As of this past Saturday, I am now 24 weeks pregnant, or 6 months! I feel like that no longer sounds newly pregnant. 6 months sounds like ‘legit pregnant’…but I still don’t really feel that way at all haha. It honestly still doesn’t feel real! Today I’ll share a quick 24 week bumpdate with you guys as well as answer some of the questions you guys left in this instagram post!
These past few weeks of pregnancy have definitely been my favorite so far. I finally felt the baby move for the first time probably around 22 weeks! Not gonna lie, I was pretty jealous when other momma’s were saying they felt the baby move around 17 weeks. But, my doctor told for a first time mom, 22 weeks is totally normal. On top of that, at my 20 week ultrasound, they told me my placenta is on the front side, meaning it buffers a lot of baby’s movement early on. So, that’s probably why I didn’t feel her sooner! I feel her move pretty often now and it is seriously the most amazing feeling. Michael and I will lay in bed almost every night before we fall asleep, and he’ll put his hand on my belly to feel her move. He’s definitely feeling her move now too which is the most beautiful thing!
I’ve gotten a lot of questions about how to control cravings and stay healthy during pregnancy. So, I’m not gonna lie…I definitely give into my cravings pretty often! I crave ice cream and pizza [along with other more healthy things like watermelon and all fruit]. So, I let myself have pizza! And ice cream! But ‘giving into cravings’ doesn’t mean you have to eat an entire pizza by yourself, or an entire gallon of ice cream in one sitting. Let yourself indulge – but, in moderation. If you’re craving pizza…go get one slice of pizza from Whole Foods. If you’re craving ice cream, go out to get ice cream with your hubs and maybe don’t keep a whole gallon in the house (or buy a pint and split it!).
Overall I’ve eaten pretty healthy throughout my pregnancy so far. I ate pretty healthy before pregnancy, so this wasn’t a huge change for me. But now that I’m pregnant, I love learning what foods are really good and helpful for the baby’s development. I use the app Ovia and it will give you regular nutrition tips – like how good avocado is for baby’s development and why. Or how salmon once or twice a week is essential for healthy development. I love learning how the foods I put into my body are helping baby grow healthy and strong. So that’s been an extra motivation for me to eat pretty healthy! [All that to say though…I for sure still indulge in dessert and pizza and tex mex!]
My workout routine has pretty much stayed the same since my 20 week bumpdate [I share my workout routine in this post]. I’ve gotten a lot of questions from you guys about ‘is running okay?’ or ‘is this type of workout okay?’ or ‘what should I keep my HR out during workouts?’. Obviously, my very first answer there is to check with your doctor for what is best for you.
My next answer is every body is different. If you didn’t work out at all before pregnancy, what’s okay for me during pregnancy [I worked out consistently 6 days a week before pregnancy], might not be okay for you. You can’t assign one HR that’s okay for every single person because we’re all at different physical condition levels. The general rule of thumb though is do not make yourself go breathless in your workout. I’ve heard you should be able to sing an entire round of ‘happy birthday’ at any point throughout your workout. If you’re too out of breath to do that, then take it down a notch! Don’t make yourself go breathless, and don’t overheat. Make sure you’re drinking plenty of water, and avoid any heated workouts (like hot yoga).
More updates from these past few weeks:
- We’ve gotten more baby stuff! Here are some of the items we’ve gotten so far:
I also got her a few things from the #nsale, but I will be sharing that next week when I share my top baby / maternity picks from the Nordstrom sale. So make sure you check back for that! Oh! And I finally decided which diaper bag I think I’m going to use. I just got this Fawn Design backpack in grey and love it already!
- Sushi has been a major craving. We go get sushi maybe once a week – I just have to make sure whatever I’m getting is cooked (ie: shrimp tempura type of stuff…the really healthy options lol. not as good as my normal order but it still hits the spot)!
- We’ve picked out tons of stuff for her nursery! It hasn’t arrived yet and we still have a long ways to go, but it’s been a fun process so far! I will share more on that as things start arriving.
- I’ve still yet to buy one piece of maternity clothing haha. I thought by 6 months I would have some massive bump, but she’s just taking her time to show up. I’m definitely at least showing now though so that’s exciting!
Things that have been challenging these past few weeks:
- Still having a lot of stomach issues. My stomach starts to hurt almost anytime I start eating. Even if I haven’t eaten a ton, my stomach gets super bloated and I feel like I just ate 10 Thanksgiving feasts. So, it kinda takes the pleasure out of eating when that happens just because I feel so full so fast.
- People’s opinions + their need to voice their opinions about my pregnancy and my body. I never really expected to receive flack for working out during pregnancy, or get flack for not “showing” as early as people would like for me to show. But, that’s part of the joys of having your life on the internet I suppose. People have criticized me working out during pregnancy with ignorant comments like “you’re not supposed to do more than walk during pregnancy” (which is 100% not true). Or “if you were really healthy, you’d be showing more by now” (also not true). These past few weeks I’ve had to learn to tune out these comments – some of them are just simply uneducated/misinformed comments, and some of them are straight up hateful, hurtful, and mean. I’ve had to learn to focus on being the best mom that I can be for myself and for baby Sims. And that means following what my doctor is saying. I tell her what my workouts are, they weigh me at every appointment…and if she says everything looks great and healthy and I’m on track, then that’s what I need to focus on! Not ignorant DM’s or comments I get from complete strangers. [Sorry if this comes across as harsh. Just being real with you guys, and it’s currently very fresh on my mind as I type this post haha]
Okay! Now onto answer some of the questions you guys left for me to answer in my instagram post:
- Did your workout routine change when you found out you were pregnant? The type of workouts I was doing for the most part stayed the same. I still run, spin, do the stairmaster, weight train, etc. What changed was my level of intensity (and also ab workouts). Before, my mentality with working out was ‘push yourself! go 110%. you can do this, you’re stronger than you think. Run faster, go harder,’ etc. Now, if I start to get super tired during a workout, I tell myself ‘okay, let’s take a break and catch your breath.’ I’m also not doing crunches or any type of ab workout like that. I do planks and other core exercises, but not nearly the ab routines I was doing before.
- Are you doing a shower back home and how are you planning to get everything back to CO? I’m facing this dilemma and curious if there’s a polite way to ask friends and family to mail larger items on the invitation. Yes we have this same dilemma! I am going to have a shower back home in Dallas. I think our current plan is to not say anything about shipping gifts…just have people bring gifts to the shower like normal. I will bring back all of the smaller items in a checked bag on the airplane (so, both Michael and I will check a bag when we come home). And then any really large gifts we receive at the shower…we will probably return after the shower, and then re-order it with a gift card and have it shipped to us. Does that make sense? That’s the best plan we’ve come up with so far! I think it’s completely fine to ask people to ship the gifts…but I like the idea of being able to open them at the shower!
- How do you decide what clothes to buy for a growing bump? What are some of your favorite non-maternity clothes that you think you can wear long into your pregnancy? For the most part, I’ve pretty much ordered clothes exactly like I would have if I weren’t pregnant. If something is tight or form fitting though (like the dress I’m wearing today for example, or jeans), I just order one size up. I love dresses like I’m wearing in this post because they are stretchy so I know I’ll be able to wear it a long way through my pregnancy. I think anything that has a stretchy material (and is comfortable) is great to buy for a growing bump! I will let y’all know though if this answer changes as my bump gets bigger!
- How about “what I wish someone told me before getting pregnant”? Every single pregnancy is SO DIFFERENT! Not everyone gets morning sickness. Not everyone has super weird cravings. Not everyone feels the baby move around 17 weeks. And not everyone gets a really cute bump at the start of second trimester. Before I was pregnant, I (naively) assumed that everyone gets morning sickness. Everyone feels this way or that way or pregnancy looks like ___ for everyone. I had no idea how much it can vary from person to person, and that doesn’t make your pregnancy any less than, or your baby any less healthy! Learn to listen to your body, trust your body, trust your doctor’s opinions…and enjoy every second of your pregnancy, no matter how different it might be from your sister’s or your friends or the girl you follow on social media.
- What has been the oddest thing you’ve craved? FRIED PICKLES! Oh my gosh. We had a layover in the Charlotte Airport and I had fried pickles there randomly and have legit had dreams about those fried pickles several times since then hahah.
- How did you decide on a stroller, car seat, bouncer, etc there are so many options! Holy cow YES. SO MANY OPTIONS. So I’ve really enjoyed a website called Lucie’s List as I’ve been registering for stuff. She gives really honest reviews on literally anything baby you could ever imagine. She talks about quality, price point, her personal experience, and more. I’ve also just asked tons of friends & family for ideas and suggestions. Lastly, I had a phone call with Gugu Guru which was extremely helpful and they made some great recommendations based on my lifestyle and needs!
- Do you have any names picked out? YES! I think we are actually 99.9% sure on her name which I am so excited about. We’re not announcing though until she is born!
Outfit details: Ruched Tank Dress | Camo Jacket | Nike Kicks | Sunnies | Hoop Earrings | Leather Bucket Bag
Holy cow y’all, I didn’t mean for this post to be so long haha! But you guys asked some great questions, and there’s honestly SO many pregnancy things I could chat about all day long. It truly is the most incredible, miraculous experience I’ve ever gone through. Thanks for reading if you made it all the way to the end! I love that I can kind of just journal about this journey and chat with you guys like I’m talking to a friend. Hopefully you found some helpful tips or encouragement here. Thankful for you guys!
xo Lauren
