I have to giggle – I went back and looked at my 2nd Trimester recap when I was pregnant with Emerson and turns out I wrote the same post at the same point in my pregnancy last time too! Oops.

My second trimester this time started in late April and ran through the middle of July and my goodness, it feels like it has been years and flew by at the same time. Our lives have been a little chaotic – celebrating my mom’s 60th birthday, going on vacation to Savannah, Emerson and my birthdays, and ending with some unexpected family time when my grandmother fell ill and passed away. Lots of life and lots of celebrating but needless to say just a little busy.

Symptoms: Unfortunately, this pregnancy has physically been a little harder on me. Thankfully, the nausea that I experienced in the first trimester subsided, but I started to feel sciatica pain as early as 12 weeks. I do remember a bit of back pain during my first pregnancy but nowhere near as early. I was referred to a local chiropractor which has offered some relief and being in the pool during the summer has been great. Aside from that, the second trimester brought back some energy so I’ve been feeling pretty good. I’m not sure I ever shared this on here but surprise! Baby #2 is a girl!

Food: I joke that this pregnancy is sponsored by ice cream. Baby girl loves ice cream just like her big sister and her mama and I have been treating myself (or indulging – whatever!) to a sweet treat. I am also following in my first pregnancy’s footsteps with a milkshake after every baby appointment. I’d like to think this is a side-effect of a summer pregnancy, but if we are being honest, I would eat a milkshake any old day.

I also have been enjoying my fair share of french fries. But then again, I love french fries.

Highlights: By far, the highlight of the second trimester was finding out that baby #2 is a girl! Jody and I were so convinced that Emerson was a boy that when she wasn’t, we just assumed we would get a boy. We had even planned a nursery thinking it was a boy! Jody and I wanted to share a private and intimate gender reveal at home, so we enlisted my mom’s help to bake a cake and dye the cake batter pink for a girl and blue for a boy. You can imagine our surprise when we realized the inside was pink!

Gel Ice Pack As I mentioned, I have been dealing with sciatica pain since around week 12. I started going to a chiropractor who specializes in pregnant women, and she recommended I start icing my back for some relief.

Heating Pad Similarly, heat is one thing that helps my back when it gets rather uncomfortable, and I love this new heating pad we ordered. There are four different heat settings and turns itself off after two hours – great for a tired mama with a bit of pregnancy brain!

Mini Athletic Dress This may be my best purchase for 2024. Known as a dupe to the Free People athletic dress at a quarter of the cost, I ordered this mini dress in yellow and immediately knew it was a hit. The dress is lined with shorts underneath, making it super easy to wear while chasing Emerson around, but it is slightly oversized, making the cotton fabric not too hot. It is not maternity so I did size up to a medium. (P.S. I also bought two more colors to get me through the end of summer but went with a large for extra room)

Swimsuit Emerson was signed up for swim lessons this summer, and for those of you who have taken a toddler in the pool, you know a one-piece is almost always the way to go. I really didn’t want to spend money on a maternity suit, so I tried this suit that I purchased at the end of last summer! It is super comfortable and the cut out is not only cute but allows room for the bump to grow. It did not get me through the whole summer, but it did get me through Emerson’s swim sessions, which coincidentally wrapped up as my third trimester was beginning.

Giesen Dealcoholized New Zealand Rose Y’all know I love a crisp glass of rose, especially when the warm weather hits. I didn’t have high hopes for finding a nonalcoholic version to get me through the summer months, but I was floored when I first sipped this – I actually thought Jody accidentally poured me a glass of the real stuff! I’ve since tried their Sauvignon Blanc and I can say that one is great too!

Plastic Tumbler I picked up this cup with a straw at Target in the spring and I think I used it almost every day. If I wasn’t drinking my cold brew out of it, it would have either been a smoothie or liquid iv. It is such a cute cup and I’m sad to see they sold out but luckily I found a similar glass version on Amazon.

Sweater Dress Originally, I had purchased this dress to take my weekly bump pictures in but decided to go a different direction. I kept the dress because it was incredibly comfortable and soon began referring to it as my date night dress. It was perfect to throw on to look put together for a date night, dinner out, or summer event. Unfortunately, my exact dress is no longer available but I linked a similar option!