Second Trimester Side Effects...

Second Trimester is definitely superior to the first and third. However, there are still some side effects you will start to if not already feel as your belly starts to grow…

Day Outings

With the surge of energy you can do some day activities! Like the rodeo with the family :)

Still peeing alot! Some women get some relief in this trimester (uterus is not pushing down as much on bladder) but honestly I always felt like I had to pee. Especially at night - it is my theory your body is training you for the sleepless nights ahead. It probably is evolutionary speaking. Even though you want to avoid water - keep drinking it! You are going to have to pee frequently anyways and staying hydrated will be good for your body and avoid other symptoms like headaches, swelling and constipation.
Acid reflux (more so with my subsequent pregnancies) all due to the hormonal changes in your body. Zantac or Pepcid is safe to use while pregnant and effective for it! Also just try to avoid spicy foods, acidic foods, caffeine, eating too much - basically all things that will trigger acid reflux. Tums are also great and tasty!
Discomfort sleeping will begin due to that growing belly of yours so start to sleep on your side! It’s better for your heart and digestion. If you are a stomach sleeper you need to start weaning yourself away from that espeically as baby starts to grow. Sleeping on your back is also not great for circulation and can make you feel dizzy. Don’t be upset if you wake up on your back. It may happen, don’t panic. But just be conscious about it and switch positions whenever you have to get up for your ‘millionth’ pee break. Invest in a maternity pillow - most amazing thing ever. Pricey, but worth it! Your husband may hate it, it’s like having another someone in the bed, but who cares. Your comfort is more important.
Sciatica can start due to hormonal changes and pressure of baby on your nerves as pregnancy progresses. The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in your body running from your buttocks to your feet. Sciatica is when you get a pain or discomfort that usually starts in buttocks and extends to your legs. I felt it with both my pregnancies, more so my first, and I found it got exacerbated when on my feet for too long or sitting for too long. It is this weird pain that you try to massage out, but you just can’t reach it. Although professional massages do help sooth it or going to a chiropractor. As well as daily stretches for it like modified pigeon pose (yogis). Also sitting on a chair, lifting one leg and crossing it over the other with the foot on top of your thigh. Then slowly bending over with straight back till you feel the stretch.
Aches now with growing belly. SO general - but these aches can start anywhere especially the back! Large boobs don’t help!
Bleeding gums - actually very common. I never experienced myself, but can happen since all the extra blood volume in your system. Leads into…
Make appointment with dentist. During your pregnancy the baby takes a lot more out of your system especially calcium and that includes from your teeth and gums. It is recommended to go every 3-4 months when pregnant. I did not know this with my first pregnancy. My first dental appointment after my pregnancy I had 8 cavities!!!!!! Never had that many cavities in my life. Also keep up with your flossing and brushing to prevent this.
Boobs keep growing !!!
Hair growth! Which is amazing to have luscious locks during your pregnancy. But it also means extra hair everywhere else. So just a bit more grooming than usual - makes it awkward in the third trimester to shave down there when you can’t see anything past your belly. Enjoy your luscious locks now because after pregnancy you loose it! Literally starts falling out
Hemorrhoids — eeeek!!! Even though gross to think about, it is very common. Experienced it with my subsequent pregnancies. I was so freaked out first time I discovered it. You may see blood in your stool and feel bumps around your anus in the shower. You can get hemorrhoid pads for relief (tuck), sit baths (epsom salt baths warm water) and lots of fibre in your diet will help too!
Pregnancy glow? Scientifically it is said pregnancy can cause this ‘glow’ due to hormonal changes making more oil on your face (shiny or acne??) and the extra blood rushing to your face. Or is it something to make pregnant women feel better about themselves?!?!?
Stretch marks. I was very paranoid about this one always putting creams and lotions for it daily. Which does help. But at the end of the day, a lot of it has to do with genetics…you can’t control it. They do fade or go away after pregnancy, but not always completely.
Weight gain : 0.5-1 lb a week. If you were not gaining weight in the first trimester with all the nausea now is the time to start. About 14 lbs total
Varicose or spider veins. Basically vessels you can start to see through the skin (all the extra blood flow causing twists etc) most common in the legs. They generally fade after pregnancy. I had a couple in my legs (faded after) and red bumps on my legs as well. All normal during pregnancy.
Linea nigra and melasma. Hormones can cause changes in pigmentation. You can get melasma darkening of your face sometimes get dark patches on your face - never experienced myself. Or linea nigra which is a dark thick line running from your navel to pubic area -basically your baby bump. I had with my first two pregnancies. Weird it did not happen with my third which happened to be a boy…coincidence? Anyways both conditions occur only during pregnancy and will go away a few months after pregnancy!
Nausea should subside. Most of the first trimester nausea usually subsides by the second trimester. However, if you are the unlucky few it may continue on for the rest of the pregnancy.
Symptoms come sooner with subsequent pregnancies. For my third pregnancy, my OB generalized it to 4 weeks earlier for everything. Things like feeling baby kick, showing belly faster, heartburn etc. For my second pregnancy I definitely felt I was showing a lot sooner than I did with my first.
Carrying High vs. Low
Kind of hard to tell the difference unless you have experienced it for yourself. With high, your belly starts to come out right under you boobs and with a low one it’s more flat or slow slope under your breasts and bulging out lower closer to your vagina. Easier to notice in a bigger belly and you can feel the difference more when baby drops closer to due date. With my first two pregnancies I was carrying pretty mid to high range. More common with first pregnancy since your muscles have not been stretched out before and helps if you are in good shape and have strong abdominal muscles. If you do carry high it does make it more difficult to breathe, a common pregnancy symptom that gets worse with carrying high.
With my third however I was carrying low and soon the difference in the ‘fun’ side effects I quickly noticed. According to my OB, there is nothing to be worried about with carrying low at the beginning so don’t fret. It is common in subsequent pregnancies to carry lower because your muscles and ligaments have been stretched out by previous pregnancies and not as strong as they used to be which makes sense. These ‘fun’ side effects are basically a lot of your common side effects just worse with low carrying pregnancies. Things like peeing more often. I found sometimes I go to the bathroom only to have to go to the bathroom again a few minutes later! Also found I couldn’t rush going to the bathroom since standing up right after before absolutely finishing can get some urine to drip out.
Another fun thing I never had to do before was hold in my pee when I sneezed or coughed. Probably doesn’t help that since it was my third pregnancy and everything is not the same down there as it was with the first - but still embarrassing! Stock up on some extra underwear ;) Omg and don’t get me started on the pressure. So much pressure down there in the uterus -basically close to your vagina. And you can feel it more everytime you bend over or crouch etc. More back pain too as a result of all the weight around your lower back area. Having fun yet?
And don’t get me started on the clothes! I didn’t really have to get too much maternity clothes with my first 2 pregnancies. I borrowed some looser clothes from family, wore my stretchy leggings more. I did buy a couple jeans later on, maternity bras, nursing tanks, belly band to use my regular jeans and shirts. I had to buy more maternity clothes with my third pregnancy. So early on I felt bigger and it was much lower so trying to wear my regular comfy leggings I felt so much pressure down there. Thank goodness there are vast cheap and easy options for maternity clothes presently like H&M, Old Navy, ASOS (mostly online)! You can even ‘rent’ maternity clothes nowadays - especially good if you have a formal event to attend. I felt ridiculous getting maternity clothes for my last pregnancy, but it had to be done. I was so uncomfortable only halfway in and I couldn’t wear sweat pants everyday - even though some of those were getting constricting around my waist. One last thing was the kicks. Whenever baby would kick especially when he was so active at night it was almost like baby was kicking my vagina area. Also your lower rib cage they liked to poke at. Felt a lot more awkward to say the least. You feel the kicks more so at the top of your vagina than on your tummy.

Second Trimester Side Effects...

Carrying High vs. Low