My pregnancy is moving along quickly, and now that I’m in the third trimester (31 weeks to be exact), I’m giving an update on my second trimester by topic, similar to the way I did for my first trimester. We are so thankful that baby boy is healthy and that my pregnancy has been pretty fairly easy overall. Once again, I’m not planning on sharing anything super personal, but my disclaimer for this post is that typical pregnancy topics will be discussed!
Symptoms: I had some minor insomnia towards the end of my second trimester, although Jamie actually had more of this than I did (I think it was a pregnancy sympathy symptom! :). We don’t have any trouble going to sleep for the most part, but one or both of us would wake up in the wee hours of the morning and not be able to go back to sleep. Often this active little boy kicking didn’t help… luckily, his kicks never seemed to wake me up, but just sometimes kept me up if I woke up for another reason. I had what I think were a few Braxton-Hicks contractions throughout this trimester, but they were painless. At the end of this trimester, I got an itchy rash on my belly, back, and boobs which my dermatologist sister-in-law believes was contact dermatitis. Hydrocortisone cream seemed it clear it up thankfully. I’ve had some minor congestion and a couple minor bloody noses (the first I’ve ever had in my life! I’m not a fan), and some very minor back pain, especially if I’m bending over a lot, like to pick up stuff off the floor. Back stretches have seemed to help. I’ve noticed that I literally grunt as I bend/get up or down now, which is a little funny. I also feel like my stomach is getting a bit squished in there, and I tend to feel pretty full after eating, especially at night. That sounds like a lot, but it’s all been so minor that I don’t really have much to complain about and have really felt pretty normal. Plus I had so much more energy in the second trimester compared to the first, which has been nice. Second trimester really is the best!
Cravings: In the second trimester, I craved lots of fruit, sweets, and baked goods, and in general, I was just a lot more hungry. It would come in spurts, but after eating pretty healthy in the first trimester, I felt like I went downhill a bit in the second! My sweets cravings and hunger in general made it a bit more of a challenge to be super healthy, but I did ensure that I was getting a variety of nutrients to Baby V in the form of different foods (and hopefully to help prevent allergies as well), along with satisfying my sweet tooth!
Aversions: Honestly, none. All food was good to me in the second trimester, ha!
Weight: Wow, this was an interesting one. I gained very little in the first trimester – only a pound or two – and in the first month of my second trimester, I gained nothing. BUT, as my doctor put it, I made up for it the next month when I gained 9 pounds! She said it was completely normal and that weight gain during pregnancy isn’t linear, but I totally wasn’t prepared for that! I can specifically recall one weekend (prior to the 9-pound gain) when we visited my grandma at the lake, and I just couldn’t satisfy my hunger. I was incredibly hungry and ate probably 5 good-sized meals in one day (not to mention snacks!). I tried to eat healthy, nutrient-dense, high-protein meals, but the hunger definitely came in waves, and when those waves were strong, there was no stopping them! After that, I gained a couple pounds, but nothing too significant. I gained about 11 pounds in the second trimester and 13 pounds total from the start of pregnancy. My bump has definitely popped for the world to see!
Clothes: I definitely moved into maternity clothes in the second trimester! I can still wear some non-maternity items, because as mentioned previously, I don’t wear a lot of tight tops, so many of my more loose items still fit. But I’m definitely in maternity or elastic-waist paints only, and I’m recognizing that less and less is fitting these days. I got some great maternity clothes at a kids/baby resale shop, and I’ve bought a few new non-maternity items in size large. I haven’t been interested in spending a lot of money on new maternity clothes (it feels like such a short time to wear them and I’m not exactly feeling my cutest right now!), but I did buy a few fun Halloween maternity shirts just to get in the spirit!
Workouts: I’ve continued to run – my runs are slow and short, but at least it’s something. I realize how much fatigue was affecting me during the first trimester when I tried to run, because my energy was SO much better when running in the second trimester, although I have found myself slowing down a little/feeling my weight as of late. We’ve also been going on lots of long walks, and I notice that sometimes those feel almost more challenging than a shorter run, because about 30-40 minutes into a long walk, my abs feel like they kind of just give up on holding the baby and my stomach just sort of drops uncomfortably. I’m definitely trying to keep it up though, because I know it’s good for me. I’ve been doing back exercises and have been trying to do some prenatal yoga, but I haven’t been very consistent with it.
Doctor visits: We got to see our baby boy again at 20 weeks! This was so much fun, because he was moving all around, sucking his thumb, and smacking his lips! It was cute to see his profile – several people has said that it looks like mine, especially the nose, but we think he might have Jamie’s chin. We’ll see if we think the same when he’s born! I didn’t pass the glucose screening test and ended up having to take the 3-hour glucose test, but luckily, I passed that one and confirmed that I do not have gestational diabetes. The 3-hour test was not fun, but it was worth it to know that everything is good with my health and the baby’s. Other than that test in question there for a few weeks that was later confirmed to be fine, it’s been all good news about a healthy baby boy so far! We feel so grateful.
Movement: Baby boy is a mover and a shaker! I generally find that he’s active throughout the night (luckily it’s not waking me up, but as mentioned above, I do notice if I’m already up), but he’s also active in the mornings and later parts of the evening. Afternoons seem to be his rest time. We’ve started seeing my stomach really move a lot, and one time when we shined a flashlight on my belly, we watched him kick the light as we would move it. That was pretty fun to experience.
High points: Our family gender reveal/finding out that he’s a boy was definitely the best part of the second trimester! Jamie’s parents came down and my family was there for it too. We had such a great time and were SO excited to finally know! It made it feel so much more real for us, and I have liked feeling like I can plan. It was also fun to see him on the ultrasound, to get our maternity photos back, to start decorating the nursery, and to go on our babymoon/second anniversary trip to West Texas. We had originally planned on going to Barcelona, but given the COVID-19 situation, we had to cancel our trip. In the end, I was actually thankful, because being on a long plane ride didn’t sound quite so appealing this far into pregnancy. We had a great time exploring Big Bend, Marfa, and several other towns in the mountains and deserts of Southwest Texas.
Low points: The itchy rash mentioned above that I had for several weeks was definitely a low spot, as was the minor aches and pains, minor sleep issues, and the glucose tests! But I really feel fortunate that those were the worst parts of the trimester because they could certainly be a whole lot worse!
Random: I guess the second trimester ends in Week 27?! I’m still trying to figure all this out! We still have lots to do on the nursery, but it’s slowly but surely coming along. It’s travel-themed, and I’ve been enjoying dreaming up the decorations! We also have a name picked out (we pretty much knew what it would be right away when we found out that he was a boy), but we are keeping it a secret until his birth. We can’t wait to meet our guy in a few short months!
P.S. My first trimester, and my favorite pregnancy resources.
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You look great. Can’t wait to meet Handsome Hank!
Thanks Mom! We can’t wait either!