The picture above is actually from 19 weeks when we went Alden & Harlow to celebrate my recent promotion. Most my outfit is out of stock, but I’ll link similar items below. For what is in stock, here is my handbag and the watch S got me for my 30th birthday in January.
Wow. Half way through! I think every bumpdate blog post will start with “I can’t believe we are this far along” because I just really still cannot we are here and at this point. If I had one word to describe this experience it’d be – thankful. I am just so thankful to have this healthy miracle baby.
As I’m sure many mommas can relate, the first trimester and beginning of the second trimester are full of anxiety. There are so many experiences you hear online and from ‘friends of friends’ that make you worry that you will be a part of an unfortunate statistic. Especially with our long fertility journey, I feel that with every milestone still came worry. Although the worry a parent has about their child, whether 21 weeks or 21 years old, will never totally subside, I am feeling better now that Baby Servello is half way baked. We see him every four weeks at our high risk maternal fetal medicine doctor and, although I feel bad because I can tell he hates ultrasounds from his squirming, it is such a relief to see our little blessing!!
Anyways, let’s jump in to the bump date..
If you missed them, here are my other motherhood blog posts –
- Bumpdate: The First Trimester!
- Bumpdate: 16 Weeks!
- Baby S is a … (Gender Reveal!)
- We’re having a BABY!!!
- Spring Wardrobe Purchases – Maternity and Non Maternity!
- Our Fertility Journey…
Progress: 21 weeks, 4 days.
Name: I mentioned last month that we have had his name picked for awhile now. We have started calling him by it which makes it feel so real.
Size: As of last week at our maternal fetal medicine appointment, he was 12 ounces and 10.5 inches! He is a little bigger than what The Bump app projects each week, but our doctor says he is right on track so I am unsure on whether he is a week ahead and the doctors don’t call it that at this point or the app is a little off? Either way, he is healthy and growing and that is all that we care about.
Sickness: After a really hard first trimester with nausea and aversions, I am so relieved that I really don’t have much anymore. Every once in awhile I’ll get a little nausea before bed, but nothing big.
Aversions: I definitely have a few lingering food aversions, but at least I can open the fridge without wanting to run to the bathroom and enjoy most foods again. I cannot even look at chicken nuggets or broccoli. Two of my favorite foods pre-pregnancy. I used to eat broccoli every day! 😛
This pic is from 19 weeks. Look at that belly!! I grabbed this super soft and stretchy tee in a couple colors which have been my go-to. Pregnant or not, it is a great tshirt. These leggings are my favorite. I have them in my normal size and one size down. I prefer the ones that are a size down in the small because they support the belly better. Here they are in the non-maternity version which were my #1 top leggings pre-pregnancy. They smooth you out and are comfy with the perfect amount of compression.
Cravings: Honestly is the whole “cravings pregnancy stereotype” thing real? I’m eating how I was pre-pregnancy, but with more carbs because those often just make me feel better and whole grains are one of the best things you can eat for your babe! While I really don’t have cravings, I’d totally take a breakfast pizza from my hometown pizza place KStore and also the best chips and guac on Earth which are from Club Car in Nantucket. We are going there for our babymoon so I will load up 😛
Movement: I felt baby for the first time at 19 weeks, 5 days! My placenta is in the front so it takes a but longer to feel baby compared to it being in the back. I’ll never forget it. I was in the kitchen making a peanut butter english muffin to eat while S and I went for a late afternoon walk and queue the baby tickling me which literally makes me laugh out loud after a bit of time! That said, I think I was feeling him before and didn’t realize it.
I have three different ways I feel him. One is like a tickle which is what I felt on April 9th when I knew for certain that was him. Some people describe it as bubbles. Mine felt like a tickle! Then there is this feeling almost like gas is breaking down, but it’s not regular digestion because it is in your uterus area. I think I had been feeling this for a couple weeks and just wasn’t certain it was him since it was such a weird feeling. The third are little needle like stabs lol. I think this is him stretching our or kicking around, but they are sudden and sharp.
When we saw him at 20 weeks, he was folded up with his little feet next to his face. Then once the ultrasound got rolling, he was squirming all over the place. This is how I 100% now now that the gas like feeling is him swirling because WOW there was a lot of that and tickling! That was my first ultrasound that I could feel him.
Physical Changes: My belly!!! OMG it’s so big and I love it. I’m not sure how it’s going to grow for another 19 weeks. I’m super full from where my ribs start under my chest through the bottom of my pelvis. It’s like one big round bellaaay. I stopped being able to see my feet a couple weeks ago 😛 I’ve been using this belly oil and belly lotion for months and it’s the only thing I’ve found that helps keep my skin hydrated. I layer the oil and then the lotion once to twice a day. They soak up pretty fast. If I try anything else my skin gets SO dry and it’s painful.
Hmm what else.. I’m starting to get swelling every now and then in my feet and hands especially when I’m outside since the temps are getting warmer. This started around week 19. I bought some cute slides from Nordstrom this week and my feet didn’t fit. Lol. I was so confused at first because they are my normal size, but when I looked I saw that I have no bones showing in my feet like normal and they kinda look like sausages sometimes haha. I think I’ll be wearing sneakers most pregnancy anyway!
Oh and back aches. Week 20 hit me like a serious ton of bricks. I felt so tired because I wasn’t sleeping well, started encountering that swell a bit and lots of body parts are starting to ache. I woke up mid way through week 20 with the craziest upper back ache. It felt like something was shoved between my spine. I was also getting bruises on my hips from sleeping on my side. I am a back sleeper, but side sleeping is needed for pregnancy so my hips apparently can’t take the weight of my belly.
That next day I caved and got a pregnancy pillow to attempt to help my sleep. I want to avoid the ‘pregnancy specific’ products like this unless I really need them. I have learned that some things are just worth it to help you through a short period.. a pregnancy pillow being one of them. I didn’t want a huge traditional one and looked for a wedge for my belly. This was the one I ordered which is the S.O.S Sleep on Side Pregnancy Pillow by Belly Bandit. It costs a pretty penny, but 100% worth it for me. I sleep so great now! The only con is that to flip to your other other side, you need to flip the pillow. I don’t find that to be a big deal because I just flip it each time after I get up to use the restroom in the middle of the night. I also use this on the couch when watching TV or lounging because my hips cannot take my belly weight.
And I can’t tell if my chest is growing or they just look like it because they sit on top of my belly now since my belly starts so high up right after my chest ends. Either way, they aren’t growing much and they are supposed to be fully grown by the end of the second trimester. I’ve been asked about pregnancy bra recommendations, but I don’t have any just yet since I am fitting into my pre-pregnancy ones.
Complications: After my last maternal fetal medicine appointment, I was instructed to still be on light rest. One complication has subsided to be half it’s size YAY! This is the one that is causing me to be extra cautious with exercise and movement so that is such wonderful progress. The pain it used to cause me has mainly subsided as well starting around week 18.
And my other complication hasn’t changed, but has time to by the time baby is expected.
Exercise: Due to the above, I still can’t do any high intensity exercise, any running (the biggest bummer for me), any weights, etc. I do move my body and make it a high priority as long as I am not experiencing the pain I had from the first complication. Luckily since that has subsided, I have been able to exercise frequently. I walk 2-4 miles while listening to podcasts or do a low impact / pop ride with Cody on the Peloton.
This experience has made me so thankful for my body. I cannot wait until I can work out like I used to, but until then I am very happy that I’m not on full bed rest and can still move my body.
Most Excited about Next: So many things! Definitely getting to that 24 week mark (three more weeks!) like I mentioned in the last bumpdate so that I know baby would have the best chance if something made me go into labor early.
I’m also looking forward to S being able to feel him. He has been feeling my belly for weeks just wishing to feel him. It’s the cutest thing that I never want to forget. He’s going to be the sweetest Daddy. Hopefully he will be able to feel him in the coming weeks, but my placenta is in the front so we don’t know!
I’m also so excited for his nursery items to come in. We ordered them so long ago and I just want to sit in hig glider and organize all his cute clothes into his bureau. S will be painting his room this weekend and we are also creating a cute feature wall which will be behind his bureau.
Least Excited about Next: Mainly just worrying about my complications. One of them would require a C-section and, although I am happy to do what is medically needed, I’d prefer to avoid it if I can..although I know many things can make a C section required. I’m trying to just not think about them and hop they resolve.
What We’ve Tackled –
Babymoon: I cannot wait! We are going to the White Elephant on Nantucket in June <3 Last year we stayed on the main strip at 21 Broad (which was wonderful by the way). During that trip, we visited the White Elephant for a bit because it was where my in laws honeymooned. It is so beautiful and will be just what I need to relax since it is on the ocean and so quiet. It’s only a short couple blocks form the main strip too! I’m just so excited. It feels like exactly what I need for some rest, relaxation and good eats!
Birthing and Baby Classes: Awhile back S was wanting to start in on these so I found TinyHood. We have watched the Baby 101 which covers diapering, sleeping, breastfeeding, bathing, CPR and more. We also started in on the birth one.. wow. We have learned SO MUCH, but both agree that we need to watch them all again. You can only retain so much and there is a lot of information. I highly suggest their courses if you are e expecting.
Although one of the courses covered CPR, we are looking into local classes to do one in person for this. TinyHood said local fire departments will hold classes.
Baby registry: We have this all complete. I decide to use Babylist because I like how you can add products from anywhere.. kinda like our Zola wedding registry. They also show prices from their store, Amazon, Target, Buy Buy Baby and more so that the gifting person can source the lowest price.
I’ll share a blog post in the coming weeks on what we registered for/decided we will get, but below are some of the items. I have done so much research! Although I know we are bound to have something he doesn’t prefer, I hate wasting money and want to try the bestI can to have products that will work for us and him. even with the wipe warmer, I read reviews on so many 😛
We opted for this car seat which Baby S’ Nonna and Nonna gifted him. It will convert from when he is an infant until he transitions into a booster. Last year this car seat was marked down at Nordstrom Anniversary Sale from $500 to $370 so if you are having a baby in the fall or winter, that may be a great time to grab it.
Since our daycare doesn’t have space for us to leave the car seat, we will need two. One for daddy when he drops off and one for me when I pick up. For my car, we are going to get an infant car seat since it was recommended by you all to have one. It makes sense! I registered for this one since it will pop right into our stroller.
I debated on a stroller for so long, but after all your feedback we decided that we will buy this one. So many of you New England mommas raved that your stroller has gone through through 7+ winters and has held up. I think large baby items like this, that need to last for years and through multiple kids, may be worth the splurge since the cost per use will come out low after time.
For the Vista specifically, I like how it will transition to allow for two babes to ride if/when we decide to expand our family. I also like that he will be able to rise in it right from the get-go since it has the bassinet included which is required for infants to ride in a stroller. Last year this was included in the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale marked from $970 to around $725 so I may wait until then since the sale is moved back to the traditional July timeframe again.
Baby shower: I’m so excited to celebrate Baby Servello in June! When was the last time we had a normal gathering to celebrate? So long! I can’t wait to see friends and family and shower this little babe. I ordered these cute thank you cards since some gifts have been coming in and customized them with Baby Servello in blue.
Next we need to find a pediatrician, make my birth plan and continue learning about birth/postpartum. In order to do so, I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts to educate myself on inductions, medical interventions, C-sections, etc. Once I consume them a bit more, I’ll share which I’ve found helpful.
Oh and with my back pain, I think I’ll get one of these bands which you all recommended.
Thank you again for your support, guidance and excitement around our little miracle!
