There has been a real shift in the past few weeks, and I’m not just talking about the shuffle I now have to do to try and get my pants off at the end of the day!
When I first learned I was pregnant and excitedly downloaded the apps and signed up for the newsletters, I was so incredibly giddy.
I’d get sent articles on how to decorate your nursery, what locations are great for babymoons, cute name trends, and funny outfits to dress the baby in. The past fortnight the tone has changed. All of a sudden it’s placenta this, and contraction that – and it’s all starting to get very real. Very birth-orientated. Welcome to Trimester 3 hey?
But more on that at a later date. Today I’m reflecting on Trimester 2 of my pregnancy which has been and gone, ever so quickly! If you’d like a recap first of how I found Trimester 1, you can find it here.
Highlights
Trimester 2 gave us two wonderful ultrasounds. We were so thrilled with our 20 week scan. Baby was wriggling around like mad and we found out that we’re having a girl! We’ve picked her name. We even got a sneaky peak at what she will look like from a 4D scan, and she looks just perfectly happy and healthy. I’m convinced she has my nose but if her mega kicks are anything to go by, I’m sure she’ll also have her daddy’s long legs! I baked some gender reveal cupcakes to announce the good news at work, which were yummy if I do say so myself. A real milestone of the trimester though, was reaching 24 weeks pregnant, which is when a baby reaches viability. This means, that if anything were to happen and she came earlier than planned, she’d have a great chance of survival. It sounds like a bit of a morbid milestone but as a bit of a worrier, it’s one I’m happy to have reached.
Keeping Busy
Trimester 2 flew by for me, and I think it’s because we just had so much going on! We’re still frantically decorating the house – as you’ll probably have read if you’re a regular visitor to this blog – and we’ve decorated the nursery. We’re just on finishing touches now, but the furniture is in, the room is painted, and storage units have been purchased, built and just needs to be popped on the walls. I’m not starting maternity leave until I’m 37 weeks pregnant so I’m trying to get the next stage, organising, done in my evenings and weekends whilst I’ve still got some mobility in me!
Venturing outside of the house for a change, we took a tour of our birth centre I’m planning to deliver at, which made me feel so positive about what I was previously a bit nervous about. We also were lucky enough to have a family holiday, and it was so wonderful that Joe and I got to take a breather, but also for our family to be able to see and feel the baby moving around. Which brings me onto…
Movement
We’ve got an active one in there! Our sonographer was amazed at how active she is, and I’m now often woken at 5am as she practices her somersaults and pushes her feet against my belly button, which now I can see very clearly – both incredible and a little weird all rolled into one. I could watch it all day. I also felt her hiccups for the first time at around 24 weeks, which is exciting as it means she is already practising breathing and testing out those lungs.
Symptoms
It’s so different to Trimester 1 which all kind of merged into a haze of nausea, naps and secrecy. It’s true what people say, and the second trimester was a breeze. Sure I’ve had bouts of tiredness and if I can find a way to be horizontal you just know I’ll be there! But all in all, I feel great. And if I don’t? I have a milkshake, my one consistent craving, and I’m now averaging 2 a day – which, for someone who doesn’t normally drink milk is probably overkill!
I sadly don’t think I’ve got this miracle ‘pregnancy glow’ that everyone talks about. To be honest, I look like death warmed up for the most part, and I’ve been falling asleep in some really weird and wonderful positions (which Joe can’t resist taking pictures of!) so the thought of putting a face of makeup on to have it smudged everywhere 5 minutes later seems a bit pointless. Basically, apologies for my haggard face.
Bump
My bump started showing properly at around 14 weeks. Not hugely and I’ve often been described as looking ‘neat’ which I think is a compliment! But it was enough of a growth to need a few new staples to the wardrobe – a pretty exciting feat for me as I NEVER go shopping for clothes. H&M maternity jeans and tights have been an absolute lifesaver for me and allowed me to keep in most of my regular sized -albeit stretchier – clothes. I’ve been recommended Topshop in the past but I found the clothes frumpy and seriously overpriced. But that’s just me trying to save money as always! I didn’t quite realise just how much I’ve grown either until I look back on some earlier pictures. Thankfully I have no stretch marks (yet! *touch wood*) because the growth has been steady, but when I look back at 10 weeks pregnant, I’d also forgotten how petite I was. This is going to be my motivation come the New Year! (Let’s see if this dress will last me to the end of pregnancy!)
Overall Verdict
Overall, trimester 2 was great. I can honestly say that I’ve loved being pregnant up to this point. I’ve definitely had bad days but I know I’ve been very lucky in the sense that so far it’s been mostly uneventful.
I’m into Trimester 3 now and we’re still working hard on getting the house prepared. It’s the final push and I’m going to help where I can, although I’m certainly becoming a little bit more wobbly and off-balance these days! I’ll come back and post a Trimester 3 update when I start my maternity leave, just before I pop, as well as a final tour of the nursery. How exciting!
