Second Trimester Recap – Weeks 14-28 [My Pregnancy Series]

Welcome back to the third post in my Pregnancy Series! If you’re new here, I’m a nutritionist, stress coach and mama to my fur-baby Oakley. I’m also pregnant with my first little bean, and Mike and I so excited to meet our little man in March! If you want to learn more about how my first trimester went, you can check it out here. If you’re here to find out what’s going on in my second trimester, read on or watch the video!

Second Trimester Symptoms

The second trimester was such a welcomed stage of my pregnancy. I was ready to move past some of the discomforts and unknowns that came with the first trimester, and really CELEBRATE being pregnant with my friends and family. 

Unfortunately that didn’t mean my second trimester was symptom-free. In fact, some of the more uncomfortable symptoms were just beginning.

25 weeks!

But let’s get started with some of the most common questions people ask in pregnancy. Most people ask about cravings – is there anything you absolutely NEED to eat?? In my first trimester I had specific cravings far more than in my second. During my second trimester, I continued to crave carbs. Carbs carbs and more carbs. But I was able to find a lot more balance in my nutrition. I was able to eat almost whatever – especially more vegetables. FINALLY. But that being said, I still preferred sugary treats and found myself reaching for milk chocolate over dark chocolate – something that I never would have done before pregnancy simply based on my taste preferences. I maintained the same mindset and honoured my cravings because in my mind, if you want these foods, there must be a reason. As much as I tried to get energy from whole grains, fruits, vegetables, fats and proteins, my body still wanted quick hits of easy energy and I wasn’t going to deprive myself.

The fatigue didn’t go away in the beginning of my first trimester. Most people say it goes away by week 14/15, but I was exhausted until well into 20+ weeks of pregnancy. Finally during a trip to Dallas for a friend’s wedding I was able to get over the hump of exhaustion. I was lucky – because prior to this, I was still napping often! They do say, however, that the second trimester is the best one to travel! If you’re planning a ‘baby-moon’, plan it between 20-27 weeks or so. This tends to be the sweet spot for most people and was definitely true for us. You’re not too large that you’re super uncomfortable yet, but you’re also less likely to be experiencing fatigue, exhaustion and other not-so-fun symptoms that come with earlier pregnancy. Plus you probably have a bit of a bump showing, which makes it even more fun to celebrate!

Trip to Dallas for a friend’s wedding – 21 weeks!

By about 28 weeks, or the end of my second trimester, I had gained about 28 lbs. This is within the average range for a woman to gain during her entire pregnancy (range is 25-35 lbs or so). But I went into pregnancy with a low body-fat percentage in the first place. When your body prepares for pregnancy and breastfeeding, it’s common to gain a little extra weight in fat storage, so your body can sustain life. Because I had a lower body-fat percentage, I gained a steady amount of weight in the first couple of trimesters because my body was packing on that fat storage. It’s been a bit weird, mentally, to see my weight increase so dramatically, but this is pregnancy and real life. The number on the scale is not just fat as well: you’re gaining baby weight, amniotic fluid, your blood volumes increase by 50% – so there are a lot of factors that go into the weight you gain besides actual “fat”. So my advice? Don’t worry about your weight (unless your doctor or health care provider says otherwise).

What was new in my second trimester?

The number of aches and pains I began to experience. Boy are those fun… Hips, tailbone, pelvic pain, just generally achy.

Tailbone pain was probably the most annoying – largely because I was sitting at a desk all day and the chair wasn’t as supportive as I needed. When you’re pregnant, it’s important that you sit upright and keep your pelvis open. I was leaning back too much which was putting pressure on my tailbone. How did I manage it? A couple things: chiropractic care, osteopath, massage, an exercise ball to sit on at my desk, and frequent walks.

I also found hip pain an issue when I was sleeping – if I spent too much time spent on one side, I’d wake up with lots of pain in my hips and need to switch sides. Using a “U” shaped pregnancy pillow was a life-saver. I didn’t feel comfortable sleeping on my back (it’s not advised later in pregnancy anyways as your baby gets bigger), so the pillow hugged me at night and prevented me from rolling over to my back. It also went between my knees which supported my hips and pelvis.

Trying to keep active – 22 weeks

What have we prepared for baby?

We have started buying things for the baby, but we’re trying to be reasonable with what we’re buying. Everyone tells us that babies like what babies like, so we’ve been trying to get the things we absolutely need, some things that are ‘nice to haves’ but not go totally crazy buying everything. Trust me – that’s easy to do! I’ll share more about what we’ve purchased and what we’ve splurged on in the third trimester recap.

What’s the baby’s name?

Everyone loves asking the baby’s name. Now that they know he’s a boy, they’re all asking if we’ve picked a name and what we’ve settled on. I made the mistake of sharing some of our top names with a couple of people and quickly realized everyone has an opinion. And that everyone tries to suggest other names. So after that, we decided to keep quiet. Mike and I also can’t settle on a name so we have a few that we will be taking with us to our birth and then we will choose once we meet our little man. Yes, all of the names on the list are a secret :).

That’s really it for our second trimester! Thanks for reading, as always, and hope you come back for the third trimester recap once it’s ready!

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