL.
I also occasionally take this vitamin D supplement and this super delicious Omega-3.
I take liquid cal-mag everyday to help with Braxton-Hicks contractions/irritable uterus and to prevent constipation.
When I am sick, I take Oscillococcinum and/or Kali muriaticum. I don’t use Western meds unless its absolutely necessary. I will eventually make a separate post about holistic treatments for illness during pregnancy that would benefit anyone, pregnant or not.
I make sure to get most of my pregnancy-related nutrition needs from my diet based on the daily recommended values from my midwifes!
Other Stuff I Currently Use and Love!
The Belly Armor EMF blocking blanket is a must have to protect baby from EMF radiation caused by cell-phones, laptops, and iPads. If I am using my phone or laptop, I will have this blanket across my belly!
My Berkey water filter is amazing and I trust that it is filtering out all the harmful things from our water. With a daily recommended water intake of 80-100 ounces, I am so glad I invested in this filter! The water tastes amazing and blends into my kitchen decor nicely.
These undies from Old Navy and these!
Be on the lookout for next week’s post which will feature all of my pregnancy skincare must-haves!
Some other upcoming blog post’s will be Home Birth Prep, Third Trimester Updates, Pregnancy Outfits, Newborn Must-Haves, and some long awaited interior design/home renovation including renovating my second daughters bedroom, nursery, family room, and playroom spaces!
Whew, wish me luck with all that haha!
Mandy
Leave a Reply