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Just finished my second trimester of my first pregnancy! Second trimester flew! If you haven’t read my experience with my first trimester, check out that post! I honestly LOVED my second trimester. It was different from my first trimester, in that I had zero morning sickness and had a burst of energy. I’ve loved watching my body change, and my stomach grow! At 20 weeks pregnant, I finally felt baby girl (yes we’re having a girl!!) kick. It’s crazy to think that I have life growing inside of me. It’s honestly so beautiful. God is so amazing with his design.
So just like my last post, I’m going to take you through different areas of my second trimester and my self care.
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Gender Reveal
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I don’t know how so many families wait to find out the gender until the delivery day – huge applause to you! Just waiting for my 18 week anatomy scan was suspenseful, exciting and a huge surprise! My husband, Josh, and I and the rest of our friends and family, all thought we were going to have a boy… BUT we are having a girl! I am so excited! I’m mostly excited to play dress up =P
I was hoping for a girl, while Josh was hoping for a boy. Josh is one of four boys, while I am one of three girls, so makes sense we’d hope for what we know. When the technician was going through the anatomy scan she showed us it was a girl and Josh said “Wait, isn’t that a penis?” “No, that’s the hand…” Poor Josh =P He’s excited for a girl though. Nothing like a daddy’s girl <3
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My Pregnancy: Body Changes
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The first trimester, I noticed my breasts growing and becoming more tender, which are signs that my body is getting ready to make breastmilk. In my second trimester, I noticed a little more breast growth, but mostly the areola darkening, which is supposed to be the “bulls eye” for baby, since they can’t see very well at birth. I also noticed the Montgomery Glands (the small bumps around the areola) growing. At week 26 I noticed colostrum, which is the milk your body has before it transitions to mature milk (3+ days after baby is delivered). It was the coolest thing ever! Even though you won’t need the milk till your baby is delivered, the body has it all ready to go just in case you give birth prematurely – isn’t that amazing! Our body is prepared should something happen.
The second trimester, is when my stomach began to grow. I had some abdominal pain if I stretched or moved a certain way. I first noticed the belly pop out when I was 13 weeks pregnant, but even then it wasn’t that obvious. My husband first noticed my belly popping out a bit at 14 weeks. The first time a stranger noticed and commented on my pregnancy, I was 21 weeks. Many people have commented that I look very small, but apparently your first baby you don’t show as quickly as consecutive babies. Per my doctor, everything is going well, so not too worried. I’m definitely popping out now at 28 weeks!
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Some other body changes I’ve noticed that I didn’t know happened is bleeding gums and bloody noses! I started getting bloody gums when I brushed my teeth around week 15. Since week 19, I’ve been getting bloody noses, especially when I wash my face. My OB did test my blood platelets and iron and everything is good, so that was good to hear! The bloody noses and bloody gums is apparently common due to the increase in blood volume and blood circulation.
Around week 16, I started feeling the urge to go pee, especially when I’d try to go for a run. It’s the most frustrating feeling, because I will have just gone pee, and 5 minutes later, need to pee again.
At week 22, my pants started to feel a lot tighter. I had to unbotton them if I sat for too long. I started to do the rubber band method around week 24 and officially got my first two pairs of maternity pants at week 27. I love my maternity pants! They are so comfortable and I will definitely still wear them postpartum.
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Exercise:
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I had so much energy in my second trimester, and I really attribute it to good nutrition and exercise! I went to yoga (and still am) twice a week. It’s not a prenatal yoga class, but the instructor has been great and has taught me positions to modify. I try to do weight training about twice a week but sometimes it’s just once a week. I have continued to go running but have decreased my mileage. I ran a 5K race at 19 weeks and ran the entire time. It was great, although I did feel like I had to pee, which is my biggest complaint when running. I have decreased my mileage and have taken it to a slow jog. I’m 28 weeks at the time I am writing this post, and am running about 1 mile.
I definitely feel a lot better after exercising and it’s so healthy for me and my baby! Unless your doctor has said otherwise, I’d encourage you get out there and get moving!
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Nutrition:
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My first trimester, it was hard for me to get proper nutrition because I had a loss of appetite, and I’d feel nauseous at night and didn’t feel like eating much. This trimester, I’ve had a great amount of energy and it felt great to be back in the kitchen cooking. My husband has loved it =P I’ve been tracking my intake on MyFitnessPal just to see how I’ve been doing with my macronutrients (carbs, protein and fat) and especially my micronutrients (vitamins and minerals).
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Macronutrients:
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Protein is always a concern of many, since you’re creating a human being. Pregnant women should aim to get between 70 to 100 grams/day. It’s definitely been hard (won’t lie), but I’ve broken up my protein to around 20 grams each meal and whatever I can as snacks.
Before my pregnancy, I did not eat dairy products, but in this pregnancy, I’ve incorporated greek yogurt and cheese. I mean one cup of greek yogurt has 15 grams of protein! I try to add beans and lentils to my salads and dishes. I do quinoa, tofu, eggs, and occasionally chicken. I still have stuck to a plant based diet but not a vegan one. This means that the basis of my meals are plants, and animal products are the “garnish”. I have found this to work for me. I do still make some of my vegan meals, but if my husband eats chicken, I’ll have some of it.
Carbs have been no problem for me 😉 and fats have been fine. I eat a lot of nuts and seeds as snacks and I add them to my salad or oatmeal. I also eat avocados with a lot of my meals. Fat is so important for developing a healthy brain and supporting your hormones.
My fiber intake has been great – definitely pooping 1-2 times a day (TMI??). Constipation is a common side effect of pregnancy, but definitely not for me 🙂
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Micronutrients:
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For my micro nutrients, my iron is occasionally low as well as my folate, so I’ve been more mindful to eat foods with those nutrients. Vitamin C is very important during pregnancy as it helps with tissue and collagen buildup. I eat either an orange or grapefruit almost every day as a snack, as well as add vitamin C foods to my salad and breakfast. My calcium has been pretty good – I buy almond milk that is fortified with calcium (it has 45% of my DV in just one cup – that’s more than cows milk). I eat two brazil nuts everyday, which meets 100% of my selenium requirements. I am occassionally low in iodine, so I use iodized salt when I cook, and I love seaweed as a snack.
(If you’d like me to assess your nutrient intake, contact me)
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Weight gain:
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My weight gain has been good – fairly gradual. I honestly try not to pay much attention to it. I do track it every 2 weeks, just as part of my tracking for my pregnancy journey.
I practice intuitive and mindful eating, which is listening to what your body needs and wants. If I have an urge to indulge in something (we all have pregnancy cravings), I will! However, if you practice intuitive eating, you probably notice that your body actually craves healthy things! I crave a good salad and fruit! Sure, I’ve craved ice cream here and there or a whole bag of sweet potato fries, but it’s so rare. It’s how you eat on a regular basis that determines your health. I practice the 90%/10% rule. 90% of my diet is healthy and nourishing to both me and baby; the other 10% is my indulgent food. Since pregnancy is so important to eat healthfully, I will try to make my indulgent food healthier (like swapping out sugar for bananas or dates in a recipe, or adding beans or veggies to my homemade nachos).
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If you follow me on Instagram you’ll know how I feel about weight gain during pregnancy. It’s definitely NOT a time to diet! If you’re gaining too much weight, don’t start dieting, but take a look at your food choices. If you’re eating a well balanced diet and exercising, then maybe your body NEEDS this extra weight – so don’t get hard on yourself. If you’re gaining too much and you realize it may be because you’re not eating well or not exercising, start implementing those healthy changes. Weight gain is only ONE piece of the puzzle for a healthy pregnancy. I do wish doctors would stress more nutrition and exercise and refer moms to a dietitian, rather than tell you you’re gaining too much and you need to slow down.
Let your baby be the excuse to eat healthy and nourish yourself, especially if you’re not used to it.
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Self Care:
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Chiropractic care:
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I started getting some backache around week 15, so week 16 I scheduled my first chiropractic appointment and oh my goodness, it’s been amazing! I see someone that has experience with pregnant women and see her every 3 weeks. There are so many great benefits of chiropractic care during pregnancy since it helps with spinal and pelvic alignment, which during pregnancy can get all over the place. If you’re pregnant and not seeing a chiropractor, I strongly recommend seeing one, as it will ease your pregnancy and ease your delivery. Unfortunately my health insurance doesn’t cover chiropractic care, so it has been an out of pocket expense but its not too expensive and to me the benefits far outweigh the cost.
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Essential Oils
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(Disclaimer: I am a doTERRA wellness advocate, so if you’re interested in any oils, please do not hesitate to ask or you can visit my Essential Oil page)
I’m happy to say I haven’t gotten sick once in this pregnancy (aside from some slight morning sickness in my first trimester). Pregnant women have a suppressed immune system, so it’s common to get sick during pregnancy. If I feel a cold coming, I will make a garlic, lemon fruit smoothie, as well as take OnGuard, which is a doTERRA brand essential oil for immune boosting. I swear by OnGuard. I flew twice in my pregnancy and usually get sick, but thankfully didn’t. I was around my mom who had a really bad cold, and thankfully didn’t get sick. It’s my go-to and I plan on taking it all winter to avoid the flu shot..so we’ll see.
I had some occasional headaches, which are some common side effects of pregnancy, so I used Aromatouch and lavender and gave myself a mini head massage on the pressure points and that definitely helped. I used to just take advil or other meds, but this pregnancy, I’ve decided no medication (unless of course I HAVE to for some reason).
I also occasionally took an Epsom salt bath with Deep Blue to help relax my muscles, especially if I was getting restless leg syndrome, or experiencing some back pain. Deep Blue gives me instant relief for muscle pain. It’s been one of my go to oils. My husband uses it too especially after his workouts.
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Sleep:
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Ah sleep! I’ve been sleeping great! I’ve always loved sleeping on my stomach so starting to sleep on my side and back starting at week 14, was an adjustment. I woke up frequently, trying to get comfortable, having to use the restroom at night, but by week 16, I’d say I adapted. Now at 28 weeks, I’m sleeping through the night and hardly ever waking up (hopefully this continues into my third trimester!) I also diffuse lavender in my room as well as put some lavender and coconut oil around my face and neck, which has helped me get more quality Zzzz’s. By week 24, I started to put a pillow in between my legs to give my pelvic some stability. I don’t do this every night, but when I remember.
I was taking frequent naps in my first trimester, but second trimester I haven’t been.
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My take away
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Second trimester was great and I really attribute it to my exercise and a healthy diet! Since I’ve been getting chiropractic care and taking epsom salt baths to help with muscle aches, this has helped me have the energy and flexibility to continue exercising, thus giving me energy and feeling great. I’m not sure what the third trimester holds but I’m ready to face it! I hear a lot of women experience heart burn, constipation, and swelling, but I’m hoping to avoid that by lifestyle changes – so we’ll see if I can prove that. I know the body has to do what it’s got to do to make room for the baby and that means putting stress and pressure on my organs, but we’ll see if diet changes can help.
You can see more of my pregnancy journey on my Instagram page, where I’ve been posting my exercises, nutrition, and other tid bits on my story.
I’d love to hear what your second trimester was like. Did you love it?
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