Disclaimer: My disclaimer from this post still applies.
1. Nausea does not disappear the first day of the second trimester. Ok, intuitively I knew this. But I have to admit, part of me was still disappointed when I woke up that first day of the second trimester and still had to pay homage to the porcelain god.
2. Once the nausea does subside, all the weight comes right back… and then some. I lost weight that first trimester over a series of weeks. I put it all back on in a matter of, what felt like, seconds. At one OB appointment during the 1st trimester, I stepped on the scale and discovered I was at the lowest weight I had ever been in my adult life. One or two appointments later, not only was I back to my pre-pregnancy weight, I had added a couple cushioning pounds. The doctor even commented after looking at my weight chart, “Oh! You’re feeling better, aren’t you?!” Why yes, yes I am.
3. The “second trimester wind” really and truly does exist. For the first few weeks of my second trimester I thought it was all a myth perpetuated by women who dealt with mere tummy aches in their first trimester. Then, I slowly started to get more energy. I didn’t feel like I needed a nap all the time. I could walk through the grocery store without wanting to sit down next to the bread and never move again. Then I could go to the gym and actually work up a sweat again, as opposed to the previous weeks when it was all I could do to take a walk around the neighborhood… which brings me to my next point.
4. It is a bad idea to push yourself really hard at the gym while pregnant. From everything I had learned about exercise and pregnancy, I knew that pregnancy should be a time for maintenance and not gains. I had also read that it is important to be very careful with your joints because everything is loose and flexible. But I couldn’t help it! It just felt so good to be able to run again! So… I ran. I ran fast. Then I felt a sudden pain in my groin. I got off the treadmill and started stretching. The pain got worse. By the time I got home, I could barely make it up the stairs and every step was excruciating. I could tell this was an anatomical injury and not something wrong with the baby. That didn’t stop me from calling Rory in a state of panic. He instructed me as best he could over the phone and said he would have a better idea when he could look at me (come to find out, I had triggered something called “symphysis pubis dysfunction”). By the time Rory got home, I literally could not walk. He carried me from room to room. Let me assure you, having to be carried around is a very humbling experience. We called the doctor and explained what was going on. She told us to wait until the next day, and if it was worse, to come in. Rolling over in bed was extremely painful, making for one very long night. In the morning, it still hurt like crazy, but it wasn’t worse. After a few agonizing days, most of the pain did go away. Take it easy when you workout- lesson learned the hard way.
5. The stomach is not the only place that will get bigger. In fact, for me, it was one of the last places to grow. All my weight went straight to my hips and thighs. A disappointing reality when you’ve envisioned having a gorgeous little baby bump.
6. It is possible to go almost the entire second trimester and not get that gorgeous baby bump. I didn’t really “pop out” until the very last couple weeks of my second trimester. For most of that time I just looked like I had been eating too much pie.
7. The baby does their own thing in there. The first time we went to the doctor to find out if we were having a boy or girl (notice the use of the word “first”), the baby was turned in a way that completely prevented the doctor from determining the gender. I had taken the advice of friends and made sure I had something sugary before the appointment, and the doctor tried and tried to get the baby to move or kick just a little bit. It was to no avail. The baby was NOT going to move, and that was all there was to it. Luckily, the second time she was in a more convenient position. Now, I don’t think I could get her to stop moving, even if I tried!
8. Feeling the baby move is so cool. The first few times I felt her move, it felt more like butterflies bumping and flying around in there than actual kicks, but it was still awesome!
9. Pregnancy hormones are a real thing. One day, Rory and I were sitting on the couch before he had to go to work. I honestly, can’t remember the details of the conversation, but I remember he said something about how I should call a friend so I wasn’t bored that night- a totally valid, non offensive suggestion. I burst into tears. For whatever illogical, irrational reason, I started crying as though he had just offended me, my honor, and my family. Luckily, I’ve only had one or two such hormonal experiences.
10. All in all, the second trimester rocks. I felt great, we knew the gender, and my excitement grew.
About 23 or 24 weeks. Feeling great after the gym! Please excuse the poor iphone photo quality.