Everything I experienced during my second trimester of pregnancy!
And just like that, I’m in the freaking THIRD TRIMESTER of my pregnancy (as of writing this a few days before halloween, which is the day I’m officially 28 weeks!). Guys, I know everybody says this about like, many life situations, but I truly cannot believe how quickly the time is flying by. But at the same time, it feels like the first trimester (read that recap here!) was an eternity ago, so it’s all just weird, for lack of a better word.
I’m so thankful that so far my pregnancy has been really smooth, easy, enjoyable, and most importantly, healthy. I’ve talked about this a lot more over on Instagram, Joe and I only want one child, so I’m really just trying to cherish and appreciate every step of this process since I’m only doing it once!
So today I’m sharing my second trimester recap, including some new symptoms, important appointments and how we’ve been preparing for our little man’s arrival.
I feel like me again
The first and most noticeable change in the second trimester was hands down just that I felt more like myself overall. The first trimester brought a lot of anxious feelings about whether everything was okay in there, the most intense fatigue I’ve EVER felt, plus a lot of weird, slow digestion and not being able to eat like I typically do.
Once I crossed over the 13 week mark, slowly but surely my energy levels increased (thank goodness) and I was able to start eating closer to my normal, large portion sizes without my stomach feeling weird.
In general it was so nice to just feel more like myself, and to be able to eat more freely and have energy to get work done and not have to lay on the couch for 2+ hours every afternoon.
20 week anatomy scan
At 20 weeks we had a super important doctor’s appointment, usually referred to as the 20 week anatomy scan. Basically it’s a more in-depth ultrasound to check that baby is growing healthily, and looks closely at the heart, spine, and really just all over baby’s body.
I was honestly really nervous going into this appointment. I’m a pretty positive person so I knew and hoped that everything was most likely totally great, but because this is my first time being pregnant, you can’t help but worry a little bit in the back of your mind.
We’re so thankful that baby looked super healthy and is growing right on track. We got lots of great photos, Joe was able to attend this appointment with me, and it was such a good day! Oh, and of course I celebrated that wonderful appointment with a mini chocolate peanut butter cheesecake, because I just can’t think of a more celebratory food than cheesecake. SO good.
Around 27 weeks I had another big appointment, the gestational diabetes screening. I was a little nervous for this one too, since I’ve heard it can be totally random whether you get it or not. I drank the pure sugar drink, which tasted like what I remember orange soda tasting like, minus the carbonation, then got my blood drawn an hour later. By the next day I had the results and I’m SO happy and relieved that I passed! I was so, so excited for that positive result, too.
Growing bump + baby kicks
The biggest and most exciting change in the second trimester was feeling my baby boy kick! It was so strange anticipating a feeling that I’d never felt before, but at exactly 20 weeks I felt the first kick that I knew was FOR SURE baby. I was laying in bed that night and got the sensation of a little bubble popping inside my stomach, and I knew that I finally felt him kick! Such a sweet moment that I’ll never forget.
Just 3 days after that, Joe was able to feel him kick, and ever since then I’ve absolutely loved feeling him every day. It’s the weirdest feeling, in the best way, to know that he’s truly alive and growing and moving around in there.
Along with a growing number of kicks, my belly has obviously grown a lot during this trimester. It’s now definitely a bump (rather than that first trimester bloated lump), and I’m so thankful to be pregnant in the fall + winter because I can just wear leggings and big, comfy sweatshirts! The only thing as of right now that’s a little tight is my winter jacket, but I have a few that are much bigger, so I’m hoping I’ll make it through without having to buy any pregnancy-specific clothes.
My bump definitely impacts a lot of my day to day activities now, from putting on my shoes to my workouts to just squatting down and picking things up off the ground rather than bending over. Oh, and rolling over at night feels like a whole task – can’t imagine that’ll be any easier as time goes on! But I’m embracing my bump and really just trying to my appreciate my body for all the amazing things it’s doing right now, and I’m thankful to still be feeling great physically.
Huge appetite increase
Another very noticeable change in the second trimester has been a massive increase in appetite. I still wanted to eat in the first, but as the weeks have gone on in the second trimester I have so many days where I just feel like a bottomless pit. It’s like no matter what I eat, I’m hungry an hour later.
As always I’m just doing my best to listen to my body and nourish it with healthy foods so that I feel good and I know baby is getting everything he needs. I’ve been enjoying lots of amazing fall treats – specifically this mug cake and these mini cheesecakes, SO good – and I’ve shared a post about my 5 essential foods for a healthy vegan pregnancy.
Lots of fun nursery + registry prep!
Joe and I have made SO much progress in the nursery in the past few weeks, and we’re absolutely loving how it’s coming out. It has been such a fun process to design and decorate it from scratch together, and I can’t wait to share it once it’s totally finished.
So that’s it for my second trimester recap! Definitely more enjoyable than my first, but felt like it passed in the blink of an eye. It’s seriously SO crazy to me that I’m in the third trimester and baby boy will be here in 3 months.
If you’re a mama or mama to be, how was your 2nd trimester? I always love to hear others’ experiences as pregnancy is such a beautifully personal process.
Xo,
Sara
