Welcome to the second trimester!
The second trimester is when major changes happen and it’s actually pretty fun. It’s when I started telling everyone I was pregnant and when my bump went from barely visible to huge and out there. I no longer had to hide the belly (or rather, it soon became impossible to hide). Since I waited until about week 14 to tell friends I was pregnant, I was finally able to talk about everything and get excited.
I’ve been a pretty nervous pregnant person (which I suppose is pretty standard for first timer) and I’ve felt a mix of feelings during the second trimester. They say you can rest easy (or easier maybe) once you make it past the first trimester but there’s still a lot to think and worry about. It’s in these weeks that I started to feel the baby kick, which is so exciting and reassuring. But then when I didn’t feel the baby kick for hours at a time, my nerves would kick in. I’m trying not to get too nervous about everything while still staying in tune with my body to make sure everything is okay.
Alright, let’s jump into it!
Second Trimester Recap
General Feelings
Many women report that they feel amazing in the second trimester and it’s the best trimester of their pregnancy. Since I didn’t have a bad first trimester, I’m not sure I fall into this category. I felt okay in my second trimester but it’s when my belly started to get real big and I felt more aches and pains creep up.
Exhaustion
I wasn’t particularly exhausted or energetic. As my belly grew though, I did feel more tired and in need of a rest towards the end of the day (from carrying around more weight and experiencing side rib pain).
Cravings
In the first trimester I was really into briny and salty things (gimme all the pickles!). That tapered out in the second trimester. I know this because I bought 3 jars of pickles towards the end of my first trimester and they are still in the pantry. I’m also not in need of salt and vinegar chips weekly. My cravings moved onto the sweet side of things and we made more trips to Salt & Straw than I would have anticipated.
Aversions
My aversion to La Croix and bubbly water faded! I’m still not obsessed with La Croix but I have been back on my flavored seltzer routine. I’m more into Spindrift these days. I still avoid squash, which continues to blow my mind as it was formerly a favorite. I haven’t bought a butternut squash in 6 months which is a record for me.
Body
It’s getting bigger! I felt like I “popped” a few times, around 18 weeks and then again around 21 weeks. The second trimester is when it became extremely obvious I was pregnant. Strangers commented on it because it was that obvious. I thought I could fit into most of my old clothes for a while, but that’s a no. I can still fit into tops; they’re all just very tight. Any pants or leggings from pre-pregnancy had no chance of fitting after the first few weeks of the second trimester. I gained a decent amount of weight in the second trimester, more than I expected (let’s just say, it’s more than I thought I’d gain in my entire pregnancy, ha), but I’m just going with it!
Fitness
In the second trimester I started making major changes to my workout routine. I pretty much stopped doing all core work and took extreme modifications. This is in part because I’m terrified of developing bad diastasis recti (the separating of the abs. I already have a little separation and don’t want it to get worse) and in part because a lot of things just didn’t feel that great. I’ve been doing a lot of walking (incline on the tread or long walks with my dog) and I frequently will get arch and foot pain. After a brisk 3 mile walk I’d compare the way my lower body feels to how I formerly felt running 6-9 miles. I have to remember that I’m carrying around a lot more weight and my feet are bearing the brunt of it.
Misc
And now some things I’ve experienced that don’t fit into the above categories: heart burn (throughout the day and often at night), persistent discomfort under my ribs, a small area of my stomach (near the ribs) is totally numb, and really bloody gums. Gross, but true. It’s pretty normal for your gums to become inflamed and bleed during pregnancy. Let me tell you, this is incredibly unpleasant. And a biggie: tough sleep! I’ve been (trying) to sleep on my side since the end of my first trimester and as a typical back/belly sleeper, this has been a challenge. It’s uncomfortable and my hips and legs feel sore in the middle of the night. It is getting better though (with the assistance of a body pillow and basically every spare pillow in our house).
Overall, the second trimester was pretty good! I know some of the above are not the most fun things to experience, but I’m still thankful. I am doing my best not to complain because I’m truly grateful to be pregnant and also know that other women have much tougher pregnancies.
Through the fun and less fun parts of pregnancy, I’m trying to enjoy it all. I’m working to embrace the giant belly, the aches and the pains. Part of me can’t believe I have three more months. Three months sounds like a long time to continue to grow, but an extremely short amount of time to then have a baby.
More to come!
