Second Trimester Recap

I can’t believe I’m typing this post, already in my third trimester. When my pregnancy journey originally began, it felt like time passed so slowly, but now everything is moving so quickly! A lot of things changed from my first trimester to my second trimester, so I am looking forward to sharing my experience with you all on this post.

Gestational Diabetes

Since I have PCOS, my Doctor advised that I take the glucose screening for gestational diabetes earlier on than most pregnant women. I had my one hour glucose screening test at 16 weeks. The test consists of drinking a sugary drink within five minutes and then they draw blood to see how your blood sugar levels respond to the glucose drink. I believe they are looking for a level of 140 or less to pass the test – unfortunately mine was 201 so they automatically diagnosed me with Gestational Diabetes after this appointment.

I was honestly not too surprised by this diagnosis since I have PCOS and have been insulin resistant for six years. I do feel like I could have been prepped with more information at the start of my diagnosis – I was basically told to eat better, prick my finger 4x a day to monitor my blood sugar levels and was sent on my way for a while. Of course I wanted to learn as much as possible about gestational diabetes, so I joined a couple of Facebook groups and reddit forums + watched a bunch of videos online. Ideally a person with gestational diabetes can control this diagnosis with diet alone, however after a few weeks of trying to adjust my diet, my fasting numbers were still elevated, so they put me on insulin at night time.

The insulin injections at night were so scary to me at first, along with the daily finger pricks! Something about drawing my own blood and the frequency of it had me freaking out. Luckily I have gotten used to the whole experience now, but it definitely took some time to mentally overcome these challenges. I’ve since had to also add metformin to my night time routine, as my fasting numbers are still elevated.

I will say that having gestational diabetes has shown me how resilient and determined I am to keep myself and my baby as healthy as possible. I didn’t have the best diet for the last couple of years – I love soda! So this new way of living has helped me to greatly reduce my sugar consumption and I’ve actually lost almost 15 pounds in the process. That wasn’t a goal of mine, but I do hope that once I have Olivia, I can continue this way of eating and feel even better.

New Symptoms

My second trimester was filled with energy, better sleep and less mood swings. I still would occasionally feel nauseous if I was hungry and didn’t immediately eat, but not to a level of morning sickness or anything like that. My pelvic bone discomfort did progressively get worse, so around 24 weeks I started to see a prenatal chiropractor. She has been amazing at helping to reduce my pelvic bone pain, along with any back and neck pain I have been feeling as well. I highly recommend checking out a prenatal chiropractor that is certified in the Webster technique if you are having endless aches and pains during pregnancy.

Highlights

Around 21 weeks is when I experienced my first flutter movement from Olivia. I was listening to music and dancing when all of a sudden I felt something in my belly. It was very soft, but so exciting! From then on, the movements picked up and around 24 weeks was when I started to feel full on kicks! It is so surreal to feel your baby kicking you from the inside. It took some time for my husband to feel Olivia kicking on the outside, but once he did, he couldn’t believe how magical it felt either! I have an anterior placenta (placenta that is attached to the front of my uterus) so that is likely why it took a bit longer for me to actually feel Olivia moving.

Greg and I had a week long baby moon in March – read about it here! We visited New York for a few days and then relaxed by the beach in Sarasota for a few days. I can’t believe this was the last travel trip we took just the two of us. We made so many fun memories during the trip and ate way too much!

We had our baby shower for Olivia around my 28 weeks of pregnancy and it was amazing. You can read all about it here. I highly recommend having your baby shower around this time because once my third trimester hit I have completely noticed a decrease in energy and my belly feels so much bigger and full now! I loved getting to celebrate Olivia with my family and friends. It was such a special day and I will cherish it forever! I am so excited to watch Greg become an amazing dad to our daughter – she is going to be so loved and spoiled! 🙂

Products I’ve Been Using

I purchased two belly bands and started using them more frequently during my second trimester. As my belly has been growing, I’ve noticed a lot more pressure on my pelvic bone, so the belly bands really help to alleviate that pressure by raising the belly up a bit. I have a more loose fitting version for everyday wear and a heavy duty one that is great for walking around or doing chores.

I love my belly oil – especially since my belly has been pretty itchy! I am still noticing some stretch marks forming, but overall I think this oil has helped to greatly reduce the appearance and amount of marks I may have gotten otherwise.

My Davy Piper wireless bras have been so comfortable during my pregnancy. They come with an extra piece of fabric that has hooks on it, so you can extend your bra band out – perfect for pregnancy as your boobs grow a bit. I recently purchased some nursing bras from their sister company, Kindred Bravely, so I look forward to seeing how those work out for me.

—

That’s it for my second trimester recap. In a few more weeks Olivia will be here and I’ll be sharing more updates!

Meagan