Second Pregnancy: The First Trimester

For those of you who don’t already know, I’m pregnant! We’re expecting our second baby, who we are affectionately calling baby bird, around November, and we couldn’t be more excited. Though I have no intention of this becoming a baby blog, I thought it would be fun to share some bumpdates and changes as we go along; as well as the differences between this pregnancy, and my first. And don’t you worry- I have lots of mama-to-be nutrition and fitness posts coming up, too. Now that I’m 15 weeks, I thought I’d share a recap of what the first trimester of my second pregnancy was like.

Finding Out

I’m sure I will share more about this in an upcoming post, but being diagnosed with PCOS last year meant we knew a second pregnancy wouldn’t come easily- and we weren’t even sure if it would happen at all. But we trusted that God had a plan, and if He wanted us to have a second baby, it would happen, and after some months, we were blessed to see those two lines appear on the test on March 9th.*TMI note: if you don’t want to hear the ins and outs of my symptoms, go ahead and stop reading now!*

I had been feeling a little crampy, and my boobs hurt a ton, which wasn’t a typical PMS symptom for me (with incredibly long cycles and ever changing symptoms, periods were unpredictable) and when I mentioned it to a couple girlfriends, they suggested I take a test. So I waited a few days and peed on the stick. Nada. Well, guess I must be getting my period, I thought. A few days later, I was at a conference when I started feeling incredibly dizzy and lightheaded. I had to prop myself up against a wall and breathe through it for a couple minutes until it passed. It was odd, especially because I had eaten only a short while prior but I chalked it up to low blood sugar and went on with my weekend. Even so, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was just different about my body.That Thursday, I took another test, a week after the last- and there they were, those two pink lines.

Early SymptomsAs I mentioned before, I had quite a bit of cramping in the beginning, which I knew could be due to my uterus growing and stretching, and I recalled having a bit in the beginning of my first pregnancy, but my midwife encouraged me to come in and get checked just to be safe. She checked me, did some bloodwork and sent me on my way. Everything came out good, but due to my hormonal imbalances, we were recommended to a specialist and to have fairly frequent ultrasounds in the beginning to monitor the baby’s growth. After 4 weeks of weekly ultrasounds, we were told baby was progressing well, and released from the specialist to my midwife. It was a relief- but with so many tests and so much uncertainty, anxiety was certainly amongst my biggest early symptoms.

As I reached about six weeks, I started experiencing more typical pregnancy symptoms. I was super bloated (like, wanting maternity jeans bloated, from about 6 weeks-10 weeks. Morning sickness, which lasted most of the day from weeks 6-8, and then only at nighttime (odd) from weeks 8-11 and thankfully started to taper off after week 11. Food aversions were greater than cravings- I wanted very little chicken, and lots of noodles (of any kind!), but red meat and fish were good. Many veggies were off the table but I was able to get in lots of greens, which was good!Heartburn, which hit it’s peak between weeks 11-13, was something I had not experienced with my first pregnancy. Fatigue was worst between weeks 8-13, but I definitely started feeling energy again come last week (thank God!).

One of my most interesting symptoms, again not something I had experienced with Sage, is vivd dreams. At least 2-3 nights a week I have incredibly vivid, movie-like dreams. Cool, but kind of crazy!

Now, at 15 weeks, aside from occasional heartburn, some earlier-than-usual tiredness in the evenings and those crazy dreams, I’m thankful to be feeling pretty darn good! Hoping it continues so I can enjoy a fun summer with my little lady before she officially becomes big sister!

MilestonesAt 11 weeks, after a successful NT scan and a heartbeat on the doppler AND the scan, we announced to our family (only a few close friends knew, before then) that we were expecting! At 13 weeks, on Mother’s day, we shared with our family that we were having another baby GIRL!

At 15 weeks, I felt like I woke up with a bump (like, a real one!). Seriously, it felt like overnight. I still get comments that I don’t look pregnant, but I think close family and friends can definitely tell!

Current Bumpdate:

❊ How Far Along – 15 weeks

❊ Baby Size Comparison – Apple ????

❊ Baby Gender- GIRL ❤️

❊ Baby Nicknames- Baby Bird, Baby Sister, Birdie (Sage), Elmo (ha-Sage)

❊ Baby Name- we’ve picked one, but aren’t sharing (yet!).

❊ Symptoms – Super hungry in the morning, much more thirsty. Feeling good!

❊ Physical Changes – Bumping already! Starting to feel a few small flutters.

❊ Mood – Generally pretty happy, but definitely more emotional (movies and youtube videos frequently make me tear up- not like me!).

❊ Food Cravings – Justin’s Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups. Eggs, of all sorts. I’ll eat eggs all day long! Seafood- all of it! Wishing I could have raw oysters and cold smoked salmon (I’ve been warming it up).

❊ Food Aversions – Roasted veggies, especially brussels sprouts and cauliflower. I think maybe it’s the smell?? I just can’t do it. Love my veggies otherwise!

❊ Fitness- Running 3x a week (4-5 miles 2x a week, 1 longer 7-10 mile run; training for a 10-miler on June 4th!). Knocked Up Fitness workouts and/or bodyweight workouts 3x a week. Walking or yoga if I feel tired. 1 full rest day.

❊ Looking Forward To – Moving in September! The girls will be sharing a room, but I’m excited to decorate a shared girl’s room! And girl clothes, let’s me real. We didn’t know Sage was a girl until 32 weeks, so this is fun! Share with me! If you have more than one, how was your second (or third) first trimester different than your first? Is there anything else you want me to share? I’m planning on doing updates every few weeks, as time allows!

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