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The Second Trimester: Weeks 21-27

Sunday, May 14/18

 Finally, somewhat of a honeymoon period! This and the first part of the Third Trimester were honestly the easiest for me, I was getting bigger and more noticeably pregnant to friends, family and strangers, I felt much better than I had before, and I spent Christmas and New Years hangover free! It was amazing!

THE GOOD
I felt like I properly looked pregnant. Baby was moving, really moving and I was growing. I wore a maternity dress for New Years Eve- the first real piece of maternity clothing I'd bought (apart from some jeans and leggings!) and the reactions I got from friends I hadn't seen since my wedding in September was awesome. Like, actual "whoa!" reactions at my belly. I was the most body confident I had ever been in my life and it felt truly incredible. The movements made me endlessly happy, I could feel really strong kicks and now I could begin seeing the kicks under my skin which was awesome. I had friends and family members who had felt the baby move, and baby kicked my husband in the back every night (mainly when I couldn't sleep and I was annoyed he could fall asleep so easily- so I'd press the bump against his back and wait for baby to really kick him!) Also, it was Christmas so I got to eat a ton of delicious food, and at this point in my pregnancy I didn't have as bad of a loss of appetite but I really felt sick when preparing food, so having all of this delicious food at my fingertips was amazing! Not having a hangover was also incredible, and the countdown to New Years was so fun knowing that 2018 was the year my baby would be born!

THE BAD
I was told I was losing weight. Granted, I hadn't eaten much for the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. Especially considering pre-pregnancy I would eat anything put within a mile radius. I was weighing in at 145lbs- only 5lbs more than I was pre-pregnancy, and they weren't happy. I was told I needed to gain at least 20lbs before delivery which was in a mere 3-4 months time, and this felt really daunting for me. I was also sick in December and I think my stubbornness of not taking any medicine alongside general pregnancy aches and pains made it feel worse and last longer. Also, although there was the good of 'no hangovers', a dry holiday season loses its appeal by about December 9th. The worst part, though, had to be the hormones. It was like nothing I'd experienced before. My hubby worked some nightshifts over December and I genuinely cried some nights- a weird mix of anxiety and loneliness.  It seems bizarre now, but at the time it felt totally legitimate and horrible.

OVERALL
Before the second half of the second trimester I thought I felt pregnant. I don't think anyone could have questioned it by about 24/25 weeks, and to be honest it felt amazing having others actually know you are pregnant and not just really bloated. I felt so confident in myself, and yet really hormonal and a bit depressed, so it was quite a mixed bag to be honest. I would definitely say that, for me, these were the weeks of the 'honeymoon period' where I could mostly enjoy everything and felt pretty great overall.

NYE 2017. Not clear in this picture is a bump which made people I hadn't seen for a few weeks go "Whoa! You're huge!"
(Second trimester Megan hadn't got a clue what was in store for her- spoiler: 25lbs of weight gain)

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