Tweet

Just three months ago I wrote a post about my thoughts on the first trimester and how it compared to my expectations. To me it seems like AGES ago, I was suffering from morning sickness and wondering when I was going to show. But alas, it is time to write about my 2nd trimester experiences, because I am now in the home stretch of this whole journey.

The way it felt to me was that everything that was supposed to happen once I hit 2nd trimester DID NOT happen until the last few weeks of it.

So here we go:

My 2nd trimester

BABY GROWTH

Expectations: I figured that in the 2nd trimester I will finally start having a real belly that people can point at and say “She’s pregnant”.

Reality: I didn’t start really showing from the side until week 20 and from the front- until the end of the 2nd trimester. Obviously, my height had a lot to do with it, and so did the strong ab muscles ( my OB’s words, not mine lol). I can tell she’s getting progressively bigger and stronger, but I’ll see the bulk of her growing in the 3rd trimester

HUNGER

Expectations: Ravishing hunger that will make me want to eat  everything and anything in my sight. And at the same time I also expected myself to have a good control over it.

Reality: I was both right and wrong. The hunger did come. It wasn’t the type where you are never full and want to eat eat eat. It was more like the fast acting hunger that from the second you realize you *might* be hungry takes over your completely and you need FOOD IN YOUR STOMACH NOW! This kind of hunger lasted only a few weeks and subsided really quickly and I had enough control to still eat healthy and reasonably. What came after was a craving for sweets. First, light cravings that could be satisfied with 1 cookie, but the more I was giving into it, the more it was taking over me. Just like with any healthy food management, the less you have the less you want, and visa versa. Well, I think I got to the point where I was giving in more than I was comfortable with (nothing crazy for an average person, but definitely out of my comfort zone). It didn’t help that everyone thought that as a pregnant woman, I needed cupcakes and chocolate and ice cream ( including my husband). Seriously, people need to get a clue and stop tempting pregnant women- it’s hard enough for us to see our bodies grow and to feel tired most of the time, the last thing we want is to have the temptation of numerous nutritionally empty but awfully tasty snacks around our house. I just think it’s cruel- Impossible to resist! :) lol  Now that being said, by anyone else’s criteria I didn’t eat that many treats, but like I said I craved them more than was comfortable for me. Oh and btw, every single cookie or cupcake consumed above my limit has SURELY shown up on the scale. That one thing pregnancy doesn’t forgive – indulgences. So when I am complaining about losing weight (and I hope I don’t), remind me that it’s my own damn fault :)

BRAXTON HICKS

Expectations: I had absolutely no clue what they would feel like. I kept getting cramps and my OB thought I was having BH.

Reality: It’s exactly what everyone and books say: Tightening of your abdomen. For me they have been painless so far.

ENERGY/NESTING

Expectations: 2nd trimester means getting back to “normal” you,  a TON of energy, nesting instinct kicks in, everything is hunky dory.

Reality: Well, my body didn’t seem to be clued into the fact that I had reached my 2nd trimester, because not only was I still feeling sick and heartburny, that well-touted energy was nowhere to be found. I was just as exhausted as before. And even when my nausea subsided, I was getting hit with waves of tiredness for weeks. It wasn’t until the third trimester that I started feeling more energetic.

NAUSEA/MORNING SICKNESS

Expectations: 12-14 weeks and you’re done was what I thought.

Reality: Haha! Well, for me it was 16-18 weeks, and then closely followed by wicked heartburn and nausea after eating more than a few spoonfuls of ANYTHING. So nausea or no nausea, the suffering continued for another 4-6 weeks after the end of the first trimster

SKIN

Expectations: I was hoping that my terrible 1st trimester skin would clear up by the 2nd trimester when it’s no longer being bombarded by the hormones. I was also expecting the well known linea negra to appear some time soon.
Reality: My skin did clear up thankfully, but that was more towards the end of the 2nd trimester. However, 2nd trimester also brought an itchy rash- luckily it was nothing serious or permanent like PUPPS, but it still managed to annoy me for about 4-6 weeks. Also my whole upper body was all of a sudden getting covered in little broken capillaries. No linea negra as off yet.

FINDING OUT THE SEX

Expectations: We were waiting for the day when we could find out the sex of our baby. But it was more impatient childish curiosity than anything else. We had planned to have the reveal in a slightly less traditional way and had the u/s technician write it down on a piece of paper to be opened later.

Reality: You can watch the GENDER REVEAL video here. When it was time to find out whether we were having a boy or a girl, I got so much more emotional than I thought I’d be. At that moment I got hit with a realization that putting a name, a face and, let’s be honest, the right set of genitals on our baby made it so much more REAL that we’re actually having a baby. It was a very powerful moment!

STRETCH MARKS

Expectations: Hoping for none, but expecting some.

Reality: I know about 50% of women get their first stretchmarks in 2nd trimester, and luckily, I am not in that 50%. However, that is in no way a sign that I will not get them. It’s not like if you don’t get them in 2nd trimester they won’t be as bad ( ah! I wish). So I am hoping and moisturizing and praying to the pregnancy gods to let me survive this pregnancy without stretchmarks, but the truth is I won’t know until all is said and done and Alexis is here ( or sometimes after). So I’m doing all there is to do to prevent them, but trying not to think much of them, since well, I’ll either get them or not- not much I can do about it, except for moisturize and not gain crazy amounts of weight.

DIZZINESS

Expectations: I am prone to dizziness… At least I was a teenager. So I was fully expecting this one to show up

Reality: WHAT DIZZINESS? lol

LEG CRAMPS

Expectations: Leg cramps! Yes, I was definitely expecting those. I used to get them a few years ago at night and then they disappeared when I improved my nutrition.

Reality:  Nada! Seriously! Not a single one.I’ a bit surprised.  Of course, I religiously (and properly) take calcium and eat a varied nutritious diet, so I am thinking those two things saved me. The key to calcium supplements and calcium high foods is not to take more than 50% of DV, since your body cannot absorb more than 500mg at a time, anything you take over that will just go to waste. So I take a 500mg supplement in the morning, and then consume diary products at a different time of the day.

MOODINESS

Expectations: So I thought since I was not emotional during the 1st trimester, it would hit me in the 2nd trimester.

Reality:  Nope! Wrong again! I’m not sure why this particular symptom hasn’t gotten me. Maybe because we are doing everything we can to ensure a calm and happy pregnancy for Alexis’ sake, so I don’t have much to get upset about… Either way, my hubby is relieved that he doesn’t have to deal with a hormonal wife. I expect to start getting crabby once the back pain sets in and I’m in my last weeks.

GLUCOSE TEST

Expectations: I was expecting gross horribleness, possibly throwing up, possibly fainting, and having trouble drinking the overly sweet orange liquid.

Reality: For some reason, my doc had me drink only half the bottle. It wasn’t all that bad. The first few sips were actually enjoyable, like drinking flat orange soda (I don’t like gas bubbles, so it was even better for me). By the end, it was starting to get very unpleasant. Afterwards, I took it easy, had hubby drive me to the doctor’s, got my blood drawn and instantly stuffed myself with a whole grain (fake-)chicken sandwich. So overall, it was manageable. It did wipe me out  completely for the rest of the day, though.

And I never mentioned, but the results for blood glucose level came back normal at 89 (the threshold is 140)

SLEEP

Expectations: Bad sleep all throughout 2nd and third trimester. Fewer trips to the bathroom.

Reality: There was absolutely no difference between 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimester as to how often I have to get up to pee. It’s all the same: 3-4 times a night. Sleep got more difficult as the belly grew but as soon as I figured out comfortable positions supported by numerous pillows, in addition to a body pillow and a pregnancy pillow, everything settled down and I enjoyed every night of sleep

A few anticipated but missing symptoms

sciatic pain, swelling, round ligament pain, constipation.
Still expecting the first two in the 3rd trimester, along with back pain.

So there’s the low down on the 2nd trimester of a 1st timer. Overall, my 2nd trimester wasn’t that bad, but I’m definitely loving the third one better (for now).

How did your expectations differ from the reality of pregnancy the first time you were pregnant?
Was it easier or harder than you thought?

Tweet

STATS:

How far along: 18 weeks.

How big is baby: The length of a bell pepper, he/she can hear ( so all those songs I sing and books I read are not going to waste), flex those tiny muscles, and show off its gender specific genitalia.

Total weight gain: 2 pounds (143lb) this week, for a total of  approximately 7 pounds from the start of the pregnancy. So at this point I am caught up with my first and second trimester (4 weeks) requirement.

Sleep: I decided to hold off buying a body pillow until I feel that surrounding myself with 5 separate pillows just doesn’t do it anymore. At this point I have 2 pillows behind me, two in front and one at my head and it works well. I have no trouble turning around to either side and am actually starting to enjoy sleep a lot ( aside from 3 bathroom trips). It’s funny that they say that your bathroom trips are supposed to decrease in the 2nd trimester, because for me, there has been no change at all.

Best moment of the week:
Read below in the movement section
Seeing friends on Wednesday ( I have a few photos to share that I hope to post next week here and on Selfie Magic)

Food cravings :
Nothing really this week. I’ve mellowed out with my peaches, though I still eat a lot of them . I started been able to eat Romaine again and made my favorite delicious ceasar salad with a home made ceasar dressing. I did ask my friend Elena to make me crepes, which I stuffed with Romaine, tomatoes and pickles and vegan ranch dressing (yum).

Food aversions: Veggie burgers. One of my most favorite things to eat now grosses me out. Being pregnant is really funny- it’s like your body is truly taken over by someone/something else. I can’t even stand my husband’s breath after he eats one :)

Symptoms:

I have some new players here this week:

Pregnancy brain – It always  made me smirk whenever I read about pregnancy brain. Not that I was skeptical, but I wondered if it was something that not-so-smart women invented as an excuse – haha! Well, I can tell you – it’s definitely NOT an excuse. On a normal non-pregnant day, I am sharp, on the ball, with excellent memory, multitasking like crazy, get work done and manage some of my husband’s work activities. Everyone who knows me can rely on me remembering what they asked me to do and never has to remind me of important things or push me along.
NOW- whether it’s pregnancy brain or just me being pre-occupied with feeding myself right and nursery thoughts or whatnot, but I have been LITERALLY forgetting the most simple things: I forget to email people back, to call clients, to check on things, I forget what I am talking about and lose my train of thought often. Then I remember that I had to do something and one second later I forget again. Seriously, it’s that bad.  I am usually reminding hubby about work things, but this week I had to tell him: “Listen, there’s something going on with me and I simply cannot trust myself to remember certain things, so if I tell you I need to do something, please understand that most likely I’ll forget, so it’ll be your responsibility to remind me.” I basically told him to start riding my ass (lol), which is something I always have to do to him and never the opposite.

Being out of breath – pretty much after any activity.

Stretchmarks – none so far. My skin looks nice and glossy.

Hunger – Very very hungry all the time. My taste for sweets (other than ice cream which came back earlier) has returned, but I am keeping it in check, of course.

Heartburn –  Very mild, at the end of the day, depending on what I ate that day. By the way, heartburn is supposed to subside in 2nd and return in 3rd trimester, right? Is that how it works?

Skin – Still suffering. It went from a  million little breakouts to more defined inflamed spots.

Movement:
So that little kick I wrote about last week was, in fact, our first movement ( hubby’s loving being right). I didn’t want to ascribe to much to it until I felt more and knew it was a movement. This past week I’ve been feeling a lot of dancing in “ma belleh”. It started early in the week with a few weird rolls, which were, like the first, so faint that I’d ask myself whether I even felt them afterwards. On Wednesday or Tuesday, I felt a few little rolls that made me realize without a doubt in my mind that those were actual movements. They were still very faint but there were a few more of them. And right on the day I turn 18 weeks ( Thursday) something amazing happened. I was lying in bed in the morning chatting with my husband. I felt a few rolls and some movement, that was more definite that other times. I brought it to his attention and we both lay there watching my stomach and talking to the baby while I told him when it kicked. The baby might been liking the attention because it continued moving. After some time, Andrew left to go to the bathroom and I kept feeling the movements. At some point, it kicked so hard it startled me. So I lay there looking down and enjoying the first real movement, when I could SWEAR I saw my skin move! I called Andrew back and he tried to put his hand on my stomach. I kept telling him “You won’t feel anything until the baby gets stronger at about 23 weeks or so”, so after a while he took his hand away. After a few minutes, we BOTH saw my belly skin move a bit  ( so I WASN’T imagining it the first time). Hubby put his hand back there waiting for the baby to kick. I felt a few rolls and he looks up at me and says “I felt that!”.
“Yeah, right!” -I answer.” You could not have possibly felt that”. And right at that moment, as if to prove me and the medical books WRONG, the baby kicked so hard ( it felt like a little tiny foot jab) right under Andrew’s hand, that BOTH ME AND MY HUSBAND GASPED at the SAME TIME! That’s when I knew he DID feel it!

The first several hours I was just shocked. I was so set on the fact that Andrew won’t be able to feel what I feel for quite a few weeks that this event baffled me! I am not sure if we were just lucky to have his hand be in the right place and time, or our baby is a “Hercules” like my mom says, but I am very grateful that he got to experience the kicks this early on. Needless to say, he has since been trying to feel the baby everytime I let him know it’s kicking ( which is really adorable to watch). But it hasn’t kicked this hard ( except for a few occasional singular kicks) or this consistently since. One time I was skyping with my mom and gasped from a strong kick while talking :) but it’s always a single event and the baby stops moving shortly after that.

Also, I’d like to mention that to me the movement felt nothing like butterflies. Some people compare it to gas bubbles, but after I finally felt it, I realized that I’d never had “gas bubbles” before ( just gas pains), so what I was feeling couldn’t be gas. I guess, if I didn’t know I had an actual baby inside of me and I felt a movement like that, the only plausible explanation would have been gas. But being pregnant, there was little doubt that it was movement, except for the fact that the first ones were so faint, I wasn’t sure I even felt anything.

Gender: 5 MORE DAYS! I guess this is as good time as any to let you know how we’re doing the gender thing. I will not be announcing the results immediately. In fact, I won’t even tell my mom or know it myself for the first few hours. We’ll be doing a video with a “grand” reveal that I will post on Friday or Saturday ( depends on how fast I can get it edited). Until that video is ready, noone will know the sex :) ( thanks to Lauren for this great idea!) This will be very hard for me, since I simply cannot keep secrets when they are my own. But I am very excited about it!

To be honest, I don’t have a feeling about our baby’s sex anymore. I have absolutely no idea if it’s a boy or a girl. But I’d like to open a poll for you guys to start guessing (see the sidebar)

What I’m looking forward to:
Finding out the sex and making our gender reveal video
Making sure everything is ok with our baby at the  anatomy scan next week.

What I miss:
Looking good. Having my skin and hair back. OMG-getting my hair done! I want highlights so bad :) Good old sushi.

Next appt: September 1st, the big one