I first want to apologize to the mothers who I didn’t believe when they told me that, “The second trimester is the best.” while I was suffering through the first trimester. I also want to mention that I personally know a small handful of mama’s who felt ill their entire pregnancy – my mom being one of them. So I had the idea in my head that I wasn’t going to feel well. I think it’s important to know that every pregnancy is different so take what I’m sharing with a grain of salt. This is my personal experience with pregnancy and it’s therapeutic for me to share.
I entered my second trimester right around Thanksgiving & I was so excited because mama’s told me they were pretty much back to their normal selves at this stage of their pregnancy. So I was pumped to finally eat a full plate of delicious food (I could only eat plain carbs in the first trimester.) Well, week 13 arrived and I still felt the same. Feeling better in the second trimester didn’t magically happen over night. I believe it was around week 16 that I started getting my appetite & energy back. Another pregnancy tip…you go at your own pace so try really hard not to compare yourself to others, books & pregnancy apps.
I remember the morning so clearly when I didn’t mind the smell of Angelo’s cappuccino – I was actually eager to take a sip of it! I would say that coffee was the worst food aversion I had. It would trigger a trip to the bathroom or a depleting migraine. Sweet Angelo would brew his coffee in our sunporch so the smell wouldn’t be as strong…it helped a little bit.
So I had a one shot cinnamon latte the morning I was 16 weeks pregnant and the birds started to sing. I started to feel like myself again! At around 16 weeks your baby is the size of an avocado so we celebrated that milestone with extra flavorful guacamole – onions and all! Anything with flavor in the first tri was a trip to the bathroom so it was a big win.
As soon as I started eating normally again & enjoyed my small cup of coffee in the morning I felt myself…even better. I honestly can say that I felt the best I’ve ever felt in my life in the second trimester. Oh how I miss that energy! I’m 31 week pregnant today – the third trimester fatigue is no joke. For me it’s worse than the first trimester.
A lot of joyful things happened in the second trimester for us. We had our anatomy scan at 20 weeks. Seeing our little guys face and body movements for the first time over an ultrasound was definitely a big highlight. We can confidently say that he has his fathers chin – it’s the cutest thing ever! Another joy that happened was strangers started to recognize that I was pregnant which was really sweet. The janitor at the building my studio is at shared sweet stories with me & said how lucky I was to be bringing a blessing to this world during a difficult time. He said, “That baby will bring you so much happiness in your life. You just wait.” 🙂
At around 26-28 weeks I felt the most beautiful. My bump was round & apparent that I was pregnant. I didn’t have any swelling or too many aches. Moving my body around wasn’t that hard either (now that I’m looking back on it & looking down at my swollen ankles haha!). So as a photographer I would say 28 weeks is sweet time to get your maternity photos taken. However, everyone carries differently! I have a short torso so he doesn’t have a lot of room to grow. I think I’m carrying bigger than most through my pregnancy….although my midwife says I’m spot on with my belly growth…so maybe it’s just me comparing myself to what I see on the internet (oops!! I need to take my own advice!)
I loved eating this trimester. I honestly couldn’t keep up. I would eat a meal and somehow manage to be even more hungry afterwards. My top favorite things to eat were pasta with ricotta cheese & sautee veggies, avocado toast with a fried egg, loaded yogurt bowls, steak fajitas, berries and homemade whipped cream and cereal. Give me alllllll the cereal. Maybe I should share these recipes with you in another blog post? That’ll be fun! One of my favorite things about pregnancy is learning what foods to eat that nourish my body & my baby.
In the Second trimester I was craving all of the dairy & eggs which are both great sources for vitamin D. Your baby’s bones are growing at rapid speed during this time so you need nutrients like calcium, vitamin D and vitamin K. If you don’t get enough calcium in your diet then your baby will take calcium from your bones which can lead to osteoporosis when you’re older. Wild, huh? So I made sure to eat a yogurt bowl pretty much every day & took this vitamin D & K supplement. I also want to note that my vitamin D levels were low when I had blood work done so this was something I made sure I was (and am) on top of.
At 20 weeks you are halfway through your pregnancy & whoa that was the moment I felt how fast pregnancy was going by and bad anxiety kicked in. I felt the pressure of planning a baby shower, making my baby registry & putting together the nursery. What helped me through this anxiety was talking through it with Angelo, my mom and my dear friend Heather. They helped me plan and start getting things into action. I planned a day when Angelo was skiing to make the registry – I used the book “Nurture” by Erica Chidi Cohen as a guide to build my registry along with a few blogs I love; Lynzy & CO, Almost Makes Perfect and Cheetah is the New Black. I plan to make a post on my registry once the baby is here & share the items we used the most.
My shower will be in a few weeks & I plan to share a blog post on it with all of the details 🙂
As for the nursery, it’s almost done being painted, we have a rug, curtains andddd that’s it. Ha! It’s next on our to-do list and we’ll be getting a few items for the nursery from the baby shower.
The other day I put up a question box on my Instagram asking if you have any questions about the second trimester. Answering a few below! Thank you for submitting!
Your experience with exercise in the 2nd trimester, sincerely an always out of breath 2nd tri mama! Hi mama! I feel you, I feel like I’m gasping for air just by standing ha! For exercise I’ve been mainly walking anywhere between 15-45mins mins a few times a week. I’ve also been doing Melissa Wood Health prenatal workouts & Spinning Baby exercises. So the workouts I’ve been doing have been very light & easy.
Have you decided on a stroller yet? Yes! We decided to go with the Uppa Vista Baby V2 we love that it’s a stroller our family can grow into. I would say that was the biggest plus for us.
How are you prepping for your birth? Have you started yet or will you wait for the third trimester? I’ve been doing Spinning Baby exercises whenever I can which are exercises that help strengthen your body for a more comfortable birth. The exercises help lengthen your muscles and increase range of motion.
I’ve also been prepping my mind mentally – whenever I have a not so pleasant thought about birth I voicalzie it to Angelo, my mom or a mama friend. Whenever I start visualizing the birth I dream about I visualize it, soak it in and then think about the other ways my birth may go. I did this for my wedding too. I pictured the most beautiful day and I also pictured how our wedding would be if there was bad weather so I was prepared for both outcomes. However, I definitely put more energy into the more positive outcome because thinking positively is very powerful imo.
How do you feel about labor coming up? A whole mix of emotions! Mainly excited mixed with worry. I just read a chapter in Nurture where Erica Chidi Cohen talked about worry + pregnancy and it really helped with what I’ve been feeling lately;
“I invite you to nurture yourself through the worry by allowing it to be there. No need to extinguish it, in fact embrace it-worry is here to stay. The most important thing is not to let it drive you through your decision-making; make choices from an informed and empowered pace versus one of worry.”
I love my birth team and I’m confident that with all of us we will be making informed decisions and do what is best for myself and my baby.
Is there anything you miss currently? Sushi, sleep, touching your toes etc? I miss being able to get off the couch like I normally do. Ha! Thankfully I don’t miss any foods at the moment. I am looking forward to a cold glass of Oyster Bay during sunset outside though. And yes, sleep. I miss sleeping comfortably!
What month/stage do you think you’ll miss the most from pregnancy? Second trimester, ha!
Right now, what month/stage would you say you’re the most excited for this year? Why? Oh gosh I’m so excited for the first year! All of it! But if I had to choose one I would say I am the most excited for the first 3/5 months when he’s snuggly. I feel like our life will be chaotic with all the new things we will be learning but it will also be calm & very intimate. I just can’t wait to cuddle him all over our home and outside. I remember visiting my sister weekly when her babies were at this stage & would just cuddle them on the couch. It was the best!
Thank you for stopping by & reading. So much love to you! Xo, V
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Below are photos throughout my second trimester <3
