Pregnancy Diary: The Second Trimester

What do you know, another three months have gone past and I’m another trimester through this whole shindig! So naturally here’s another ramble about pregnancy with everything that’s happened to me in the second trimester.

Disclaimer: It’s way too long and TMI and personal but lol this is my diary. Albeit a very public one.

Pregnancy Diaries: The Second Trimester

The 4th Month (Weeks 14-17)

Unfortunately my second trimester did not start with that magical pregnancy glow and influx of energy I’d heard so much about. Instead, I had quite a stressful pregnancy scare.

At 14 weeks, I started bleeding. Which as a pregnant woman is pretty much the worst thing that can happen and the word ‘miscarriage’ starts flashing uncontrollably in your brain. I called 111 straight away (naturally I had no midwife numbers on me or anything), who told me to get an urgent appointment with my GP in the next two hours, which I did.

I’d stopped bleeding and the doctor checked my cervix was closed but they made an appointment with the hospital to get me scanned asap. But asap was five days away. I was signed off work and put on bed rest until then, but I can’t tell you how long those 5 days were. But also, how boring. This does not bode well for maternity leave.

Luckily the scan went well, and baby looked healthy with no signs of anything we needed to worry about. Apparently these things just happen and it could be that I got a bleed around the same time as I would’ve had my period. Weird. And unnecessarily stressful tbh.

But hey, it did mean I got a much better scan of the little tyke. Doesn’t this pickle look like it’s going to be a cutie?!

Ok, let’s talk about all the gross, horrid symptoms of pregnancy once again. It’s not been quite the shit show that the first trimester was (read about that over here if you dare), although those symptoms definitely lasted longer than the books tell you. The exhaustion, constipation and lack of appetite lasted well into weeks 16-17, instead of magically disappearing come week 13.

But FINALLY my appetite eventually came back! Hooray! Thank goodness because I really missed food. Welcome back chilli con carne and jambalaya, old friends. You have been missed.

There were some new additions to the mix in the fourth month though. And hey, one of those is piles. Fun stuff right? I won’t dwell too much here, because rectal bleeding is pretty grim (yeah seriously, that’s what happens), but let’s just say it’s not nice and I feel duped that no-one spoke about this before I got in the family way.

Another weird one that started around this time was that I kept waking up with numb hands. Hello carpel tunnel syndrome, another new guest to the preggo party.

My 16 weeks midwife appointment was pretty cool though as we got to hear the baby’s heartbeat for the first time! But it was kinda weird because we could hear the baby kicking but I couldn’t actually feel anything yet.

It’s strange, the whole feeling movement thing. I thought it would be like films where there’s a big kick for the first time and the dad feels it too and it’s all just dreamy. But actually the 4th month of pregnancy was just me trying to concentrate on feeling my uterus and wondering whether that little tiny twitch was the baby or just wind. It’s definitely hard to detect at first! But it gradually built up to where I could feel like a rolling sensation in bed at night, around 18 weeks. It’s pretty cool but also pretty weird. I’m not entirely sure whether I like it.

The 5th Month (Weeks 18-21)

A lot of things got better around month 5 of pregnancy. I had expected the overnight relief of all those horrid first trimester symptoms in month 4, but like I said, it took another month before I felt more myself again.

My main gripe with this month though was round ligament pain. It’s just kind of aching around the bump area and pains in my side, which is totally normal as my body adapts to supporting my growing bump, but it can be pretty annoying.

There was actually a day that I woke up in week 20 and pulled a muscle or something as I got out of bed. I literally couldn’t stand up properly or walk, which was worrying! I took the day off work and relaxed with a heated wheatbag on my side and that seemed to do the trick. Apparently it’s just from moving too fast and it was definitely a bit of a wake-up call for me that I need to slow things down. But I wasn’t expecting to feel so incapable so soon! I feel like I’m a hundred years old sometimes!

Oh and I realised in my first trimester round-up/rant that I didn’t mention my pregnancy cravings. And that seems to be something people ask me about a lot actually, so here’s the scoop. I don’t have any mental ones like those gals that crave coal, but my main one seems to be fruit. I know, not too exciting. But I just crave fruit every day, as well as fruit-related things like Fruit Pastilles ice lollies (obsessed), jam on toast and pink squash.

Don’t worry I’ve craved not-so-good-for-me things too. Over the 5th month I’ve been going crazy craving cookies and donuts and cake and pretty much anything sweet that I shouldn’t really be eating. I mean, I’ve always had a sweet tooth, but this is next-level. I can’t walk past Krispy Kreme at the moment. (Their caramel glaze donut is the nuts, mate.)

It’s hard because some people are all like – “Yay, now you’re pregnant you can eat what you want!”. When actually, before I was pregnant I would eat whatever I wanted anyway, and now I actually have to think about le bebe that’s eating everything I’m eating. I’m trying to be good by keeping healthy snacks on my desk that still satisfy my sweet tooth but aren’t terrible for me. Y’know like strawberries or homemade granola bars or peanut butter energy balls. But I still let myself have a treat. I’m only human.

A big thing in month 5 was our private gender scan at Ultra-Sound Direct at 19 weeks, just before our Gender Reveal Party (read about it over here), and I really enjoyed it. The private scans are always way better than the hospital ones I think! We got to get a good look at the baby as the sonographer tried to get the ‘potty shot’ to see whether it’s a girl or a boy – and hooray, it’s a girl!

But she was rolling all over the place, putting her legs over her head! And at one point she had her legs crossed with her arms behind her head, just chilling haha. It’s the first time we’ve seen her be this animated so it felt like we were starting to get to know this new human about to turn our lives upside down.

Then just a week later it was our 20 week anomaly scan, marking the mid-point of my pregnancy.

I was actually quite nervous about this one – it’s where they measure all of the baby’s organs and check for any abnormalities. But thankfully our girl is looking good and cooking nicely. It’s weird that this is our LAST SCAN. Before pregnancy I figured you had scans all the time but actually there’s only 2 you have with the NHS – the 12 week scan to give you a due date and the 20 week scan to check development of the baby. So weird to think that we won’t see our baby until she’s born now!

Another thing that happened at this point is that I started Pregnancy Yoga. I’m not the most active of humans (read: quite unfit) but I’ve tried to maintain swimming once a week up until this point. And I was keen to add Pregnancy Yoga to the mix as I’d heard it was not only good for exercise but that the breathing techniques were good for labour. Win/win.

So I started a course at Whitespace Yoga and actually I’m really liking it. I started at 18 weeks (you can’t do it in the first trimester) and felt like it was a bit too easy. But as I’ve progressed in my pregnancy, and I’m not as flexible anymore, I’m definitely finding it more difficult and seeing the benefits. It’s also a really nice time to feel connected to the baby. It’s cute.

Finally, we moved house right at the end of this month. Not a great idea when you’re 5 months pregnant but we packed gradually and moved stuff across a two-week period to make it easier. But physically I mainly just pointed where I wanted things to go. Like a queen. So it was all good.

It’s such a weight off my mind now that we’ve moved and I finally feel like I can start planning baby stuff. I can start buying things and booking a Babymoon and NCT classes. It’s all getting very real!

The 6th Month (Weeks 22 – 26)

Month 6! This is going so fast!

A cool thing that happened this month: a stranger asked me how far along I am. It’s the first time someone has assumed I’m pregnant, which is kinda mad! I mean I’ve been showing for ages (literally since week 9 or 10) but I think people don’t mention it unless they’re really sure you’re pregnant!

But I think I have ‘popped’ as they say. My bump is a lot rounder and firmer now. Oh and the maternity jeans I bought in month 3 now don’t fit me… So I mean, that’s a concern lol.

I’m also WAY hungrier, which probably explains the clothes-not-fitting thing. When you’re pregnant you only need an extra 200 calories a day, so I’m trying to remember that and not go completely crazy eating everything. It’s not that I’m worried about the way I’ll look, I just want to make sure I’m a healthy weight for giving birth, y’know?

Oh and whereas the baby movement in months 4 and 5 was quite subtle, it’s very obvious now! I have real baby kicks all the time, usually when I relax at the end of the day. But there’s no denying it now, sometimes they’re so big they make me jump! And Josh has finally been able to feel them too which is super cute.

Ooh and I experienced fetal hiccups for the first time! It’s just like soft kicks but in a regular pattern. Sounds cute but it’s not so cute at 3am when you just want to sleep.

Ok, symptoms real-talk. Month 6. Let’s go.

Whereas month 4 felt more like the first trimester, I feel like month 6 is an indication of what the third trimester is like. Which sucks because the Second Trimester is meant to be the best one, all glowy and full of energy, but I feel like I only got a glimpse of it in month 5 and now I’m heading straight for the uncomfortable stage…

So I still have the round ligament pain, but now with new additions in the form of lower back pain and hip pain. Yay… But I’m carrying on with pregnancy yoga because that does seem to help.

My main issue right now is sleep. I’m not sleeping great. It’s a combination of pregnancy insomnia (nature’s way of preparing you for a nipper), not being able to get comfortable with a bigger bump and leg cramps. I did get a Dreamgenii pregnancy pillow early-on in pregnancy, which is designed to keep me on my left side, as you’re not allowed to sleep on your back when you’re pregnant. Basically, the weight of the baby squashes something and restricts oxygen. Fun times, huh?

But I’ve also had bad acid reflux at night, which means I wake up feeling like I’m choking… so I’m currently using about 54 pillows to keep my head elevated and avoid any stressful coughing/choking situations.

So yes I’m struggling to sleep and trying to combat it with a regular bedtime routine, warm baths, reading before bed and using all of the pillows, alongside my pregnancy pillow, to get me in the right position.

Gosh I’m worried about the Third Trimester now…

Some positives though – I did a Hypnobirthing Workshop at my yoga studio in week 25 which I found really useful. It’s the first antenatal class we’ve done and I like to feel like I’m doing something to prepare for the birth, y’know? Hynobirthing is cool, it’s all about having a calm and comfortable birth, and being in control of your experience. We learned some relaxation techniques, some breathing for labour and questions for Josh to ask at the hospital. I would recommend it, but I guess only time will tell whether it’s effective or not!

My 25 weeks midwife appointment was a short check of my vitals and a listen to the baby’s heartbeat. And all is well, although my blood pressure is a little low. But it’s better to be low than high so my midwife wasn’t concerned.

And finally I ended my second trimester in the best possible way – with a Babymoon to the Algarve, Portugal!

I’ve written lots about this trip over here, but I’ll just sum up by saying it was so lovely and relaxing and I definitely recommend getting a trip abroad in the diary before the third trimester rolls around. It will be a while before my next holiday now!

What’s Next?

Like I said, I’m a little worried about feeling even more uncomfortable in the Third Trimester, but there’s also a lot of cool things coming up in the last few months of pregnancy. I have more antenatal classes to go to, both NHS and NCT, and I’m excited to get my pram and car seat and cot and all of that fun stuff.

Oh my gosh and NAMES. We have like 10 baby names written down but we do umm and ahh over them a lot. I don’t know whether we don’t want to commit to anything because it’s such a big decision, or we just haven’t found one we LOVE yet.

It’s also time to start properly thinking about the birth.

I’m fairly chilled about it and have been practising my Hypnobirthing breathing. And I’ve read lots of books like Your No Guilt Pregnancy Plan and How To Grow A Baby, which I totally recommend by the way. But I do wonder whether I’ll start freaking out soon! Only time will tell, ay?

I hope this mammoth Pregnancy Diary was of some interest! Follow me on Instagram and Twitter for more regular updates on my pregnancy, my travels and my life, pal.

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