The Second Trimester (a look back)

Ahhh, the second trimester ... the easy one, where you just walk around glowing and can't get enough of those little baby flutters in your belly, right? riiiight.

Yes, it was way better than the first trimester, I'll give you that. The nausea and sickness had totally subsided. I could eat normal, healthy foods again, which was great. And I wasn't yet as big as a house, so there's that. But I also found the second trimester to be the surprisingly stressful trimester. Once we found out what we were having (a girl!), we actually had to start thinking about all of those things that we'd been putting off ... like names, and nursery colors, and what the eff stroller are we going to register for?

I'm not a good decision maker. I've always been a chronic over-analyzer and it can be stressful and paralyzing. All of the things I had been looking forward to, like designing a nursery and registering for baby gear, suddenly scared the shiz out of me. I spent hours and hours researching, and then changing my mind over and over and over. I found myself getting angry at my husband because he wasn't helping, but let's face it, I'm so type A that I wouldn't have let him anyway. Luckily there were a few helpful resources that I turned to on a regular basis, and I highly recommend them:

• Cricket's Circle was usually my first stop for a product recommendation because it's just so simple. They only offer up their top 3 picks for each category, and no more. They also give bulleted lists of pros and cons for each. Some of their picks tend to be a bit pricey, but I found the site very helpful. I also love their blog.

• Lucie's List was another favorite, and great when you wanted a second opinion, another option or a little more explanation. You also get timely emails based on where you are in your pregnancy, and I actually found them worth reading.

• My Registry took my registries from Pottery Barn Kids, Land of Nod and Amazon, and combined them all into one list. For me, this made it much easier to manage. I also kept a separate registry with Target, because for some reason I could never get that one to sync. BabyList does the same thing and is probably worth checking out as well.

• And of course Pinterest, for nursery inspiration. Duh.

And with that, somehow we made it. Thank goodness for the internet, no?

And now my friends, I leave you with some parting advice to keep in mind if you happen to be in your second trimester, or will be soon, because there's nothing better than learning from someone else's experience ...


1. Don't eat snacks during meetings at work, unless you want to look down and see said snack all over your (large) boobs and belly. And you probably don't.

2. Don't think you can squeeze into pre-pregnancy spanx just because they "fit" standing up.
I did this, and then upon getting to work, quickly faced the realization that I needed to get those things off, like now. The big question was, attempt to peel them off under my desk, or do it in the bathroom and then have to walk across the office with balled-up spanx in my hand? After failing at getting them to budge under my desk, I opted for the bathroom and nervously attempted to hide them behind a large pad of paper as I walked back. So, just don't. And do yourself a favor and buy some pregnancy spanx, they are the best things ever.

4. Go do things, lots of things, while you still can. Because once you get halfway through the third trimester, you won't want to do much of anything. Trust me.