First vs. Second Pregnancy: The Second Trimester

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I know you’ve all been waiting with bated breath for my comparison of the second trimesters of my two pregnancies. I’m happy to report that I’ve recently entered my third trimester, and can now give a thorough summary.

A Pain in My Butt (and Hips and Calves and Feet)

Oh, these aching hips of mine. I remember in my first pregnancy, I would get hip pain right in the ball of my hip joint. This time, it’s more towards my back and bottom, but definitely still hip-related. I’ve also had a couple painful episodes in the middle of the night with sharp hip pain that radiates down my legs and charley horse cramps in my feet and calves. Woo, those are not a pleasant wake-up call. My poor husband is woken up in the middle of the night by my yelps and moans of pain, thinking I’m going into preterm labor, but really I’m just getting through an intense cramp or adjusting my hips.

This Big Belly

I know I mentioned it in my post about my first trimester, but my belly situation has really skyrocketed since then. I feel like my stomach sticks out SO far already! I’ve actually hit my belly with car and bathroom doors when I’m opening/closing them because I don’t realize how big my belly is. Already, I’m asking a lot of my maternity pants, and I long for the moment that I get home from work and can put on some loose maternity leggings and my husband’s t-shirt. I’ve heard that bellies get bigger for most women in subsequent pregnancies, but I wasn’t expecting this much!

The Fatigue

Earlier in my second trimester, I was dealing with some serious insomnia. I would fall asleep well enough, but then wake up after three hours and be unable to fall completely asleep for the rest of the night. Luckily, that has subsided and I’m sleeping harder than ever (unless I’m woken up by my body protesting a certain position). Now, I’m facing my body being fatigued. I walk more this pregnancy than I did in my last pregnancy, so maybe that’s why this is cropping up, but if I walk too much or am on my feet for too long, I start getting pain in my lower belly. Sometimes it feels like a cramp similar to what I get when I go for a run while out of shape, and sometimes it feels like a lot of pressure. Luckily, it always goes away just a few minutes after I sit down, but it really brings me to a hault. I was grocery shopping a couple weeks ago and started to feel that pain, so I quickly went to checkout so I didn’t have to face the embarrassment of asking a stranger at King Soopers to kindly drag me to my car so I could drive myself home. By the way, I’ve spoke to my doctor about this, and he said as long as it goes away after resting and I’m not having any bleeding, it’s most likely just ligament pain (like everything else during pregnancy, am I right?).

Warmth in My Chest – and Not From Happiness

I don’t recall having any heartburn in my first pregnancy. This time, it isn’t constant, but it sneaks up on me when I least expect it. What feels like a burp will come up from my stomach, and it’s almost like it doesn’t make it all the way up, so it bursts in my chest and – bam! Heartburn. Luckily, it doesn’t linger more than a few minutes, and I don’t experience it very regularly – maybe once a day or so. I love spicy foods, and this had made me slightly more wary of things like pepperjack cheese or buffalo wings, but not enough to actually give up those delicious delights. I mean, I am pregnant, after all.

What symptoms did you have in the second trimester of one pregnancy that you didn’t have in another? Anything shocking?

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Sara
Sara was born in Colorado Springs, and lived here her entire life until she attended college at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. There, she earned her degree in Journalism and Political Science. Sara met her husband, Luke, in the summer of 2008 while working at Wag N Wash Healthy Pet Center, although they didn't start dating until 2011 - after Sara had graduated from college and Luke had joined the Air Force. They married in 2012, when Luke was stationed in a small town in West Texas. Shortly after moving to the Lone Star State, Sara started her career in local television. She did everything from running the cameras, to producing the five o'clock news, to creating marketing campaigns for local businesses. Sara's daughter Cora was born in 2013, and Sara got her first taste of being a full-time working mom while living over 600 miles from her own parents. Luke's Air Force enlistment ended in the summer of 2015, so they high-tailed it back to Colorado Springs. Now, Sara lives near Old Colorado City and works in the marketing department of a law firm in Downtown Colorado Springs. She loves spending time with her family, cooking, biking, photography and playing with makeup (that’ll happen after working in television in Texas).