11 Things to Do During the Second Trimester of Pregnancy

Trish: [00:00:00] My name is Trish Ware and I am obsessed with all things pregnancy and birth and helping you to navigate with the practical and the magical seasons of this journey called motherhood. I'm an all day coffee sipping mama of seven. I've had the amazing privilege of delivering many babies in my 15 plus year career as a labor and delivery nurse and as a mama of seven. 


I'm here to help you take the guesswork out of childbirth so you can make the choices that are right for you and your baby. Quick note, this podcast is for educational purposes only and does not replace your medical advice. Check out our full disclaimer at the bottom. of the show notes. All right, you guys, if you're just joining me, we're gonna be breaking down some of the tips I have for my [00:01:00] second trimester mamas. 


However, some of these things could also apply to first Or third trimester, especially if you haven't done them yet. Anyway, so we're going to talk about second trimester and what you can start doing during your second trimester to prepare for your birth. So the first little section that I'm going to talk about is really about nurturing your body and your soul. 


Because you're about to enter into a phase of life, whether this is your first baby, your third baby It doesn't matter, each baby, it's such a different journey. And I want to dive into some things that you can do to be nurturing yourself, your soul, your body, your mental health, which is super important. 


So as always, if you guys listen to me talking [00:02:00] about the first trimester and things that you can do, this one will not take you by surprise. This is one that I tell everyone all the time and that is Really embracing a healthy eating habit, healthy nutrition. It's so important. Okay, I want you guys to stop and absorb the fact that you are growing a human. 


Like an actual. factual person with fingers and toes. And that is a lot of nutritional requirements. Your body, your baby needs nourishment. So I really want you guys to start thinking about focusing on meals that are rich in nutrients like iron and calcium and protein. Listen to your cravings. 


It's okay. I always say this. You can [00:03:00] still have like your little sweets or whatever it is you're craving, but balance it out with healthy choices. So obviously I'm not a nutritionist. I love Ryan over at The Prenatal Nutritionist. She's amazing. She has great ideas for you guys, but the main thing is to really balance those healthy meals in with your cravings. 


So if whatever. Chocolate's healthy, you guys. So You can have chocolate, but focus on balanced meals. So try to avoid things that are processed or heavy and like salt and sugar and just keep in mind balance. That's your word, balance. Now we talked to our first trimester mamas last week and we talked about staying active. 


This is a really important doesn't have to be some crazy routine that you have to do. You can do gentle exercises. Some of you guys have been sticking around with [00:04:00] me for my mental health journey that I'm on, which you guys are gonna be really proud of me. I have graduated from it. App exercises to joining a gym. 


Don't give me too much credit yet because I haven't actually gone to the gym yet. I've just joined, but I joined. I've been doing an app. I forget the name of it, but it's a yoga app and you can find tons of them. I love Cassie Ho. She is amazing and she has really cute stuff at Target. I started watching her in 2014 when her videos were not as put together as they are now, but she's so motivating. If you ever want a really funny story, remind me to tell you about my Cassie Ho kickboxing cat story. It's very funny, but I'm not going to tell it here. So staying active, gentle things like prenatal yoga or walking. Just get moving, keep moving. 


Those things are going to energize you and they're going to [00:05:00] help prepare your body. Your circulatory system, your cardiovascular system is on overdrive, like so working so hard to build this baby and You need to assist it by getting up and doing some movements, doing some things. I love the ideas I gave you, like going for walks and prenatal yoga. 


If you join my birth classes and you're hanging out with me and Linnae and we're, doing your labor bat signal, which is your private DM that my student members get, then we're going to tell you to take some walks. You and your partner go, it's one of the best ways to prepare your body. For the birth marathon because it is a marathon. 


It's not a quick little thing. Now remember, here's my little disclaimer, you need to talk to your provider if you're trying anything new or anything unusual when it comes to activities. If you've been told that you're on bed rest or you have any pelvic restrictions or anything, talk to your provider. 


[00:06:00] Just be safe. It's better to be safe. The next thing in my nurturing your body and soul section is, pampering yourself. Some things you can do for you during the second trimester, hint, hint, first or third, doesn't matter. But second trimester, begin to think about pampering yourself. Book a prenatal massage, take some baths, make time to relax because, Sista, your life is about to change, and things like taking a nice warm bath for any longer than dipping your toes might not happen once that baby comes. 


And toddler, and... Even teenager, because I had to, right before I started recording this, I had to text my teenager to let her know that I'm gonna be teaching you guys because she'll come to my door and she'll want something. And that's Parenting 101. So take the warm bath now. Take my tip on this. 


I'm a mom of [00:07:00] seven, been a mama for a very long time. Enjoy your warm baths, your prenatal massages, even your walks now make time for some relaxation. One thing that is really difficult on your body and on your growing baby is stress. So if you can take some time now for meditation, journaling just taking care of you, this is such a good habit to get in and it will teach your children that you're important because you are super duper important. 


Okay, the next section that we're going to talk about, I'm going to call connecting with your baby. So here are some things that you can start doing now, and I know some of you guys are feeling those movements, which are insanely incredible. So incredible. But some things you can start doing now, bonding with your baby. 


[00:08:00] So if you want to listen to an episode of one of my moms one of my students, we talked about some things she wished she had done during her pregnancy. Her pregnancy was unplanned. And she was a little resentful and throughout the pregnancy she didn't really connect with the baby the way that she felt she should. 


So she made some decisions with her subsequent pregnancy. She's pregnant again, so you know who I'm talking about. And she said she would do more bonding moments. So I wanted to add this in if you haven't thought about this yet. Some of y'all are just getting out of that first trimester and feeling really crappy and tired and All the things. 


Second trimester is when you usually have some reprieve from the harder symptoms of pregnancy and you're feeling your baby move. So I want you to start bonding with your baby. So think about rubbing your tummy, talking, singing, reading, all of those connections. Will [00:09:00] deepen with your baby and your baby can hear your voice. 


So I just wanted to throw that in there in case you're not thinking about those things. The other thing that I would do is capture your journey. So when I first launched Labor Nurse Mama, I did a a poll with other moms that had blogs, and just asked them what would you do differently if you were pregnant again? 


And an overwhelming and the moments. Because most of them did not capture the moments. So document your pregnancy with photos, with journals, and it's such a beautiful way that you can preserve the memories and share the story of this baby's beginnings with this baby. When this baby, I have adult children now, and they love seeing the journey. 


Shame on me on some of my pregnancies. I was so busy and consumed with life [00:10:00] and in some of them I just thought I looked terrible and I didn't feel good and I didn't feel like taking pictures But now I wish I had all those bump pictures. Now you guys are lucky because with my first babies We didn't have cell phones like we have now So it's harder to take pictures, but take pictures, no matter what you think you look like, your child will want to see pictures of you pregnant with them, not pregnant with sister or brother or whatever. 


They want to see you pregnant with them. So mark my words on that one. Okay, the next part is going to be what we say is education and planning that you should be getting done in your second trimester. Of course, I'm going to say. Childbirth education. This is so important. And this is why I launched my birth classes because you have to be empowered for your birth and you're responsible for that. 


You are responsible to [00:11:00] know what's happening during labor, to know what's happening in your body, to know the stages of labor so that you can work with your body. And to know how to work with your body and not against it. There are ways that you can work to help your labor progress. And that's why we're getting ready to launch our labor birth bundle, which is going to have this really cool ebook that me and my doulas put together. 


And we have movements that you can do In picture so you can print it. It's a guide to take to your birth. So that if you're, you know where the baby is in the pelvis based on the station and we show you in pictures and why exactly what to do and when, and we tell you the positives and the negatives of all the different positions, and this is a powerful resource to have. 


And it's coming out probably in the next couple of weeks because we're also throwing in a brand new birth birth plan template that goes with it. That is. Beautiful, so I [00:12:00] can't wait to see it and it's going to be a visual birth plan and a a written birth plan and we hired an artist that is going to draw the stickers and I can't even contain myself right now. 


There are stunning. Anyway, you guys know I like presentation, so there's that. So knowing what to expect during your birth experience, knowing what to expect during postpartum as best as I can prepare you, which is why I have the membership, because it's really hard to prepare you for all the things. 


But that's why we have our membership. And if you join our birth classes, you get 30 days free in our membership, and then hopefully stay with us throughout your journey. Because we provide virtual support services. Me as a labor nurse, we've got Dula as a pelvic floor specialist. We've got a lactation consultant who hangs out in there with us and she does virtual visits. 


Now your insurance handles those, but I think most insurances [00:13:00] handle six visits virtually, which is incredible. And she hangs out in there and helps you guys with that. But being prepared through education is really important. And falling back on the next thing is your birth plan. Your birth plan is so important, but the reason I put that after your class is because you cannot create an efficient and effective birth plan or birth map, like I like to call it. 


Unless you've taken a class because you have to know why you're putting what you're putting into your birth plan. It has to be Something that you could explain your why your rationale And why we use the things you don't want us to use So for instance, let's say you say that IV during birth Which is fantastic if you're a low risk mama who has no need But why do we use one? 


There's a couple reasons. Hydration, in case of an emergency, you need to have the education [00:14:00] to be able to combat those things, right? To know what to say, if that's what they use, to tell you have to have one, because you don't have to have one. So your birth plan is where you're taking all of your preferences, all of that beautiful knowledge that you've gained and you're putting it into one place that's easy to read, that's concise, and you're going to have that as a tool. 


It's not the power. The education's your power. Your birth map is your tool to explain to the people that are taking care of you exactly what you want and why. Not just what you want and why. I have some mantras that I say inside of my private community, and one of them is, we don't refuse things just because we can. 


Now let that sink in. You don't refuse just because you can. Yeah. Heck yeah. People say, can I refuse this? Can I refuse that? You can [00:15:00] refuse anything, but should you, and why would you, and when should you, and when should you not? You have to know those things. So your birth plan, it's your voice. That voice is all the work you've done to educate yourself and empower yourself. 


You deserve the birth experience that aligns with your wishes. You deserve it. Don't let anyone tell you that a birth plan is a waste of time or you shouldn't do one and that's not necessary. That is something you deserve. You deserve to have that power. But remember, it's not the paper. It's the preparation. 


That's the power. Okay. This one is another one that I really recommend that you do right now. to prepare for birth. And that is pelvic floor wellness. Okay. You need to consider seeing a pelvic floor specialist and I'll tell you why. Whether you're having issues or not, it's really powerful to get a baseline [00:16:00] exam so that they can know what you're like normally. 


So that way, if anything goes on during birth, which it can, you're pushing out a human head. Out your vagina. Hopefully I won't kicked off, get kicked off for saying that, but go and get a baseline because then if you come back, they're gonna know what your normal is and they're gonna know more effectively how to work with you. 


This is such an important step in maintaining the health and the strength of your pelvic floor muscles because. Those little suckers play a big role from here to kingdom come. So when you're my age, you won't be sitting here wetting yourself when you cough or any of that fun things. Which I don't by the way, because this is one thing that I did do even as a really young mom with not a lot of knowledge. 


My mother definitely coached me well on this one, so pelvic floor health matters for the rest of your life. Okay, [00:17:00] preparing the nest. That's my last little section for second trimester preparation. Remember, all of these things can go into each of the other trimesters. If you're in the second, if you're still in the first or you're in the third, all of these things are things that you can do. 


All right. Let's talk about nesting mode. So a lot of a lot of mamas start to do that preparation, that nesting mode preparation. Now it usually doesn't kick into high gear where you can't control it until you actually hit that in the early, before labor, but nesting mode when I'm saying that right now I'm talking about starting to create the space for your little one so that you're not overwhelmed at the end and the other thing is just you might be one of those rare mamas who have their babies earlier, so I would consider starting to, create a list of the things that you're going to need. 


Now, remember, you don't need all of the [00:18:00] things, but start to think about the things that you need and maybe a few things that you really want and preparing to for your baby shower as well. Now's the time to start preparing if you, are having a baby shower and start listing and shopping for those baby essentials and start getting organized. 


There's so many options for you guys. We've got great lists put together on Amazon. And we're putting together a baby bundle too. That's going to come. We want the birth bundle to come out first. So baby bundles coming. But starting to do this is a really exciting way to channel that anticipation and that excitement. 


Thank you, Audrey. Audrey just said she loves our hospital packing bag list. I love it too. Okay, number 10. We have 11 things. How odd is it that I have 11 points for you for second trimester? But this is what I came up with and this is what we got. Okay, so number 10 is time for you again. Now, before I was talking about some self care [00:19:00] things that still prepare you for birth, but I want you to do some practice deep breathing and meditation, start adding that in now because that is going to help you with your mental and emotional state during labor. 


I have this, I have mindset and mental exercises really infused into my birth classes because mindset is 90 percent of your birth. I promise you. I promise you on my 16 year career and my six unmedicated birth that what you're telling yourself in here matters. So start to practice capturing those thoughts, taking control of those thoughts and flipping them. 


Into ones of power. So if you're sitting there, and you're watching TV and you see someone go into labor and of course on TV, they're going to freak out and act crazy. I want you to stop whatever's going on in your brain and remind yourself that is not real and that your body is powerful and that [00:20:00] you're going to do it. 


beautifully. Tell yourself that all the time. It's the truth. Okay. My last one, number 11, my oddball is connecting with other moms. This is something I am so passionate about, and this is why we added the membership to our lineup. So for those of you who aren't quite ready to take a birth class, we offer our call mama society membership where Every week we have a hangout with our pregnant mamas on Wednesdays, every Thursday, our postpartum mamas. 


And then the first Monday of every month we hang out with our VBAC mamas. And we do this because it's critically important that you guys are connecting with other moms, but not just other moms. Okay? I want you to hear me. You want to be connecting with moms who are not Doing any kind of mom shame, you need a safe place because your body is changing, your life is changing, your relationships are changing, and you [00:21:00] want to be connected with other moms who are not going to make you feel bad about any of the things that you choose inside of my birth classes and my membership. 


We encourage individuality and we have a wide range of representations of different types of moms, and they all just love on each other. There is no mom shame. I'm talking whether you vaccinate or you don't vaccinate, whether you go unmedicated or medicated, whether you choose hospital or a home birth. 


No matter what path you choose, it's your stinking path and you have a right to choose it. We're all adults here, so we created a community where you can choose the path that you want to choose for you and your family. And you're the only one who has a say in that and we're going to support you whatever you choose. 


I love, my students always say I'm like a crunchy medical provider. I have a dip into both because I love my medical background and I [00:22:00] love the fact that we as medical providers can step in and save your lives. Thank But do you always need that when it comes to birth or babies or postpartum? 


No, you don't. It's a natural process, but I love that you have the opportunity for both. And that's what we provide inside of our online pregnancy postpartum group. And you have access to me, you have access to my doulas. And once you purchase our birth classes, if you're still in the membership, You get your virtual labor support, which we have dubbed the labor bat signal, which you can initiate around 37 weeks, unless you have something going on in your pregnancy where you need a little more handholding, you can do it early and me and Linnea just support you inside of our labor bat signal until you don't need us, which some of our moms, that's 15 months postpartum, and some of the, our moms, that's. 


Five days postpartum, it's completely up to you. So that's something we offer when it comes to connecting with other moms. We are [00:23:00] also moms and professionals. So there you have it. My top 11. How often do you hear that top 11? My top 11 things to do. During your incredible second trimester of pregnancy. 


Alright, have a great day. Hey there, Mamas. I hope you enjoyed this episode where I broke down 11, not 10, not 12, but 11 things to do to prepare during your second trimester. Make sure you take care of you. As always, I will see you again next Friday. Bye for now.[00:24:00]