Second Trimester Recap

March 03, 2014

Second Trimester Recap

This pregnancy is flying by. In theory, 40 weeks sounds like a long time. It is not, folks. I feel like this baby's arrival is right around the corner (I know, we still have time and we WILL get everything done). Like most pregnant women report, the second trimester has been really enjoyable. As I've mentioned already, the first trimester was a little bit stressful-- honestly, aside from my boobs getting bigger, needing to pee all the time, and seeing the baby at my 8 and 12 week ultrasounds, I could barely tell I was pregnant. I experienced little to no nausea, very small body changes, and I obviously couldn't feel the baby at the point. While all of that's pretty darn dreamy and idyllic, I just wanted to know that the baby was healthy at all times, and that was just impossible. The second trimester has been so much more concrete and real. Finally seeing her grow (well, seeing my belly grow), finding out she's a girl, calling her by name, and feeling her wiggle around on a daily basis has been wonderful. And people can finally tell I'm pregnant! Around 22-23 weeks, the first stranger congratulated me. Hooray!

Obviously, the major highlight of the second trimester was our mid-pregnancy ultrasound. One of our friends had warned us not to be too impatient, because they usually don't tell you the gender until the very end of the appointment, but I honestly didn't care. I've had a very low-risk pregnancy (thankfully), so I knew that this was going to be my last ultrasound and my last chance to see our baby before her arrival. I enjoyed every minute, every angle, every photo (even when I really couldn't tell what in the heck they were showing us). My husband later admitted to me that he got a little teary-eyed just seeing her in such clarity on the screen looking like an actual baby! (As opposed to the last time we had a peek at her when she looked a little, well, like a teeny tiny alien with a giant head).

After finding out she was a girl, the gifts started rolling in. I'm not exaggerating. Turns out little girls are pretty fun to shop for (I may have indulged a little bit, too :) ). I am not at all worried about clothing this child. We went out and created our registry the following weekend--both a fun and overwhelming experience. Babies require A LOT of stuff. We're not going to go overboard, but honestly, if you crunch the numbers on just the essentials, it still packs a pretty heavy punch. We've slowly been stocking up on the big, important items so that it doesn't come at us all at once.

When I was about 22 weeks along, my car bit the dust. RIP, my little Ford Escort. It was my first car, purchased for me by my parents when I was 16. We drive cars till they die in our family, so we were pleased that the car had lasted as long as it did, without much work or money poured into it. That said, I get really, really, really stressed out by big purchases. Even when it's something we really NEED, not just want, and even when it's something we can afford. I know, it's a little cuckoo. Thankfully, my husband is not built this way, and we went out and pulled the trigger on a new (used) car purchase just days later. My previous car was a great little car, but it had zero bells and whistles--manual transmission, manual windows and locks--you get the idea. My new car feels luxurious and palatial by comparison. And (best part!) it's all-wheel drive. The Southern Californian in me never thought this is something I would care about. We got a chance to experience its AWD capability just 5 days later when we got inundated with a foot and a half of snow. All of that to say, we're now prepared for baby's arrival with a nice, family car.

Ok, so admittedly, I do have one pregnancy gripe. It's my only one, so I'm really trying not to complain about it too much, but holy pelvic pain. My word. For the past 4 weeks or so, my whole pelvic region has been super uncomfortable. As in, walking hurts. Putting on pants hurts. Rolling over in bed hurts. Heck, just putting socks and shoes on can be a really painful experience. This is totally normal, and there's really not too much I can do about it except apply heat (within limits), take Tylenol (within limits) and continue my weekly prenatal yoga routine. I think it's getting better (or I've just accepted that this pain is now part of my reality and so I notice it less), but my physical activity level has definitely taken a hit (boo). If any of you mamas out there have any advice in this area, I'd sure love to hear it.

Looking ahead to the third trimester, we have lots of things on the calendar: my glucose tolerance test (blech), labor and delivery hospital tour, birthing classes, drafting our birth plan, my baby shower, our babymoon in Bend, our maternity shoot, and more frequent midwife appointments. Baby Lyla is coming soon!

Here's a recap of the past several weeks in photos: