I seriously cannot even believe that I am already in my third trimester. This pregnancy is flying by and it is making me emotional! I’ve loved this sweet chapter of our life and I just want to pause this moment for a little longer. I truly had no idea how much I would love pregnancy. It’s been the most incredible journey of my life and I just feel so blessed to be able to carry this sweet baby. We can’t wait to meet him/her in just a few months!
So much has changed since my first trimester update. A lot of people have told me that the second trimester is the best – the first trimester sickness has usually subsided and you aren’t too big yet that you’re uncomfortable. My second trimester has been nothing short of eventful to say the least, and I’m here to tell you all about it.
Bump Progress
Second Trimester Recap
Symptoms
BABY KICKS
Around week 19 I started to feel baby kicks! This has been my favorite part of pregnancy so far. It’s so special to feel the baby moving around and getting to share that with Eddie has been so fun. We spend a lot of time just sitting with our hands on my stomach, feeling the baby move. I’m definitely going to miss it, but I already know it’s going to be so special having the baby here with us. My bump also grew a lot and much quicker during the second trimester.
BLOODY NOSES
The first symptom that I noticed at the start of the second trimester was bloody noses. I’ve never had one in my life and all of a sudden I was getting them every single day. It started when we were on our trip to Colorado and I was thinking maybe it was an altitude thing, but it’s common in pregnancy and it lasted almost all the way until I started the third trimester. I’ve also experienced sensitive gums that bleed a lot when I floss, and my dentist confirmed that is also normal.
FAINTING SPELLS
If you follow along on Instagram Stories, you may have already heard this. When I was 18 weeks pregnant, I was at the car dealership to drop my car off for service. I had a morning appointment and I went in, dropped off the car and was at the car rental desk so they could give me a loaner car for the day. As I was talking with the woman behind the desk, I started to feel a little lightheaded. I had breakfast that morning and was carrying my water bottle with me.
Everything was normal leading up to that point and I hadn’t been feeling sick at all, but it came over me like a wave. She was wrapping up and I turned around and saw a table and chairs about 10-15 away. My plan was to go and sit down for a little bit after we finished up with the paperwork and after looking back at the table and chairs, I don’t remember anything else.
When I woke up though, I was on the floor in front of the chair so I must have tried to make my way over there, I just don’t remember any of it. I woke up surrounded by Toyota employees as I laid on the floor in the middle of the dealership, terrified, embarrassed and upset. My first thought was that this was harmful to the baby and I just felt so panicked in that moment. Nobody saw me fall, so at that point I didn’t know if I had hit my head, or fell onto my stomach, or how it even happened. An ambulance was called and they took me to a nearby hospital.
As soon as I woke up from the fall, I felt completely normal. It was like my body just needed to reset or something. They ran a couple of tests in the ambulance and all of my levels were normal. When I got to the hospital the first thing they did was check the baby’s heartbeat and I was so relieved when I heard – it was the best feeling. They also did an EKG and sent me for an ultrasound. The baby looked good on the ultrasound – thank goodness but the EKG was slightly abnormal so they referred me to see a cardiologist.
I came home from the hospital a couple of hours later and rested. Since that day, I’ve probably had 10 more episodes of almost passing out. Each time I’ve been able to catch it quickly, sit down, eat something, put an ice cube on my neck, etc. I try to bring a snack and my water bottle with me everywhere I go and just be cautious of catering to how I’m feeling and listening to my body.
Since the passing out, I have had to follow up with cardiology. I’ve done a couple heart tests and we monitored my heart rate for 24 hours. So far, all is normal!
HEADACHES
Starting after I passed out, I suddenly had constant head throbbing, all day, every day that got worse with movement. Since this began on the day I passed out, I thought maybe I did hit my head when I fell. I talked to my doctor about it and she suggested I get it looked at and I was sent to a neurologist. For three months straight, I had intense head throbbing pain any time I would move. I would get up to walk to the kitchen from my office and my head would throb so hard it felt like it was going to explode just from a short walk. When I’d wake up in the morning, I’d have to sit on the edge of the bed for a couple of minutes before standing to let my head adjust. It was the most intense head throbbing I’ve ever felt.
After talking to a neurologist about it, he said it would be best to get a brain MRI. I did that, it came back normal and he just suggested to increase water intake and take it easy. Because of the dizzy spells and the headaches, I cancelled my gym membership. I’ve tried to stay close to home as much as possible, which has been a little challenging for me mentally. Lots of walks are planned this summer!
Since the third trimester, most of this has subsided. The second trimester was just really tough for my body physically. I do feel a little more normal and like myself since entering the third trimester. I’m not sure what caused it and I didn’t really get many answers from the doctors. Every pregnancy is different and each comes with all kinds of new body changes. I keep reminding myself that. Through all of it, the baby has remained healthy.
20 Week Ultrasound
I don’t know if I shared this or not, but we decided to cancel our gender reveal and wait until the baby is born to find out and we are so excited! We had our 20 week ultrasound and it was so incredible to see the baby moving around, so much more developed than when we saw the baby at 12 weeks. It was a day we both will never forget. This whole process has just been so surreal to me.
Favorite Products
The bump grew a lot during the second trimester, so I had to adjust my outfits and routine accordingly. I still am absolutely loving the combination of this belly oil and cream. They’re amazing together! I’m still wearing these maternity leggings over and over again and they’re perfect to grow with the bump, plus they’re super affordable and comfortable. My prenatal vitamins are from Ritual and I highly recommend them – I have the subscription and they come right to my door every month. Ritual Prenatal Vitamins (get $15 off your first order with my link). Another product that was super useful was Maebands. The photo below shows you how it works, but it’s basically an stretchy band you can add to your jeans, pants, shorts, etc. to extend the waistband. They’re amazing!
Bump-Friendly Fashion
I’ve found a lot of really cute pieces that are bump-friendly. Here are some of my favorite brands:
- Love Leggings
- Mother Bee Maternity
- Motherhood Maternity
- Kindred Bravely (code SOPHIAD15)
- Chicwish (flowy dresses)
- Amazon Fashion (shop my storefront)
- Fabletics Maternity
Shop Pregnancy Faves
We are officially on the final stretch to meeting baby! Less than 2 months until our due date and I can’t wait! I hope this second trimester recap was helpful. What you can expect to see on the blog in the coming weeks: Nursery Reveal, Baby Products, Baby Shower & More!
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