Pregnancy Notes: The Second Trimester

My second trimester was remarkably better than the first, but it did take about four weeks into that time to get into a good groove. The hormones that plagued the first three months started wearing off around April, but the nausea and tiredness stuck around until the beginning of May. I didn't feel the intense urge to lay down every afternoon; it was nice to finally got some energy back that had been severely lacking. However, I suppose some level of exhaustion is simply here to stay when you're constantly running after a toddler while pregnant, but it's safe to say that months three through six were much better!

As is fairly common with second and subsequent pregnancies, I started showing early on and had already been wearing a handful of my maternity clothes by the time the second trimester started. I was actually very excited to get out the clothes that I felt didn't get much use the last time around.

A completely unexpected and very unpleasant pregnancy symptom that showed up during this part of my pregnancy were Charlie Horses. Oh.my.gosh. I had no idea how painful these were! It has always happened at night (usually if I'm not sleeping well) and when I try to stretch my toes my calf muscle immediately tightens up into ball of pain and misery. My poor husband wakes up to me slapping him in the arm (not intentionally, I promise) and moaning through the pain. At least it's a good warm-up for what labor might be like.

The best development during the second trimester? The first time I felt the baby move, around the beginning of May. Personally, it's my favorite part of pregnancy and by the time we went on our trip to Bruges, there were lots of kicks, rolls and jabs. Better yet, Brian was able to feel some of them -- something he missed out on when I was pregnant with Ellie. Speaking of Ellie, she was never as active as this baby is and it's surreal how different it feels!

Belly pics from the second trimester:

14 weeks (in Rothenburg when my parents were visiting)

Squinting in the sunshine at 16 weeks

23 weeks

25 weeks