The Ultimate Fun Second Trimester To-Do List

Use this super fun second trimester to-do list to make the most of weeks 14 through 26 – the golden trimester. Morning sickness fades, baby’s kicks are felt from the outside, an adorable baby bump emerges, and the aches and pains are mostly delayed until the third trimester. The second trimester is for FUN!

The Ultimate Fun Second Trimester To-Do List

Of course, this second trimester to-do list isn’t a race, much like the first trimester checklist. These things are not intended to be completed in a day, week, or even a month. Take your time, and enjoy the process! You will never be this pregnant, with this baby, ever again!

Read a Favorite Pregnancy Book

When it comes to the best pregnancy books, the pregnancy books in the second trimester should be devoted to:

• General Childbirth Education
• Childbirth Methods
• Building your Birth Team
• Birth Stories and
• Fitness

Check out my second trimester reading list to find a book that resonates with you!

Implement Gentle Exercise

If the first trimester knocked you on the rear-end, the second trimester is a good time to implement gentle exercise. Walking, hiking, swimming, and/or streaming prenatal yoga are excellent ideas and mostly free or inexpensive.

Resume Healthy Eating

Another side effect of the first trimester is that sometimes “eating healthy” is thrown out the window for the sake of survival. The thing that sounded appealing may or may not have been the healthiest thing for a pregnant woman to eat. But you did it… because survival.

However, now that morning sickness symptoms have peaked and gone away (or are hopefully subsiding), the second trimester is a great time to resume healthy eating.

If…

• smoothies sound appealing, try a pregnancy smoothie that also contains protein.
• you need to increase your healthy fat intake, coconut oil chocolates are a deliciously healthy treat.
• you’re looking to increase nutrient dense foods, pick a few of your favorite pregnancy superfoods and implement them in your pregnancy meal plan.

Book a Prenatal Massage

A favorite on this list is to book a prenatal massage. Ladies, trust me on this, you should have a prenatal massage at least once per month during pregnancy. (And don’t forget about postpartum massages!)

The benefits of prenatal massage include feeling more relaxed, less anxiety, and the relief of typical pregnancy aches and pains like backache. Massage releases feel good hormones like oxytocin – which your unborn baby will experience too!

TIP:  Be sure to hire a massage therapist with training specific to pregnancy to keep mom and baby safe.

Hire a Doula

One of my favorite things on this second trimester to-do list is to interview and hire a doula. Doulas are amazing and an invaluable resource during the childbearing year.

I suggest interviewing 2-3 doulas. Not only will you find the perfect doula for your birth, but you will have tapped into your community’s resources for pregnancy, birth and postpartum. Head on over to DoulaMatch.com to start your search!

Sign Up for a Childbirth Class

Another fun thing do is to sign up for and take a really good childbirth class. Hopefully, the area where you live has a few good options.

TIP:  Make sure to sign up for a class that will be completed by the time you are 37-38 weeks. Don’t wait until the last second!

TIP:  Don’t sign up for the first class that comes your way. Ask around and try to find ALL options available in your area. Ask doulas and other birth professionals what class they recommend and WHY. At some point it will become clear which option is your best bet.

Establish Care with the BEST Provider

Now that you’ve read a book, started feeling better, hired a doula, and investigated childbirth classes, you likely have a good idea of what you are looking for in a care provider.

It may seem a bit backwards to hire a care provider in the second trimester, but many women don’t know what they want until they become educated on their options.

If you have already established care, this may be a good time to re-evaluate to make sure that this person that you’ve hired is, in fact, the best choice. It is simple to change care providers in the second trimester. It’s a different story at 40 weeks. Keep an eye out for signs that it’s time to fire your OB.

Book an Ultrasound

I used to be that person that swore off ultrasounds because they have not been proven 100% safe by the FDA. Having an ultrasound for the sake of an ultrasound (aka medically unnecessary) didn’t seem wise to me at the time.

I still believe that to be true, to some extent, but after battling infertility I now totally understand how an ultrasound can be insanely helpful to alleviate the unknown. Also, I think having at least one ultrasound, around 20 weeks, can confirm a low risk pregnancy – which is especially helpful when planning for a homebirth.

No matter what your take on ultrasounds is, I think we can all agree that seeing a glimpse of your unborn baby is very exciting and helps make the whole thing feel “more real”.

Plan a Gender Reveal

In my most recent pregnancies I had a good handful of ultrasounds deemed medically necessary because I was high risk. It was VERY FUN and we even had an opportunity to guess the sex of my tiny unborn baby. We were right! We confirmed at our 20 week ultrasound that the 12 week ultrasound guess was correct.

During my second pregnancy we found out we were having our first girl at a gender reveal photoshoot. THAT WAS SO MUCH FUN!! If the opportunity presents itself, plan a gender reveal with friends and/or family. It’s a lot of fun to celebrate new life!

Schedule a Maternity Photoshoot

Another fun thing to do in the second trimester is to schedule a maternity photoshoot.

Scheduling maternity photos may be as simple as marking a day on the calendar in the early/mid third trimester and having a friend take photos of your sweet changing body and family. Or scheduling maternity photos may look like booking a photographer for a full blown maternity photoshoot.

Whatever you choose and no matter how you feel about your body, just take some pictures. One day you will look back on this pregnancy with wonder! What an amazing, miraculous time of life.

Pick a Pediatrician

Ok, so maybe picking a pediatrician isn’t the most fun thing on this list, but picking a pediatrician, or at minimum beginning the process of choosing a doctor for your unborn baby, is important.

Many parents do not know how to choose a pediatrician or what to look for in a family doctor. A great place to start is with the topic of vaccinations.

What is a doctor’s vaccination philosophy? As a parent, what is your philosophy? If you have yet to research vaccinations in regards to your child(ren), The Vaccine Book is a great place to start.

Attend a Cloth Diaper Workshop

Unless elimination communication is on the table, one thing we know for sure is that diapers of some sort will be needed. It’s best to start registering and planning for diapering beginning in the second trimester.

A prerequisite to creating a natural baby registry is to attend a cloth diaper workshop. A cloth diaper workshop walks parents through the ins and outs of cloth diapering. Questions are answered and the process of diapering a baby becomes demystified.

I would not recommend learning about cloth diapers by googling “cloth diapers”. There are so many types, brands, and philosophies for cloth diapering. And don’t get me started about all the opinions on how to clean said diapers…

To avoid cloth diaper overwhelm, attend a local cloth diaper workshop.  At minimum, this helps decide if cloth diapering is the best for your family. Once the diapering decision has been made, registering for baby will be that much easier! You’ll know exactly what you want and how much of it to register for.

Attend a Babywearing Workshop

An additional prerequisite for registering for baby is to attend a baby wearing workshop. Just like cloth diapering, baby carriers come in many varieties and sizes that may or may not work for each parent/family. It can be overwhelming!

If you are fortunate to have a baby wearing group or workshop in your area, rejoice! This is a treasure trove of information and advice that can be accessed for FREE.

At a babywearing workshop you can touch, try on, and learn how to use a carrier safely. And just an FYI, not all carriers on the market are safe for infants.

TIP:  Here are my favorite baby carriers for infant under $100.

Register for Baby

Now that you’ve begun researching baby gear, the next task on this super fun second trimester to-do list is to create a natural baby registry.

I prefer Amazon’s baby registry because…

• Everyone can access Amazon.com. Not everybody has access to BabiesRUs, for example.
• Hello free shipping!
• Amazon’s Baby Registry gives a 20% off coupon code a month before baby’s due date. This discount is so helpful for parents to buy the remaining items off their registry!
• Prices tend to be competitive and lower than other big box stores.
• The selection is amazing!
• The reviews are incredibly helpful when deciding which items are necessary, and which baby items you don’t need.

Plan Babymoon

The grand finale task on a second trimester to-do list is to take a trip, vacation, weekend away – whatever you want to call it – before baby makes three (or four?).

As you’ve heard, having a baby changes everything. And sometimes in order to integrate what has happened so far, it’s necessary to exit the normal day-to-day routine and take a breather.

Go alone, with your partner, or even a family member or friend. Find a relaxing location that sparks joy and take a moment to breathe. You deserve it!

Recap

To recap, here are the 15 things to do on this ultimate fun second trimester to-do list!

1. Read a favorite pregnancy book
2. Implement gentle exercise
3. Resume healthy eating
4. Book a prenatal massage
5. Hire a doula
6. Sign up for a childbirth class
7. Establish care with the best provider
8. Book an ultrasound
9. Plan a gender reveal
10. Schedule a maternity photoshoot
11. Pick a pediatrician
12. Attend a cloth diaper workshop
13. Attend a babywearing workshop
14. Register for baby
15. Plan a babymoon

Leave me a comment and let me know what you would add or subtract from this second trimester to-do list!