Second Pregnancy, Second Trimester

I know, I know. I’m 33 weeks pregnant and only just getting around to sitting down and writing my second trimester update. (Sort it out Hanna!). I know I’ll kick myself if I don’t record this pregnancy on here, time is running away from me so I’m really going to try to include more pregnancy related content over the next couple of months. I could come up with a million excuses as to why my pregnancy content has been lacking but I think it basically comes down to the fact that this is my second pregnancy, and to be honest most of the time I forget that I am even pregnant at all! Writing about it doesn’t even occur to me because it’s not new to me this time. That has been the main thing that has really struck me throughout this pregnancy, it is SO similar to my first. Unless I’m about to have the surprise of my life when I give birth, you can forget all those myths about how different it is being pregnant with a boy or a girl. For me, it’s been virtually identical.

How did I feel during the second trimester?

To be succinct: I felt great! For me, the second trimester is the best bit of pregnancy. In both pregnancies I have felt like the first trimester symptoms ended more around 16-18 weeks than 12 weeks but once the sickness and exhaustion wears off, the fun begins. I had so much energy throughout the second trimester and my ‘barely there’ bump meant that running around after Darcie was no problem at all. Nesting kicked in a lot earlier this time around, probably because I don’t think I’ve ever really stopped nesting since I was pregnant with Darcie. All I wanted to do was be productive and make the most of our days. I crammed in soft play trips and days out and then spent my evenings cleaning, tidying, sorting and blogging. I love the hormone rush I get in the second trimester. I was basically on a permanent high for those twelve weeks and any mood swings from the first trimester were just replaced by sheer unwavering happiness. There weren’t really any symptoms worth noting during the second trimester, they all kicked in literally on the day that I hit the third trimester!

Appointments and scans

Because this is my second pregnancy and everything was fine for the first, I had an appointment at 16 weeks and then didn’t have another one until 28 weeks. I’ll be honest, I struggled to go so long between appointments. One of my favourite parts about being pregnant and having appointments with the midwife is getting to hear the heartbeat and have that reassurance that everything is okay. Of course the movements that I feel every day are great reassurance too but there was something so lovely about getting to hear the heartbeat every few weeks during my first pregnancy and each time hearing it become stronger. We had our 20 week scan too when we were so happy to be told that out baby was growing well and healthily. That leads me on to…

Finding out the gender

We’re having a boy! I’m sure everyone knows that by now but I just thought I’d chuck that in for anyone that’s new around here. Finding out we are having a boy was a huge shock to me. I was convinced we were having another girl and as such felt a huge array of emotions when we were told otherwise. I actually have a post sitting in my drafts waiting to be published all around this topic, one day I’ll find the courage to post it! If this is something you would be interested to read, please do let me know and maybe that will give me the push I need. Now I’ve had plenty of time to get my head around the idea of having a boy, I’m thrilled and totally looking forward to meeting him. Being a ‘Boy Mama’ feels like a whole new world, and it’s one that I can’t wait to discover.

His movements

I can’t remember exactly, but I started feeling him move around the 15 week mark. At first the movements were those funny popping sensations and quite quickly they developed into definite movements. Dan was also able to feel him kicking much earlier on this time, I’d say at around 20 weeks. His movements are in the exact same places that Darcie’s always were too which leads me to think I’m going to have another back to back baby to contend with. The main difference between his movements and Darcie’s is that Darcie used to have hiccups all the time and I think I’ve only felt him have them once. He kicks a lot and his movements feel so strong all the time. I’m lucky that they never hurt me, but neither did Darcie’s.

My bump

My bump remained quite small until around 24 weeks when I felt it suddenly pop out. One day I was saying (quite smugly!) how small I felt compared to last time, and the next day when I woke up it was like I’d swallowed a watermelon. At the last midwife appointment she confirmed that my bump is measuring perfectly to how it should be, so even if I feel huge, apparently we’re on track. By the end of the second trimester I started to struggle with my clothes. I find it hard to dress my pregnant body sometimes and to accept the way that I look in clothes, but I am trying to embrace it. My bump is irregular the same way that it was with Darcie, no one else can tell but from my vantage point I can see that it sticks out more on the right hand side. Again, this must be something to do with the way he has positioned himself in exactly the same way as his sister did. It probably sounds weird to anyone who has never been pregnant, but there’s something I find really nice about the fact that his movements and my bump are exactly the same as the first time round, it’s like his big sister made a comfy nest in there for him to stay in after her.

I think that’s about all I have to say about the second trimester! There will be a lot more to come about the third trimester but who knows when I’ll get around to writing that, when he’s one maybe?

If you want more frequent pregnancy updates I’ve been posting weekly bump photos on my Instagram!

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