I’m starting my 28th week of pregnancy now, so today’s post is going to be a candid chat about to the second trimester of this pregnancy. I feel like I haven’t been able to sit down and just chat with you in a while, so I’m excited for this!
This is my second pregnancy. I loved reading these pregnancy trimester recaps during my first pregnancy, and if you’re in the same boat, here are some previous pregnancy posts I’ve shared:
Pregnancy Announcement with Milo
Pregnancy Announcement with Baby #2
(You can also see all of my pregnancy blog post archives here.)
My second trimester in this second pregnancy has been fairly unremarkable. When I have my monthly check-in appointments with my OB and tell her I have nothing new to report and no burning questions, she remarks that “a boring pregnancy is a good pregnancy!” And I agree and I’m very thankful that we’ve had no major complications come up. Everything is pretty standard for this point in pregnancy. It goes something like this:
My Second Trimester Symptoms
– I’m 27 weeks and 3 days pregnant, and the bump is definitely there!
– Mild swelling at this point due to all the excess blood and fluid my body needs to build this baby. My wedding rings won’t fit on my fingers until I get to lunch time; my fingers are just a bit puffy in the morning!
– I typically wake up once in the middle of the night to go pee. Second trimester is when I realize that all my organs are getting a bit squashed, including extra pressure on my bladder.
– Speaking of organs squashing, the heartburn has started a bit earlier this time! (Last pregnancy I was closer to 30 weeks before it got bad.) As long as I’m careful to eat smaller meals and not lie down immediately after eating, it doesn’t hurt too badly.
– So so so much fetal movement! I think he’s riding a peloton in there. 😉
– Achy back, achy hips, achy everything.
So there’s nothing new to mention. All of these symptoms shocked me a bit the first time around, but now that I’m expecting them they don’t seem so bad. Which brings me to another point about the second pregnancy versus the first: it all feels easier this time because I’m recognizing how temporary it is. For instance, I remember a few freak out! moments during Milo’s pregnancy when I’d step on the scale in my second trimester and see that number climbing and climbing, and then look in the mirror and notice how my face seemed fuller, and even things like my arms and shoulders appeared bigger. It seemed like a monumental concern, because I didn’t really have the concept of postpartum weight loss and how all of the necessary fluid to grow a baby eventually leaves your body. At the time, I just felt scared that I’d look big and puffy for the rest of motherhood.
This time around, I don’t feel any negative feelings about the weight gain at all. I can recognize that it’s necessary and good, and the physical changes I see in my body are here for now, and they’ll be gone in the future. They’re not scary to me like they were in the past. I can look at it all with curiosity I love googling “the breakdown of pregnancy weight gain” to see exactly how many pounds of blood, amniotic fluid, breast tissue, and placenta I’m now holding in my body in addition to my son who now weighs a couple pounds. And then I feel empowered and strong by the weight gain, rather than afraid of it.
The Two Biggest Changes About My Second Pregnancy Versus My First
1. The first thing I’ve noticed is that this pregnancy is less about me and more about my baby. When I was pregnant with Milo, I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the ending of it all, but now I get it so clearly: a real live human baby comes out at the end of those 40 weeks! Ha. I’m so much more aware of this infant who is growing is inside my body right now, and less aware of my own pregnant body. I often think about his little toes and the hair on his head and his precious face, and I have a picture in my head of exactly what he looks like. It’s shocking to me how close he is to me – we’re just separated by some skin and fat and tissue, and he’s right there hanging out.
When I rock Milo to sleep at night, I’m aware of both of my babies pressed against my body. I believe it will be the only time when I’m able to stand up and easily hold both of them while I sway back and forth while I sing to them, and I sometimes cry at night when I’m putting Milo to bed because I’m so in love with these precious little moments in life right now.
2. I’m a mom to a toddler during this pregnancy, and that has changed a lot of things! The obvious point is that my energy is just lower than it would be if I was only caring for myself and this fetus. But I also have an 18-month-old in my care, and he’s a busy one who wants to run around and play and wrestle! Milo is SO much fun, and I’m really really thankful that he’s so healthy and busy. I’m also thankful that Nate’s leg has healed enough that he can sometimes take him on trips to breweries and let him run around on the playscapes while I get some quiet work done at home or elevate my feet on the couch for an hour. The pros far outweigh the cons, because the distraction of having a busy toddler during this pregnancy means that the discomforts of pregnancy are flying by because I’m so busy with Milo! I really don’t have a lot of time to obsess over this pregnancy…I remember checking my pregnancy app multiple times a day for any little update (I read so many stupid pregnancy articles…) and now I’m lucky to check in on it once a week. And I like it that way.
Only 12.5 more weeks until this little boy arrives! I’m ready in the baby gear departments (that’s another perk of second pregnancy – I’m basically ready to go!) but Nate and I still don’t have a name picked out. We’re taking off this weekend to enjoy a baby moon together, so we’ll have some time then to talk about it and maybe get a name nailed down. (You can read about our 2019 baby moon on South Padre Island here.)
And that’s my update! Sending love to all of the fellow pregnant mamas who are reading this. Amidst all the annoying discomforts of pregnancy, I hope you’re able to find the sparkly moments that are tucked into it. This stage of life is so fleeting.
