My Pregnancy Journey: Second Trimester [with my #2]

If you haven’t read my first trimester journey entry [+ how I found out I was pregnant], read that here.

Second Trimester

Second trimester was glorious! I loved second trimester so much. In a way, I feel like my best version of myself during second trimester — super high energy, a social butterfly, + a constant gratitude explosion. It felt incredible to leave all the negative feelings, exhaustion, + [most of] the nausea from the first trimester behind.

Just like when I was pregnant with Noah during second trimester, we traveled like crazy this time around, too! We went to Mammoth, Boulder, Salida, Albuquerque, Northern Michigan, Chicago, Point Reyes, Oregon Road Trip, Bend, + Ojai. We celebrated weddings + birthdays, saw both of our families + lots of friends, AND, I took my first solo trip ever since Noah’s been born to Esalen.

I felt so lit up about life in every way. I’m not sure if it’s the hormones of pregnancy or it’s the baby’s energy — but my energy was through the roof. Even Isaac was like,“I can’t keep up with you!” I’m so excited to see what this baby’s birth chart is! If every pregnancy felt like second trimester the entire time, I’d do it over + over + over again. Towards the end, my energy started to shift from social butterfly to nesting mode… but I’ll talk about that in the third trimester recap. 🥰

Second Trimester — Physical + Emotional Changes

• New craving = sour gummies! I was obsessed with sour ice breakers lol. Also, all the meat, meat, meat! + sauerkraut!
• Coffee started smelling + sounding good at 15w, so I gave it a try. + pretty instantly, I was back on the coffee train. While it was nice to have a coffee detox… I gotta say — having coffee every morning just makes me so happy! It made me feel so much more like “myself” too. What can I say, coffee is part of my identity lol
• Still so hungry in the morning — I needed to eat a massive breakfast right away or else I’d feel nauseous. Every morning, Noah + I would share 4 eggs + bread [until I eliminated eggs… see below]
• Bad, bad, bad rash on my face. I developed a small rash around my nose + mouth at the very end of first trimester + it got absolutely terrible during second trimester. It spread all around my eyes, above my eyebrows, on my cheeks, all around my mouth. I saw a dermatologist + he thought it was a yeast overgrowth + gave me a cream to use for 4 weeks that was supposed to fully clear it up… it cleared it up a little, but not too much. Eventually, at the very end of second trimester, I ended up eliminated eggs, dairy, + gluten [for the most part] + eventually — after 3 weeks of giving up those foods [5 months in total of having awful skin breakouts], it FINALLY got better. It was so bad! I still have no clue what it was from… other than, pregnancy hormones!

• Still had to pee constantly… including 3–5x in the middle of the night
• Started getting a tiny baby bump that got bigger as the day went on. By 20w, my stomach felt so much more expanded + I felt like I really “popped”. It honestly felt like I was 7 months pregnant, since I didn’t really “show” with Noah until way later on… but I know that is totally normal with second time pregnancies. Your body just knows what to do!
• My vagina had a bit of a weird smell to it from like Week 16–22. It finally went away [I did nothing to treat it], but it was so odd! Again… hormones? [Sorry, probably TMI… but I want to be real with you!].
• A lot more mucus in my mouth
• So energetic, inspired, + excited about life!
• My body felt so good + strong
• BABY IS SUCH A KICKER — kicks way more than Noah! I think it also has to do with my placenta being in a different positioning this time around, so I feel all the movements a lot more
• Towards the end of second trimester, sleeping started getting uncomfortable [especially because of the baby’s kicks!]. Lots of twisting + turning to try to find a comfortable position + sleeping with a pillow in between my legs!
• Week 25, started to get emotional about all the things. Lots of big feelings!!!!
• I feel like I’ve been pregnant forever! People talk about pregnancy going by so fast + that doesn’t feel like the case at all for me.
• Changes that happened with Noah that didn’t happen this time around: I didn’t really have a stuffy nose… just lots of mucus in my mouth. I didn’t have any nosebleeds second trimester [but those came in third trimester lol]. I never had super dry lips. I never had an itchy chest or body. I never had cotton mouth. I never got pregnancy melasma. I never got the line on my belly.

Second Trimester — What Helped

• Maternity clothes: I got maternity jean shorts this time around [Week 20] + I’m so glad I did! I also got loose fitting rompers + a pair of OVERALLS, which I love. I wrote a whole roundup of my fav clothes to wear during pregnancy. IMO you don’t need a lot, but it’s nice to have a few staple items!
• Movement: So, so grateful for movement! I worked out very similar to pre-pregnancy in second trimester — I ran, lifted weights, did yoga, etc.
• To clear up my skin: Eliminating eggs, dairy, gluten… + stress helped. Also the cream the dermatologist gave me helped [a little]. Ultimately, I had to ride it out + eventually my skin was back to normal — after 5 months lol
• Removed instagram from my phone: This has been one of the BEST things that I did for myself second trimester… that I hope to incorporate, forever! I was so sick of numbing/distracting myself on instagram + just so over it. I decided to see what it would feel like to completely delete it on my phone. If there was something I wanted to post, I would re-download instagram + leave it up for 24 hours to be able to comment/etc. I still looked at instagram on my computer, but it’s just way less addicting! I probably look at it 2–3x a week + that’s plenty!
• Leaving space for big feelings: The emotions started to set back in at the end of second trimester… as I wondered what it will look like to end this familiar chapter of 3 + welcome the unknown chapter of 4. It felt sad to me thinking about not giving Noah our everything, as we are able to give him right now. He’s the center of our world! But Isaac made a great point — he compared transitioning from 3 to 4, similar to how we transitioned from 2 to 3. Even though Isaac + I’s relationship looks so different [aka date nights are non-existent, we pass out immediately when Noah goes to bed, + it’s hard to go deep into conversation when a little toddler is on the move + has things to say!], our relationship has grown + blossomed as we moved into a more family centered dynamic. While we won’t be able to have an abundance of one-on-one moments with Noah anymore, we will soon be able to witness the beautiful bond between two brothers!
• WHAT IS OUR BABY’S NAME?! With Noah, his name was so clear to us immediately! Literally Week 5! This time around, we have had names floating around, but nothing feels like a resounding YES. I talked to a clariyovant about it + he encouraged me to write all the names down, look at the meanings of each one, + know that the our baby is revealing different qualities about himself through these names. He is still deciding his name!

Finding Out The Gender! [Accidentally]

Isaac + I were still in conversation if/when we were going to find out the gender. I very much wanted to know immediately… Isaac on the other hand really wanted to be suprised. We decided that we’d find out the gender in the genetic testing, but that we’d give the results to our midwife to share with us in an envelope… to open whenever we were ready. Well… the baby had other plans ; )

We were at our first ultrasound at 13w [side note: I didn’t even know you could see the gender via the ultrasound that early on!] + Noah start started to get antsy… so Isaac took him for a walk. The doctor did not say a WORD for the entire appointment… + I was honestly freaking out a bit internally, wondering if everything was okay. Finally, after an hour + a half, he said we were done. I asked to see the photos, + he shared how I could download them to my phone. He asked, “Have you found out the gender?” I said no. Before I could say, “We don’t want to find out yet!” [especially because Isaac wasn’t even in the room!]— he pointed at the screen. I asked, “Is that a penis?” He said — “Yep! You are having a boy! You make great boys. Congrats.”

Instantly I had a huge smile on my face + could NOT believe that I just found out without Isaac! I was shocked. I did not expect that to come out of the doctor’s mouth… but I guess our baby wanted us to know! As I headed out of the office, I saw Isaac + Noah on a bench…“Well, I know the gender.” Isaac looked confused,“What, for real?” “We’re having a boy!” Isaac exclaimed,“I knew it!” I wish I could freeze that moment in time. I had butterflies in my stomach. I smiled at Noah + said, “You’re going to have a baby brother!” He smiled right back.

As soon as it really sank in that we were having a boy — it started to feel so right. This is eactly how it was supposed to be. I felt so, so excited to have two boys. BOY ENERGY!!!

Second Trimester Moments

#1] Week 15 — For the first time this pregnancy, I forgot that I was pregnant. This actually happened often in second trimester

#2] Week 20 — Confirmed our doula + photographer! So, so grateful for my birth team

#3] Week 20 — Feeling lots of kicks! I’m not sure exactly when I started feeling kicks… it happened a lot more gradually this time around

#4] Week 20 — We had just come home after traveling for 2 weeks + there was something about the way that our house smelled that reminded me of the early postpartum days. It was the first time that I felt so excited [even giddy!] to go back “in it.” The newborn bubble is truly such a sacred time. I felt so excited to embrace all the changes + meet our baby boy — it really started feeling like everything was happening at the most perfect, divine time

#5] Week 22 —A random stranger asked, “When are you due?” I was actually taken aback because I didn’t think I looked that pregnant lol…

#6] Week 23 — ON MY BIRTHDAY… a new name came to me! It felt like such a divine sign, but Isaac didn’t fully resonate with it… he liked it, but not a “hell yes.” However, the meaning of the name definitely resonates with qualities I feel like he embodies. The quest for his name continues…

#7] Week 26 — First solo trip! I went to Esalen with my friend Melissa [due with a baby boy two weeks before me!]. I can’t believe it took me 17 months to be away from Noah for the first time! It felt like the ultimate self-care treat. Connecting with myself + our baby growing in my belly, surrounded by beautiful nature + one of my best friends… it was so nourishing to my soul.

Second trimester, you were a blast!

Love,
Elisabeth