Lifestyle / Pregnancy

Bump Update – Weeks 14-18

07.16.18

As I’m nearing the end of my second trimester of pregnancy (I’m currently 24 weeks!), I wanted to make sure I shared thoughts on my second trimester here so far, not only to document it for myself but to also share for those who may be coming into a similar stage in their own pregnancy. During my first trimester (which I shared all about here and here!), I LOVED reading what others experienced during those early days and I truly believe they gave me peace of mind knowing that I wasn’t the only one feeling those emotions or experiencing those body changes during those weeks that seemed to take forever and ever. Knowing how I felt then, my hope is that some of what I share here can resonate with you guys too — whether you’re going through pregnancy yourself or have a loved one in the same boat!

Anyways, I will just say that overall the second trimester has been a dream — I’ve had much more energy than during my first (those early zombie-like days were tough!), and have really loved seeing my bump grow and grow each week! The second trimester is also so fun because you get to share more of what you’re going through with your friends and family, and you’re overall feeling pretty good (the aches and pains I had in my first trimester started to subside early on into my second). Oh, and you’ve probably had at least one ultrasound at this point — which are SO excited (albeit a bit nerve wracking at times, if I’m being honest), and hearing your baby’s heart beat for the first time is one of the most special sounds EVER! Ok, onto those second trimester weeks —

Week 14:

At 14 weeks we had just announced that we’re expecting and in all honesty — the amount of love and joy we felt those first few days is something that we’ll never forget! At this point, two weeks into the second trimester, baby bird was the size of a peach and weighed about 1.5 ounces — which was double from the week before!  During this week I was feeling very bumpin’, but mostly just in the evenings when I swear my belly would double in size! During this week I also decided maternity jeans felt like a must and went on an ordering spree (which you can read more about here), and was just truly SO happy to have everyone know our big news! Keeping this secret from ya’ll was one of THE hardest things to do, so it just felt SO good to finally talk about our baby bird openly!

Week 15:

We celebrated 15 weeks with our baby bird in NYC! Baby was officially the size of a navel orange and at 2.5 ounces, was starting to make their appearance more and more each day! We also ate REAL well in NYC, so that might have added to my bumpin’ bump! 😉 On this day, the first of week 15, we went to the ever so chic La Mercerie Cafe for breakfast and then headed to The Museum of Modern Art to see the Picassos, Monets and Matisses! After a late lunch, we wandered to Central Park and did some people watching while thinking about how grateful we are to be here before baby arrives! Chelsea Market and Katz’s Deli finished off our day — and then I was SO wiped out that I decided to head to bed early in the city that never sleeps! NYC was the perfect place to celebrate our 30th birthdays and have an early babymoon in — I would definitely recommend it, especially in those early weeks of your second trimester where you still feel like walking and walking like you need to do in NYC!

Week 16:

At 16 weeks pregnant, baby bird was the size of an avocado and weighed 3.50 ounces! Oh, and their taste buds were starting to develop and they could officially hear my voice — which felt like music to my ears, as I’ve loved checking in and talking to baby throughout the day! At this point, I was also all into dressy comfy and cozy to accommodate my growing bump! I found myself really into Dwell and Slumber dresses and event attempted to wear a belly band over my regular jeans one day — a decision that went terrible wrong when I found myself trying to rip it off in the car after a long day at work. At week 16, I also remember waiting ever so not patiently until we could find out the sex of our baby at 20 weeks — the wait felt like forever, but looking back — those weeks went by so fast.

Week 17:

At 17 weeks pregnant, baby was the size of a pomegranate and weighed 5.90 ounces! Since it was the end of May in Arizona, the weather was starting to get hot, hot, hot, so Scott and I tried to be outside a little more this week and decided to head to the Queen Creek Olive Mill to have lunch under the olive trees over the Memorial Day weekend! We played corn hole (we’re both terrible), listened to the band and talked about bringing our baby bird back there in the fall! At this point, we were getting closer and closer to 20 weeks and the thought of being almost half way there seemed wild! As always, we were feeling SO grateful and excited — we even looked at strollers and cribs around this time, which made things feel even more surreal! Oh, and speaking of things feeling more real — at this point I was also starting to have more cravings — up until then I was just really into my cheese, olives and lemon flavored La Croixs (cravings that have followed me throughout my whole pregnancy so far), but during this week I REALLY wanted potato salad and since I’ve been avoiding mayonnaise throughout my pregnancy — having some over the holiday weekend felt not likely. BUT, Scott surprised me with my very own batch of potato salad made with eggless mayonnaise — THE literal dream, ya’ll haha! I was SO stoked on this and truly appreciated Scott’s super sweet gesture. He has been my rock throughout my entire pregnancy, and I couldn’t be more thankful for the love that he shows baby bird and I each and every day!

Week 18:

At 18 weeks pregnant, baby bird was the size of an artichoke and weighed 6.70 ounces! On Sunday, June 3rd, just two days into my 18th week, I felt the baby move for the first time! Up until then I had had moments where I thought I could have felt them, but nothing felt as distinct as it did on this day. I even jumped on Instagram Stories and shared what I was feeling to see if I could get a general consensus that this was indeed the baby and not just gas (it happens, haha), but by 7:45pm that evening I knew that what I was feeling was our baby bird — wiggling all around and giving me those real flutter feelings — it was MAGICAL and SO surreal to finally feel our baby who had been growing inside of me for the past 18 weeks! Cue the tears — what a special day this was!

Ok, that’s it for now but I’ll be back soon to share all about weeks 19 through 22! Until then I hope ya’ll enjoyed this bumpdate! 😉 I’ve been making a list of a few other pregnancy related posts to share, but if you have anything you specifically want to see on the ol’ blog — let me know! The nursery is definitely high up there on my list to share — possible what our plan is and then the actual nursery tour closer to baby boy’s arrival. We actually just made our first nursery purchase tonight — baby boy’s crib! ECK! It’s perfect and I can’t wait to get it in his room later this week! Promise to share a few sneak peeks on Instagram when it comes in! In the meantime, have a great week, friends!

-Chelsea xo