Many women say their second trimester is the best one: The intense fatigue and morning sickness have dissipated and as the baby bump grows, so does mom’s excitement. In part one of this month’s installment of Chronicles of a First-Time Mom, our three moms Nic Campbell, Patrice King, and Rochelle Dorsett talk to us about how the second trimester is treating them and the perks of being pregnant.
If you haven’t done so already, get to know our moms in the series’ first installment.
How have you been feeling physically and emotionally?
Patrice: Emotionally pretty good. I feel like things have leveled out. I was really short-tempered in my first trimester, so things are nice and normal again. Physically I’m feeling pretty good as well. I’ve been trying to continue going to the gym, although less so in the last few weeks. I get weird sciatic pain sometimes if I’m been sitting on the couch too long. I wake up in the middle of the night on my back and then freak out and try to roll back onto my side. But mostly I’m good.
Nic: I feel really good. Really energetic. Really excited.
Rochelle: Physically I feel way better than I did in the first trimester; I have way more energy. Things don’t tire me out as much, but I am starting to feel kinda sore and achy when I get out of bed in the morning, and it’s kinda hard to get comfortable at night. I bought a body pillow, but that didn’t do anything! Emotionally, I’m just excited. I started doing the baby registry, so I’m in “getting ready” mode.
Is there a noticeable difference in how you feel in your second trimester as compared to your first trimester?
P: The mild nausea is completely gone. I feel like I pleased the morning sickness gods during my first trimester. I had some mild queasiness and threw up twice, which isn’t bad, but that’s completely gone now.
N: I definitely have more energy. I’m back to working out again. I’m getting tons more done. I just feel a lot more like myself. It was a gradual shift. About a week and a half after my second trimester started, I started to come back into myself.
R: Now I’m starting to think about the fact that this is going to happen soon. It’s getting to the point where we have to make decisions about getting things ready for the apartment and stuff like that. I’m definitely more in that planning mode than I was before—getting down to business. I’m also aware that once I get to the third trimester, I’m going to be less likely to do a lot of things, because I’ll be bigger and more tired. So I’m just trying to get stuff done now.
What has been most challenging for you in your second trimester?
P: Things have been pretty uneventful healthwise, [so] probably doing the baby registry. I don’t know why there are so many baby products out there! I guess it wasn’t so bad, except for the stroller. I don’t know why that decision plagued us. Well, my husband would say it didn’t plague him, but I continued to go back and forth on that item. We just want to prepare our space and make sure the house is ready and that we have everything [the baby] will need.
N: I don’t know. I don’t think I’ve had any in this trimester so far. This trimester has been really good. I’ve just been feeling good and falling back into my regular routine.
R: Having to make a lot of decisions for not just me and my husband, but also [for] my little one. You’re not just considering yourself, you’re considering a whole family. You just want to make sure that the decisions you make are the right ones for all of you.
What have you enjoyed about your second trimester?
P: My bump is growing! I feel like I spent the first few months waiting for my belly. People knew I was pregnant, but nobody could see it. But the belly is definitely here now. Sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas it made its appearance. Seeing the baby grow, and feeling him move around, is the best.
N: Definitely feeling stronger kicks. In the beginning I think you wonder, “Is that food settling [or] is that a kick?” But now, I know it’s a kick, and I can feel [the baby] moving. That’s been really amazing.
R: Once I started telling people, they started asking questions and helping me out with things—holding doors, picking up boxes. Everyone’s been so excited, and it’s just a blessing.
Has anything surprised you?
P: I don’t think so. I’m surprised by how normal I feel, I think.
N: I can’t point to one thing and say that has surprised me, but I think this whole process is just marvelous. There’s so much to marvel at. There’s the heartbeat, and then there’s the fact that there’s an actual person inside you, and this person is breathing and moving and doing their own thing.
R: How warm and welcoming people are towards pregnant women, and how excited people get that you’re having a baby. I didn’t expect that for some reason. I was a little apprehensive at first about telling people at work, but now that I’ve told people, they’re trying to accommodate me way better than I thought they would.
Join us next week Monday when we’ll reveal more about our moms’ second trimester, including the babies’ sexes and how their husbands are reacting to their pregnancies!
