This post is in partnership with Hancock Regional Hospital as part of their empowering women and children site. All thoughts, experiences, and opinions are my own. Be sure to check out their site for additional resources and support.
The second trimester is often called the “honeymoon” phase of pregnancy. Typically your energy levels will be back to normal, your appetite has returned, and your generally feeling pretty good. Since this is the time you'll likely feel your best, I decided to put together a checklist of things to do during the second trimester; because let's be honest, the first trimester you just sleep! This way your third trimester can be a breeze and you can focus on just resting and preparing for baby!
Pregnancy Checklist: 15 Things To Do In The Second Trimester
Get your finances in check
It's no secret that babies are expensive AF. Now is the time to start planning! Make sure you understand your health insurance and whether or not where you're delivering at will take it. Find out how much you'll likely pay out-of-pocket and start saving towards it in your monthly budget.
You may want to start looking into life insurance policies now too since there's a baby on the way. If you haven't already, make sure you've updated the beneficiaries on all of your retirement and bank accounts.
Consider who you'll get for help
Night nurse: If you want a night nurse for the first few weeks once baby gets here then definitely start interviewing and even choosing one this trimester! A lot of the best night nurses book up when women are between 20-30 weeks! Night nurses are great at helping you learn the ropes with your new baby, breastfeeding, and they help with all the middle of the night stuff. If you're breastfeeding, the nurse will bring the baby to you in bed, and once the baby is done feeding, she'll burp, change, and put the baby back to sleep so you can get a little more ZZZ's.
Doula: Doula's are like the ultimate support during pregnancy and on the big day! They are your biggest advocate in helping things go according to your birth plan and are a great support system for you and your partner.
Child care: start asking around about any of your child care needs for once the baby comes. Whether that's a nanny once you return to work, or maybe you live in a highly competitive area you and need to start submitting the little babe to the best schools as soon as it's born. Start asking around and figuring out what you think you'll want/need.
[RELATED] How To Make The First Month With A Newborn Easier
Work out
After being bed ridden (most likely) during the first trimester, it's time to get up and get moving! Taking care of your body is important for your overall well-being and for the baby. Just don't try anything to extreme or new, and check with your doctor before making any changes. I've rounded up some of my favorite pregnancy workouts I've been doing here.
Start stretch mark prevention if you haven't
Not that anything has really been proven to prevent stretch marks, but may as well take care of your skin! Personally, I recommend dry brushing each night and moisturizing. You'll want to up the amount your moisturizing in the morning too, and maybe even mid-day if you start to feel “itchy” as you move through your pregnancy.
Go to the dentist
Pregnancy gingivitis is real! The second trimester is generally considered the best time to get to the dentist, so make sure to get there! It's the ultimate form of self-care since too often we neglect our teeth!
Start your registry
By now people have probably either started sending your gifts or asked about your registry. Make sure to set something up so you can limit unwanted or unnecessary items coming your way! A lot of registries also give you a welcome gift, but you may have to go into the store to get it, so another reason to tackle this while you have the energy.
[RELATED] The Best Baby Registry Checklist: Must Haves + Skips
Take a babymoon
Most women feel their best during the second trimester. So if you want to take a babymoon definitely try to go during this trimester! We were really on the fence about this since E's starting a new company and we are bootstrapping on just my income… ultimately I felt really stressed out towards the end of the second trimester that we decided to take a last-minute trip you can read about here.
Start your nursery
You do not need to have your nursery done during this trimester. However, if you need to clear out a room that's going to become the nursery now is a good time to start selling or donating the stuff. Create a board on Pinterest and start thinking about what you want to do in that room. If there are any nursery DIY items you want to make, this is probably a great time to tackle those projects! Personally, I started planning my nursery during this trimester (cleaning out the room, drawing inspo, getting a few items) however since we plan on moving a couple of months after the baby comes, I won't be setting it up until she's around three or four months.
[RELATED] Moon Inspired Nursery Reveal + Tips
Select what classes you'll take
Now is a great time to start looking into what prenatal classes you plan on taking. Hospitals offer a variety of prenatal classes and then you may have other options locally as well so talk with your midwife or doctor about their recommendations. Popular one's often include lactation, CPR, a basics or a comfort class. These usually run once a month so you'll want to start figuring out both what classes you're interested in and when you plan on taking them. Spots can fill up so once you have that information figured out go ahead and sign up.
Begin planning your maternity leave
Since I work for myself, that's meant pre-planning content through April (baby is due in January) and figuring out what tasks I'm delegating to my team. If you work a 9-5, make sure you understand your rights and company policy on maternity leave. Create a plan and talk with your boss about everything.
Consider maternity clothes
Most women have to start thinking about maternity clothes during this trimester. Not that you need to rush out and buy a bunch of stuff. But start figuring out what you want to do when you no longer fit in your clothes. The last thing you'll probably want to do during the third trimester is go shopping for your ever-changing body. If you can, see if friends have maternity clothes you can borrow to keep the expenses down or opt for maternity clothes that can double for postpartum nursing items (if you plan to breastfeed).
Personally, I opted for a lot of non-maternity dresses or my regular clothes which are really stretchy so I can wear them after the baby. I didn't actually wear my first “maternity” anything until the third trimester (which was just a basic tank top). If you plan on wearing jeans or bottoms, I'd recommend investing in these sooner rather than later since it can be tough to wrap your head around “oh I'll only wear this for 6 weeks,” if you wait until later. With that said, if you buy maternity jeans in your second trimester, there's a strong chance they may not fit by the last couple of weeks my friends say.
Look into banking your cord blood and tissue, or encapsulating your placenta tissue
Cord blood and tissue:
You have the option (for a hefty fee) to bank your baby's cord blood and tissue. Basically the blood and tissue can be used if the baby or either parent (and potentially a sibling) develop a variety of diseases. We are still considering this since E has arthritis and just in case the baby or a sibling needs it in their lifetimes. The great thing is you can go through the sign up process and you don't actually pay unless you go forward with the kit the day the baby is born (though that may vary for who you choose to bank with).
[RELATED] Cord Blood Banking: Why We Chose To Do It.
Placenta:
The research on this isn't really there, but many women swear by it. Basically humans are one of the only mammals that don't consume their placenta, so many women are now going back to mother nature's way and choosing to have their placenta encapsulated into pill form or made into a tincture or smoothie or all sorts of things! It's believed that consuming your placenta can help ward off postpartum depression, increase your milk supply, reduces stress, boosts oxytocin, and restores your iron levels.
Tour the hospital and make your birth plan!
If you haven't started thinking about where you plan to deliver now is a good time. The birth plan can wait if you aren't sure yet, but it helps to have a loose idea in determining what'll be the best fit for you in delivery. We did this during our first trimester since we switched doctors (you can learn more about all of that and our birth plan here). In short, you're going to want to at least have an idea about what you'd like your birth experience to look like in order to determine where you want to deliver. Some things to consider: do you want a hospital that only offers private suites? is having access to a bath important to you? what about staff trained in breathing/relaxation techniques should you not want medication? You can read more about Hancock Regional Hospital's maternity care and offerings here.
I would recommend not waiting until the third trimester if possible to do this. Most women on the hospital tour were actually in their third trimester, so there's nothing wrong with waiting, but some tours can be long with a lot of walking and standing. Hancock Regional's hospital tour usually lasts about 30 minutes. By the end most of the women just wanted to sit down and for it to be over! Plus, like I said before, it's important to make sure your health insurance aligns with your vision, so the sooner the better!
Begin interviewing pediatricians
Again, this is something that *could* wait until the third trimester (we did), but if you have the time why not get it done now? Especially since it's usually hospital policy that you have a pediatrician already set up in order to take your baby home! While touring the hospital, ask if they have any pediatricians they recommend, see what's on your baby's future insurance, and start figuring out who your little one will see once he/she arrives! Hancock Regional Hospital also put together this helpful post on how to choose a pediatrician.
[RELATED] 5 Things They Don’t Tell You About Being Pregnant
Create a baby book or other sentimental keepsakes
Personally, the first trimester I only had 4 weeks left when I found out I was pregnant and all I wanted to do was sleep during those four weeks! However, during my second trimester I started writing weekly letters to the baby. I also started taking bump pictures to document the journey and plan on putting everything together in a baby book in time.
As someone who has done a lot of spiritual and psychological work around my own mother, I can say I wish I would have access to something like this from her. Some of the questions that have come up in my own reparenting work have been about my own mother's pregnancy and mental state (like was she excited? what were her fears? etc.) since those can leave subconscious imprints on us. I'd much rather have a roadmap to look back on and help the little one, then keep it all bottled inside!
Have fun!!
Use this time to just relax and enjoy your life. It's when you'll probably be feeling your best and everything is about to change! Get back into your healthy habits, self care routine, and all the things that fuel your soul! Before you know it, things are going to look a lot differently! Practice gratitude for the life you've built and how much you've accomplished!
Check out my checklist for things to do during the third trimester here!
RELATED READS:
She’s Here! [Her Name Reveal & What It Means]
How To Eat Healthy During Pregnancy [+ What I Eat In A Day While Pregnant]
Fall Back Into A Fitness Routine: Tips & Workouts (Pregnancy Friendly)
8 First Trimester Symptoms [+ How To Work Through Them]
How To Deal With The Second Trimester of Pregnancy Symptoms
Save for later:
Here's A List Of 15 Things To Do In The Second Trimester Of Pregnancy:
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Get your finances in check
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Consider who you'll get for help
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Work out
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Start stretch mark prevention if you haven't
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Go to the dentist
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Start your registry
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Take a babymoon
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Start your nursery
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Select what classes you'll take
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Begin planning your maternity leave
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Consider maternity clothes
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Look into banking your cord blood and tissue, or encapsulating your placenta tissue
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Tour the hospital and make your birth plan!
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Begin interviewing pediatricians
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Create a baby book or other sentimental keepsakes
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BONUS: Have fun!!
