Preparing for Baby in the Second Trimester: Kira’s Journey
As Kira moves into her second trimester, she reflects on the ways she and her husband are beginning to prepare — from practical steps like nursery planning and financial organisation, to the emotional side of building a support system and finding balance in daily life.
Finding Out the Gender Early
One of the first big milestones for Kira was choosing to find out the baby’s gender at just 10 weeks through the NIPT test.
“Pregnancy is a lot of unknown, and I wanted to know as soon as possible,” she shares. “I admire people who can wait and be surprised, but I couldn’t even wait to tell my husband. I told him the moment the results came in.”
For Kira, knowledge brought comfort — a way to feel more connected and grounded during a season of change.
Practical Preparation
With a baby on the way, Kira has been focusing on the logistics that help her feel calm and ready:
- Finances: planning for maternity leave and considering the costs of care.
- Nursery options: researching local settings and support.
- Home changes: transforming an office/workout room into a nursery and making adjustments to their bedroom for the baby’s first months.
“I like wellness-infused, zen spaces that aren’t cluttered, so we’re looking at storage too. There’s so much we can’t control, but I want to set us up for success by managing the things we can control.”
Building a Village
Because her family isn’t based in the UK, Kira has been intentional about finding support closer to home.
She’s preparing to hire a doula who will also provide postpartum support and has drawn comfort from friends who are pregnant or new parents.
“It’s important to not take info from everyone,” she explains, “but I have a handful of friends who share a similar approach, and that’s been so helpful.”
Here are some of the resources Kira has found most useful:
- Podcasts: Is It Normal, Conversations with Cam, We Are More Than Moms, On the Outside (Season 2), Pregnant Pause
- Apps: Flo App (Pro version), Little Bean App (for checking product ingredients)
- Classes: The Bump Class (later in pregnancy)
- Books: What to Expect When You’re Expecting
- Support: Kente & Karing Doulas — “I would highly recommend them, especially for first-time parents. It’s so nice to have personalised, bespoke support during pregnancy and postpartum.”
Balancing Work and Daily Life
Like many working women, Kira has had to rethink her approach to productivity.
“It’s not easy. Some days I don’t get what I want done, and it’s HARD — but I know this is training for parenting, so I’m leaning into the learning.”
She’s learned to:
- Identify her most productive times of day and work around them.
- Spread tasks out instead of trying to do everything at once.
- Put everything in the calendar.
- Batch-create content on the days she feels good, without forcing it on the days she doesn’t.
“It’s been about giving myself grace while still being realistic.”
Breaking the “Rules”
Kira has also reflected on some of the traditional advice and so-called “rules” of pregnancy — and where she’s made her own choices:
- Exercise: She continues to lift weights based on what her body can handle. “Since children weigh much more than 20lbs, it makes sense to train for that.”
- Food: She has eaten cut fruit and smoked salmon — but only from trusted places. “Sometimes it was the only source of protein I could manage with my egg allergy.”
- Timing of sharing news: “I also don’t believe you should wait to tell people until 12 weeks. You should do it when you feel called to, and I told some people much earlier. For me, if I would be ok to tell them something happened, then no problem telling them the news. It is such an isolating time — you should share in the way you feel most comfortable to make sure you’re supported in the best way possible.”
Looking Ahead
The second trimester has been about balancing planning with patience, practicality with positivity. As Kira puts it:
“There’s so much we can’t control. I’m focusing on what I can — creating a calm home, building support around me, and learning to work in new ways. It’s all part of preparing for this next chapter.”
Alongside preparation, Kira has also embraced new rhythms in her lifestyle — from travelling across the world to finding balance through wellness and movement. Discover her second trimester lifestyle and travel here →
At Blue Almonds, we believe in supporting families through every step of their journey — from preparing a nursery to finding timeless keepsakes that make each milestone memorable. We’ll continue to follow Kira’s journey as she progresses through her second trimester and onwards towards birth.
