I kept meaning to write this post a few weeks back but as we all know, life is always busy with kids, but it does seem like summer makes the days go by even faster! I wrapped up my second trimester almost 6 weeks ago already! I can’t believe it. It feels like it should only have been about a week ago since my third trimester began, but since that day landed on Emsley’s 2nd birthday party, it has all been a blur. Overall, I don’t have much too much to report from the second trimester but figured I would do a quick update and comparison between baby boy’s pregnancy and Emsley’s pregnancy.

I think the largest difference I notice between the two is the amount of energy I have, which for obvious reasons makes complete sense. I am now running after a toddler and managing a whole other life. When I wanted to nap or rest during Emsley’s pregnancy, I did and I never blinked an eye about it. With baby boy, that just hasn’t been an option. In this pregnancy, I noticed that I had a hard time falling asleep throughout the second trimester. I was often tired around 8 pm but still needing to get a bunch of stuff done, so I would push through the grogginess and keep working, after all, it was my solo mommy time! By the time I would actually go to lay down around 9:30-10 pm I was wide awake and focusing on many different, random thoughts. It was very frustrating! I would then find myself laying there for a couple hours, typically finally falling asleep around 11:30 pm, which for me, is too late. Of course, my often semi full bladder combined with baby boy’s bodily pressure/strikes of vagina lightening only worsened as the second trimester progressed so I was often waking a few times during the night to take a trip to the bathroom, which only furthered by wakefulness. Ems had also been getting up earlier in summer, around 6 am, instead of her old 7-7:30 am ways, so it felt like I wasn’t getting much sleep. I was a walking zombie most days but it was what it was. I feel like it has been God’s way of helping me prepare for what life with a newborn is going to be like again! 😉

The food cravings really diminished this trimester as well and I didn’t find myself gravitating towards salty foods like I had been during the first trimester. That fits with Emsley’s pregnancy too for the most part. After the first trimester ended with her, the sickness lifted and I was no longer feeling the need to eat everything sweet. The only thing that stayed consistent into the second for both pregnancies is wanting cold drinks, but it’s been summer for both so what else would I expect?!

Physically so far I’ve felt the pain of this babe more. My “abs”, and I put it in quotations because I don’t ever have abs, but basically the muscles underneath my layer of fat that are apparently called abs have been VERY sore, particularly in the second trimester. I couldn’t believe how much they would hurt and ache some days. I’m told this usually gets worse in subsequent pregnancies and to expect them to never be the same. I also heard that rapid growth of the baby can cause it and people have commented that I “popped” around the end of the second trimester so that might fit. I have personally noticed that when baby boy is stretching or moving in that area it hurts A LOT, so clearly his presence when sitting higher in my belly affects it. It has improved since we hit the third trimester so hopefully the worst is now over.

Heart burn and regurgitation are the same as they were with Emsley’s pregnancy. They literally started the exact same week that they did for hers; around week 23-24. I also have the faint line below my belly button but no line above, however in hers I had both by this point, so that’s kind of neat! I haven’t seen any stretch marks form yet, but there’s still time for that. I do swear by a certain cream though and believe it did wonders in my first pregnancy so once this one is over I will share it if it does the trick again!

Overall, movement wise baby boy feels similar to Emsley. I often felt Ems in the mornings when I woke up where as with him, I don’t typically feel as much activity until my day really gets going. I notice that he is most active in the evenings but is also consistent with movements throughout the day, just as she was. He might be longer than she was as I feel like he’s covering more ground in my belly! He has been head down for a while, just like Ems would have been at this point but I have noticed him flip three times in the past couple of weeks. The only reason I know this is because the spot for his hiccups changed. I never noticed Emsley move out of her head down position once her hiccups started and she hiccuped A LOT! I’m talking up to 8 times a day in my belly, so I don’t think I would have missed it if she had moved. Baby boy has been hiccuping less, only averaging about 3 times per day. It’s not a feeling I like to feel but knowing he is healthy and active in there makes me happy!

I guess the next update will be comparing the two labours.. hopefully baby boy treats me just as well as Emsley did. 🙂 Any mommas out there who want to share their labour experiences between baby 1 and baby 2, please do! I have been told to camp out near the hospital and that it should be even faster than Emsley’s labour, but I’m curious if this has been the case for others?!