12 things to do in the Second Trimester

The second trimester is a lovely time, you can spread the good news to everyone without having to deal with any huge amount of aches or pains. You also get to enjoy being pregnant before you really have to process the exit strategy!

But aside from ‘being pregnant’ what else should you be doing? Here is the definitive (in my opinion!) things to do from week 13 - 27.

1. Book Antenatal/ Childbirth classes

In Ireland you are reminded to do this by the midwife in your hospital, but if not, do enquire and get booking. You usually don’t actually attend the classes until early third trimester, but if this is your first time pregnant you do not want to miss out.

2 Shop for Maternity Clothes

Yes your pants are tight and your boobs and belly are protruding, ditch the tight waistbands and prepare to enter what can only be described as heavenly, guilt free clothes! Check out my post on maternity wear essentials, try to pick out basic items and if you can buy a size or two bigger as you will need them post birth.

3 Maternity Leave

Now that you are in your stretchy pants it is time to talk business, discuss and set down your maternity leave at work. Get your dates in order and find out what your rights are. I found that doing this part usually leads into …

4 Research childcare

At some point you may want to return to work, so you should discuss with your partner and family the best childcare options. Crèche, playschool, childminder - keep your options open but have your research done.

5 Lists

I love lists (as you can see), they motivate me and keep me in reality! Now is the time to get out the pen and paper - list down what exactly you need for the first 6 months of the baby’s life - forget about clothes, think more like cot, high chair, car seat etc. See what you can get second hand and what you must buy new. Also write down what you need to buy for your hospital bag and start picking a few bits up. While you have the pen in your hand maybe plan out your finances for the same time period.

Me and my husband on our Babymoon

6 Babymoon/ adult time

I took my honeymoon in the second trimester and really enjoyed it, depending on your finances (see number 5) plan a holiday, trip or day away with your partner, friends or family. It will be lovely to get away for a while, and also you will cherish that time later on. Read about our babymoon here.

7 Sleep

This may be the time to start sleeping on your side. I sleep face down usually and found the transition quite hard, prepare your bedfellow for the huge amount of pillows that will now take up ‘your side’ of the bed. While we are on the bed and nice and comfy - nap. Take them whenever or wherever you get them. Don’t think about being lazy, rest is good for baby and for you.

8 Exercise

Some may feel that this should be higher up the list, but with my SPD it had to sadly take a back seat. Try and walk or do some light activity to keep you nimble and strong. Also do not forget to stretch, yoga is great for balance and breathing too. The most important exercise is the KEGAL, practice daily, preferably while talking to someone else … it just makes it more fun!

9 Baby Names

Towards the end of the second trimester it is a good idea to start narrowing names. Realistically you do not want to be thinking of any more than two names per gender. Decide and ponder them for the rest of the weeks to come, pop the name into as many scenarios as you can think of!

10 Keep a diary

I have a terrible memory, some days I feel like a goldfish, so I have to keep a journal. It is not so much for feelings and thoughts, but more like daily events/ occasions/ things I want to remember. You do not need to write down every thought for the 42 weeks, but maybe a few of the milestones and symptoms. Even if you hate pictures of your bump, do take a few of you as a larger lady - believe it or not you will miss it and forget what it felt like.

11 Me Time

Not Mummy Time ... not yet, this is Just Me Time. A bath, a spa, an evening reading or watching movies. Paint your nails, curl your hair and do what makes you happy. Be selfish and do not feel guilty, once your precious bundle is here your priorities will automatically change.

I tried a fish pedicure as part of my time - I loved it!

12 Baby Time

Read, sing, talk, play music and spend time with your unborn baby. My sweet baba didn't have much room to be kicking and playing games, but I know loads of mothers who can touch their belly and get the baby to kick them back. That is amazing - surreal really, treasure it. If you can get the daddy to interact too, do so, you want baby to know their father, you will need to pass over your bundle at sometime when they burst into the world.

Enjoy x

Also check out:
12 things to do in the First Trimester
The honeymoon of pregnancy - The Second Trimester
Maternity Wear Essentials

First maternity hospital visit

The first pregnancy hospital appointment is a big one, you are nervous, excited and don’t know what to expect.

My first visit  to Cavan General Hospital was at 17 weeks, we chose the public maternity route (which is FREE in Ireland). I had only been to my doctor prior and thankfully had not needed to visit the hospital until then.

Cavan General Hospital. Image from www.anglocelt.ie

So what should you expect? - A long wait. On our first hospital appointment, we were there for almost 3 hours!

First up was the ultrasound, the images were blurry but the technician seemed to see what she was looking for. In relation to my strange uterus, she said she could see one womb with a separation down the middle which was a “possible bicornuate uterus.” We asked about gender, but she said she couldn’t be sure … but we would know at our next scan.

She said that my uterus situation may become clearer as the pregnancy progresses or we may have to wait until after birth to find out the true situation.

Then came my first visit with the midwife, I know many people are lucky to see the same midwife the whole way through their pregnancy, but this was not the case in Cavan.

She measured my height and weight, she took the blood tests my doctor did and I was sent to get one more blood test.

Then the questions came. My husband came with me to the hospital, but aside from the ultrasound he may as well have stayed at home, because he had to just wait by himself.

I think the purpose of not having your partner in there is so that you answer the questions honestly!

The midwife asked a million questions about my medical history, my husband’s and our families. I couldn't be 100% sure for all the questions relating to our families but answered in relation to our immediate family. There were a lot of questions about alcohol, smoke and drug use. She also asked if there had been any violence in our relationship.

After what seemed like hours, she said I was very healthy and would have been categorised as low risk pregnancy only for my unknown womb situation. As a low risk patient I could have opted for the midwifery led unit, which is supposed to be a nicer experience but it would rule out the use of epidural or drug based pain relief during labour. I also think there are less ultrasound scans using that unit.

It being my first pregnancy and as I was unsure what exactly my womb was at, I was happier to have a consultant led pregnancy.

I was born with a clicking hip, so the midwife made a note of that and the baby will be assessed for that issue after birth.

Breastfeeding was also a big conversation. I was unsure of my feelings about breastfeeding at the time, but said I would like to breastfeed if only for a few weeks. I was send home with a lot of literature to read and told my next hospital appointment was in four weeks time.

At my second hospital visit, I brought a urine sample. My blood pressure was tested and I met a doctor under my consultant. The doctor said my baby was growing on target and there was no sign of “another womb” on the ultrasound. There was also no sign of gender … next scan will show “for definite.”

After doing a lot of googling and trawling through forums at home, I had a lot of questions for the doctor, such as will I go into premature labour, can I have a vaginal birth etc.

The doctor said she saw no issue with my pregnancy and birth being normal, which annoyed me a little as we had no idea if it could be normal because we didn't know what shape or position my womb was!

For your first hospital visit:

- Try and go alone, it is a long wait for your partner/ friend

- Schedule a lot of time, such as the whole morning or afternoon

- Have a rough idea of your family history

- Expect you may have to give a blood sample

- Make a list of any questions you have and bring it with you

Check out: The honeymoon of pregnancy: The Second Trimester

***This post relates to June 2014***

The Honeymoon of Pregnancy: The second trimester

The second trimester is really the honeymoon of the pregnancy journey. You have passed the first test - getting through the first 12 weeks and you begin to come to terms with your bundle, getting to know s/he, feeling movement, dreaming about the future and getting comfortable before the impatience, frustrations and pains set in!

Heading to a wedding at 13 weeks pregnant

The second trimester greeted me with a little boost of energy, which I lavished in until about 20 weeks, when I once again had to take to bed for early evening cat naps after work.

My weight gain over the first 12 weeks was about 5lbs, but by the end of the second trimester I had piled on a stone.

At the start a little back pain, stretch aches and some sleep disturbance was met with intrigue, but as time slipped by I was plagued by pain cause by Smphysis pubic dysfunction (SPD). At 4 months pregnant, I was starting to look the part and by 5 months I was moving into bigger sized and looser clothes with some maternity items on board.

I had no particular cravings, I just loved all food and wanted more! The only food aversion I had was to coffee - which really was a good thing. At a wedding, I took a glass of wine with the dinner but I had no desire for alcohol.

Baby kicks - what a wonderful moment it is when you start feeling those first flutters. They are hard to explain, but felt like popcorn popping inside! As time goes on the kicks felt like a slight muscle spasm. I remember feeling as if the baby was leaning to one side, and getting a strange ‘stretch’ feeling on my left side … which would become more apparent later!

On honeymoon in Greece

I had my first two hospital visits in the second trimester, which I will write more about later. In between the visits I also went away on a late honeymoon … a sort of babymoon, details here. We went on a Greek Island cruise and it was soo relaxing - a short trip away during your pregnancy is very much recommended.

At around 20 weeks pregnant I was diagnosed with smphysis pubic dysfunction (SPD), I was in a lot of pain, had to take time off work and started to see a special maternity physio in hospital once a week. During the peak of my SPD pain, I went on a buying spree for baby. It felt necessary as the threat of crutches or bed rest towards the end of my pregnancy was looming. Buying baby stuff was tooo much fun, a little stressful, but a very happy time.

I took up pregnancy yoga at around 16 weeks, it was fantastic as a way to relax and prepare for labour but agitated my SPD as the weeks went on.

20 weeks pregnant

My husband and I started to drift further and further apart …. ha ha - only in the sense that our bed was now totally taken over with pillows!! I had to have one in front of me, one behind me and one between my legs - but it did help me sleep!

I had two very scary moments during my second trimester, one was a showing of brown discharge and the other was a horrific trip to the dentist. The brown discharge, turned out to be “nothing”, I attended the doctor and heard the baby’s heartbeat and it was clear in a day. The doctor explained that it was probably ‘marginal placental bleed’ which is harmless and is caused by a burst blood vessel from my placenta or my placenta moving into place. I was told to rest and to return to the doctor if I saw any fresh blood or had cramping. My advise if you get any strange colouring down there, see your doctor, if only for the peace of mind.

24 weeks pregnant

My trip to the dentist was the worst day of my entire pregnancy. My gums were bleeding a lot so I went to get a check up and get my teeth cleaned. It was nothing short of TORTURE. I was so scared and in pain the whole way through, I thought it would never end. The only reason I didn't stop the dentist, was I kept thinking about labour, how I will be in so much more pain - so I let her go on, with no pain relief. My gums were left black and they bled for 24 hours afterwards. My mouth was so sore I couldn't eat or drink - unless it is an emergency leave the dentist visit until baby had arrived.

During the second trimester we also made huge inroads into baby names and settled on a boy and girl name, we told no one. But I think I did let it slip once!

And in a flash the second trimester was over and we were staring at the few weeks left till we met our Baby Boo!

**This post relates to 2014 ***

Also check out: 
12 Things to do in the second trimester
The First 12 weeks
First Maternity Hospital Visit
Maternity Wear Essentials