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Hello New Year, Goodbye Second Trimester!

January 5, 2015

Wow! It’s good to be back! After a two week blogging and editing break to celebrate the holiday season with friends and family (and to reset myself!) I am definitely ready to be back in a routine! Don’t get me wrong though, my break wasn’t unproductive or lazy to say the least! I have several sessions to get up and was able to start a few projects – even finish a few! But those are things I’ll get into in the next few days here on the blog…

Today is my fair well post to my second trimester! Many of you have been asking and asking for baby bump pictures and although I do have most weeks, I was a bit slacking at the beginning (and you’ll notice that week 26 and 27 are missing too…). Sorry :/
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Week 16, week 18, week 19

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Week 20, week 21, week 22

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Week 23, week 24, week 25

You hear most women say, the second trimester is the best out of all three. It’s also the longest (week 13 – week 27) so yay! During my First Trimester Recap I gave a small preview to what had been already happened during the first half of my second trimester – we found out we’re having a little boy! – and then I later blogged about the anatomy (anomaly) scan that we had at 22 weeks.

Well, that was a month ago! Where did the time go?! I want to remind everyone again that everyone experiences pregnancy differently. That being said, I’m about to complain…

My second trimester brought me extreme lower extremity swelling. Not just feet, but ankles and calves. At my 26th week appointment I was finally given a prescription for medical compression hose that I have been wearing all day every day. Most days they help, some days they don’t. I can always tell when I’m having a worse day than others by whether or not my boots will zip up or not. That’s not fun at all. I’m popping out of some of my clothes, including bras. I finally broke down and bought a couple nursing bras in a larger size that I’m comfortable admitting. Nearing the end of my second trimester and they’re already tight :/ During the first part of the second trimester I was able to run a little and bike like normal. Around 16 weeks I had to stop both. I still walk for exercise thank goodness!

I had one scare with higher than desirable blood pressure and one morning where I awoke to a swollen face. If it happens again I’ll be contacting my OB in regards to preeclampsia. Lord knows I don’t want to be dealing with that but you should have SEEN my face! My ever-growing belly is slowly but surely getting in my way. This morning, I was unable to bend over long enough to tie my own dang shoes! He doesn’t like being squished and it becomes hard to breath. BUT here’s the kicker! For my body type, I should only gain between 25 and 30 pounds throughout the entire pregnancy. At the end of my second trimester I’ve already gained 40 pounds. YIKES!

BUT IT HASN’T ALL BEEN BAD! My OB isn’t worried about my weight gain because my first trimester was spent on supplemental progesterone which pretty much made it impossible for me to NOT gain almost all of my pregnancy weight just within the first 13 weeks. And now that he’s growing rapidly, I won’t have much room for food in my stomach. Thanks baby boy! My glucose test came back normal so no gestational diabetes! And no stretch marks yet! The the coolest best thing ever? The movements! As of yet, his kicks and flips and whatnots aren’t painful and help to remind me of what the heck I’m doing all of this for.

It’s all for the little one growing inside me. Sure, this pregnancy is reeking havoc on my body and I still have hopefully at least 10 weeks to go, but what this pregnancy is bringing me will be so worth! With the nursery almost complete, I have started to prepare my heart for his arrival – I’m ready to meet my little guy, kiss his cheeks, and hold him in my arms!

My parents gave me a book on the Bradley Method of natural birth for Christmas and I look forward to implementing as much as I can with this birth! These are the ONLY underwear that are comfortable enough to wear all day long. Better than any Victoria’s Secret underwear, that’s for sure! Sleep is not happening much these days but a cup of hot chocolate before bed and a bath definitely makes it easier!

The worse my feet, ankles, and calves have been. For those of you who understand – pitting edema at it’s best y’all! This was after only 4 is hours of wearing my boots with socks that were not at all tight :/ The next image is my ankles after wearing compression hoses for just one day. Wonderful difference! Bathroom selfie right before my last wedding of 2014!

Iphone photo of our parents and my grandmother and little brother at our 4D ultrasound appointment! So blessed to have our family! And of course, my favorite 4D image from that appointment. He certainly is a cutie!!! And the lovely but not as bad as I thought it would be glucose drink. So glad I passed and don’t have to experience the 3 hour test!

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  1. Stephanie Click says:

    So happy for you! I’ve been looking forward to this update 🙂 I had horrible swelling with Avery. From the thigh down, my legs were the same size. I looked like I had “Fred Flintstone” feet. And, hold off on buying more nursing bras. You’re going get bigger still!

  2. Melissa List says:

    You look amazing, lady. Do not stress about the weight. I know you’re not, but just a reminder. I still have some work to do to get some of mine off and that’s ok, too. 🙂 I’m so proud that my body carried my AMAZING girl. And as far as bigger bras go? Maybe for the third trimester, try what I did. I went and bought a few of the Bravado sleep nursing bras. I was going to buy them anyway,so bought them earlier. Totally not sexy, but much more comfortable than popping out of my “regular” nursing bras.

    http://www.amazon.com/Bravado-Body-Silk-Seamless-Nursing/dp/B000XV7ORI

  3. Robin Sayre says:

    I had horrible swelling with John David. When you approach the weeks 34-39 it feels like with each passing week another hear has gone by. It’s rough I know but the end is the most beautiful gift any woman would endure as much pain to receive. Keep going girl the best is yet to come❤️