Second Trimester Thoughts Weeks 14-26

Are you glowing yet? I’m still not exactly sure what it feels like to glow, I keep swallowing glow sticks and nothing has happened.

Supposedly the second semester is supposed to be amazing. The greater portion of pregnant women apparently feel rather normal, less fatigue and morning sickness eases up. Here's what I experienced.

I was so excited to hit week fourteen and was looking forward to not being so nauseous. Psych! I still get morning sickness. It hasn’t been as frequent as it has been in weeks past but man it is just relentless. Every time I would visit my doctor, it would seem like I had left the morning sickness vortex behind me and I would say that it’s gotten much better. Within like 24 hours, I would be vomiting again.

Ask your doctor if nausea medication is appropriate for you. Hyperemesis is a thing and can be dangerous. If you can't keep any food down, contact your doctor.

I hate that word. Bleh.

I definitely have a week bladder so when I cough, sneeze, laugh or think too hard I tend to leak a bit. No big deal, nothing a panty liner can’t fix. What I didn’t expect was that farther along in my pregnancy the clear/whitish discharge, that I would occasionally find a tiny amount of in my panties, has severely increased. Still no big deal but it did surprise me.

Holy. Moly. I wasn’t ready! I was taking one of my naps at work, twenty-four weeks pregnant, listening to Harry Potter on audiobook. I was in my happy place. All of a sudden, I started thinking about one of my pets that I had years and years ago and just started crying. It came out of nowhere. I tried to clean myself up and decided that I needed my mind to be in work mode. I went back to work, but I was still a little teary eyed. My doctor asked me if I was okay and I started crying again. All I could tell anyone was that I was hormonal and tired.

I found a documentary that I was interested in about the planet, the circle of life and the general development of nature. Nope. Circle of life? Nope. Waterworks.

Being a veterinary technician, euthanasias are a thing. I am always emotional during these, and most of the time I can control my physical reaction. Not anymore! It takes everything I have not to cry like a little baby when I am part of a euthanasia.

Sad commercials? Nope.

Sad documentaries? Nope.

Funny fails? Nope.

Everything makes me cry.

My poor therapist has been tortured by me at our last couple of visits. Bless him.

As my little girl grew over the weeks, she remained in a breach position and still is now. No big deal for now right? She’s not kicking me in the ribs or causing me major heartburn. It just feels like she’s tap dancing on my freaking bladder. I had no idea how sore I could get with her doing that. It doesn’t hurt to urinate, nor do I have any other UTI symptoms. I try to keep my bladder as small as possible which means even more trips to the bathroom. If I don’t do this, however, I pay quite highly with my comfort level.

I called in sick to work this past Monday due to the tap dancing. My husband suggested Tylenol. I didn't think that it would help since my daughter was the source of discomfort. He made a special trip to pick up some medicine to help me. After some Tylenol, I felt 1000 times better. I slept like a baby and was able to go to work the next day.

Tylenol is on my list of approved occasional medications from my doctor's office. Obviously, always consult your doctor before you take any medications, especially while pregnant.

I was given one of those snake pillows that is supposed to help pregnant ladies out. It supports my back, my belly, is the perfect amount of stuffed to go between my knees and I can spoon the crap out of it. I get extremely comfortable this way. The same effect, I am sure, can be managed with the right amount of regular pillows as well. I'll leave a link to the type of pillow I'm talking about. I HIGHLY recommend anyone with a big belly to get one. Pregnant or otherwise.

I love my big belly! I didn’t think that I would actually enjoy gaining weight but seeing and feeling actual evidence that I am growing a small person is so satisfying! I am wearing a lot more clothes that I already had but never felt like I could wear because I’m overweight. Now I just look pregnant so f*** it! Maternity clothes of any kind are probably the most comfortable clothes I’ve been able to wear in public in my entire life. Plus, maternity clothes are SO CUTE. I had an early baby shower that was thrown for me by a friend in March. I received a lot of maternity clothes at that party and I am SO grateful.

Everyone said that this was going to be special and wonderful and sweet. They were all correct, but they don’t tell you is that sometimes, your little gremlin decides that studying karate right when you’re trying to go to sleep is an excellent idea. It is really cool feeling the baby though. Having an anterior placenta, it has taken longer for my husband to be able to feel her, but she finally whacked him the other day.

It has been so fun to pick out paint colors and begin to complete the vision that I have had for my daughter’s nursery. I picked out a plum, cream and blush for the wall color paint (I’ll post a picture when I’ve completed the nursery). I have really taken my time priming and carefully painting the nursery’s walls and I haven’t regretted the extra attention to detail. I am thinking about a few vertical gold stripes on the blush walls.

There have been more positives than negatives this trimester. It ain’t easy being queasy but it is all simply overlooked because it’s so worth it. I can’t wait to meet my little girl but I’m looking forward to the third trimester and the rest of the preparations.