This blog post is long overdue and I hope it’s helpful – especially if you are newly pregnant! My second trimester was overall smooth (up until the end) and so much better than my first trimester. You can read about my first trimester (including my must-have first trimester products) here and our journey to baby Gatto here.
My OB told me that my second trimester would likely be the best trimester and she was right! I did not have many uncomfortable symptoms, I had more energy, the worst of my nausea was gone and my bump wasn’t too big. During the second trimester, we traveled to visit my family when I was 15 weeks pregnant (I hadn’t seen them for 15 months due to the pandemic) and we also went on our babymoon to Maui, Hawaii when I was 19 weeks pregnant (more on our babymoon here). Second trimester recap and bumpdate are below!
KEY SECOND TRIMESTER ADVICE
(What I wish someone directly told me)
Make significant progress on things that are important to you for your baby during the second trimester (ex. schedule any classes you want to take, start/finalize your baby registry, get going on the nursery, plan your baby shower, read the baby book on your reading list etc). I wish someone gave me this advice!! I was working so hard during my first and second trimesters that I put some of these tasks off, thinking I would have plenty of time in the third trimester. WRONG! I started feeling bad by the end of my second trimester and it’s been very hard to be productive. Not only am I exhausted all the time, but I also have been having horrible upper back pain + pain below my right rib, making harder to get things done at the end of a work day.
BUMP
I have a very small frame and pregnancy has stretched me to the max! My bump popped at the end of the second trimester around 26 weeks. It was like I woke up one morning and bump was there! Around this time is when things started getting more challenging for me (strained muscles, pain below my right rib, back pain, acid reflux). Due to the upper right quadrant pain, I was thoroughly checked for pre-eclampsiya and went had an upper abdominal ultrasound + full CBC to rule out gallstones and any other issues with the organs in the area. Luckily, the cause of the pain has been from strained muscles and everything strethching/getting squished due to baby’s position.
WEIGHT GAIN
This is different for everyone. From weeks 5 through 26 (end of my second trimester) I gained about 18 pounds. I have always had a small frame and prior to pregnancy my weight was always consistent (give or take a few pounds). The additional weight has been hard on my body. I tracked my weight every few weeks in a pregnancy journal that I got at the beginning of pregnancy. I did not obsess when I would gain or lose weight. I left it to my OB to provide me with guidance on what a healthy weight gain for me would be during pregnancy + how I was tracking.
CRAVINGS
First trimester I had strong aversions to many foods and drinks (including my favorite, coffee)! The smell of coffee made me want to vomit and I also found I could no longer stand the smell of food I use to love. Second trimester, I traded these aversions for strong cravings. I developed cravings for everything sweet (especially muffins, cookies, cinnamon rolls, bagels, french toast), chicken parmesan, lemonade, arnold palmer and olives.
GESTATIONAL DIABETES TEST
I had my Gestational Diabetes test around 25 weeks. I was a little worried since I do love sweets! Thankfully, I passed and I did not have to do any additional testing. The test started off at home. One hour before my ob appointment, I was instructed to drink a sugary drink in five minutes. The drink was fine – to me, it tasted like a flat sprite. Exactly one hour later, I had my blood drawn at my ob’s office. I heard the results within a day or two. I didn’t change my diet or fast before the test.
ANATOMY SCAN
This scan was so much fun and I was very thankful Philip was able to join! Due to COVID, a support person has not been allowed at my regular check ups. Except for the milestone scans, I have been going to all of my ob appointments alone due to covid protocols in place. I had my anatomy scan at 20 weeks 6 days. Baby measured in the 79th percentile, was moving all over the place and baby was grabbing its feet! It was so cute and filled our hearts with so much happiness!
NAUSEA
If you read my blog post about my first trimester here you know that I had crippling all day nausea throughout most of my first trimester. When at home remedies did not significantly help, I ended up taking Diclegis. Diclegis was the only thing that really kept the all day nausea at bay for me. During the second trimester my nausea started to decrease and I went from taking four Diclegis a day to two Diclegis a day.