the second trimester

Now that I'm over two months into my third trimester, I suppose it's about time to write up a summary of the second trimester like I kind of did for the first. I have a Moleskine notebook—the same one I used for the Europe trip, actually—in which I've been writing the various developments each week. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't be able to remember a lot of the details.

The most obvious thing that characterized the second trimester was growth. I went from this, at 14 weeks:

to this, at 28 weeks:

I'd say it was a pretty productive trimester in the baby-growing department; although now, that 28-week belly looks rather small to me. Those three months included some round ligament pain now and then, as things stretched; and it was the beginning of the end for my innie belly button, as it got shallower by week 21. Then, just the top bit started to stick out whenever I was standing up, and more and more joined it by the end of the trimester. I don't think it was fully popped until about week 32, though.


Altogether, the second trimester was definitely a more pleasant one than the first, as you can probably imagine. By week 15, any lingering icky feelings were pretty much gone, and my energy level was completely back to normal—or better! That was good, because we had a lot of work to do to clear out the office and transform it into a nursery. I hadn't gotten anything done on that front during the first trimester, what with my total lack of energy and also not wanting to tip anyone off too obviously that I was pregnant. The second trimester ended up being great for productivity, even though I had to borrow a pair of Steve's old jeans and a t-shirt for the dirty work. My old painting jeans had zero chance of fitting by that point, and I didn't have maternity pants to spare.


Other aspects of the second trimester...

Heartburn continued, getting more frequent than it had been. I still managed it with Tums and Pepcid, but the Pepcid turned into an everyday thing before dinner, since that seemed to work the best to keep the heartburn in check through the night.

Frequent peeing also became more standard. Especially when we were in Seattle, I felt like I was stopping in the bathroom whenever possible. Surprisingly, I went five out of my six nights in Seattle without having to get up to pee, but I was probably just extra tired and slightly more dehydrated from all the walking we were doing. As the weeks have passed, a night without a trip to the bathroom has definitely become the rare occurrence. 

And speaking of pregnancy cliches, I got vivid dreams for a while too. There were only a few noticeable mood swings, though, and not too much in the way of food cravings. It's been difficult to tell the difference between a craving and something just sounding good to me.

Perhaps I craved baked goods, since I made zucchini bread a couple times and particularly enjoyed Steve's buttermilk biscuit experiments. Those things got retired after the whole glucose test thing, however. No more unnecessary sugars around the house. My snack of choice in the second trimester actually seemed to be cottage cheese, which felt healthy with its protein and calcium. (After eating lots of plain yogurt in the first trimester, I needed a change.) Meanwhile, my breakfast each day went from whole wheat toast to waffles with butter and honey—a childhood favorite, although my toaster waffles were not flax seed or whole grain back then.


Baby movement was one of the more exciting developments during the second trimester. I first thought I felt something on Mother's Day, around 16 weeks, but I wasn't sure until the Tuesday after that. At first, it was just little nudges here and there, usually in the afternoons. They became more and more frequent (and stronger) over the next month or so. Steve was able to feel the baby move at the beginning of week 19, which was also the week of our second ultrasound. That was when we found out we were having a boy—and a very wiggly one at that. I had to go back a week later for another ultrasound to get the shots of his heart that they hadn't been able to get because he was moving too much.

Around week 21, while we were seeing American Idiot (the Green Day musical), I felt the first hits to my bladder. Those weren't so pleasant, so I was glad that they didn't happen too often. Week 22 was when I began seeing movements from the outside—little spots sticking out for a moment and such. During week 23, I started to feel things from two sides at once, often diagonally, poking out towards opposite sides. Clearly, he was getting longer.

And while we were in Seattle during week 25, I would notice an occasional feeling of pressure from the inside. When I would feel the spot from the outside, there would be something slightly harder there, like a baby foot or something. That trend continues now, often with more force. It's usually either a baby back (or butt) pushing out on my right side or one of his feet pushing out on my left side.

Baby hiccups started around that time too, becoming more easily identifiable around week 27. Now they happen a lot. It feels pretty similar to me having hiccups myself, but obviously lower. And of course, there's nothing I can do to get rid of these when they start.


Finally, there was the start of Braxton Hicks contractions. During week 23, I started getting them while walking if I was moving too fast. It was like a stitch in my side, but it would be on the underside of my belly, and it would go away when I stopped walking for a bit. Then in week 27, right at the end of the second trimester, I started getting them while just sitting in the evenings. No big deal, just a slightly uncomfortable tightness for a minute as the muscles practiced contracting. They happen a lot now, so I've gotten pretty used to it.


Well, that pretty much sums up the second trimester! Now it's back to catching up on 365 blog posts for a little while. Maybe I'll manage to fit in a third trimester wrap-up too before I go into labor... That would be nice.