The Second Trimester "Honeymoon Period" (Weeks 23-27)

The next five weeks of my pregnancy were emotional and trying, yet amazing. They call this phase of pregnancy the “Honeymoon Phase.” Between cracking a tooth and finally getting really good rest, I think there was a beautiful balance during this time. Despite the craziness in the world, I am looking for the hope and the light to bring my baby into. I also think it is dubbed the honeymoon phase because a lot of women get an increased sex drive during this time. I have not. A lot of women have a decreased sex drive as well. I also have not had this. I feel that my sex drive hasn’t changed much. Vito and I have our regular sex routine and have seen no changes with the pregnancy thus far.

23 Weeks

This week started off with excitement. Vito got to feel the baby kick for the first time! It was just one small kick but I was so excited for him to get a glimpse of what I feel every day. I look forward to these highlights and milestones because I feel very disconnected from my pregnancy. Besides lower back pain and some kicks here and there, I don’t feel pregnant. The weather is dreary and so am I. I don’t know if I would call it depressed, but I am definitely… “blah.”

I decided to try some work outs. I had the chance to interview Jillian Michaels on the Miraculous Mamas podcast and we talked about the importance of prenatal work outs. I usually love working out, but starting again after a long vacation is really tough. I decided to make myself and I felt so much better! Plus, I’ve been eating way too many sweets during out “stay at home” order. I have never been a great baker. I thought I would take this time to perfect my muffin and bread recipes. Although I tried making healthy changes to the recipes, they still weren’t necessarily healthy for me.

I had a prenatal visit this week and always look forward to hearing the baby’s heartbeat. What I didn’t look forward to was the weigh in. I had gained 20 lbs. this pregnancy. I immediate googled if it was normal. The average weight gain at 23 weeks is 12 - 15 lbs. Cool. I immediately texted Vito and he replied with a heart. I already didn’t love the way my body was looking which made me feel guilty.

I had the chance to interview Dr. Ream, a perinatal mental health psychologist. I ended up opening up to her about feeling disconnected in my pregnancy and not loving the bodily changes. She had such great advice for me and shared amazing information on the podcast. It is a myth that moms feel instantly connected with their babies in pregnancy or in the fourth trimester. It was reassuring to hear that I am not alone.

24 Weeks

I feel like I have finally figured out the perfect sleeping formula! I turn on my humidifier, diffuser with lavendar, rub lavender on my wrists, take a scoop of magnesium powder and my Cal-mag supplement. I did all of these things one night and slept amazingly! I am too scared to change up the formula to see what really works. Now that sleep was coming easier, the baby decided to start practicing karate in the middle of the night for several nights, usually around midnight. I would wake up with a swift kick to belly. Come on baby! I was just getting into my sleep groove.

Cinco de Mayo also fell on Taco Tuesday this year. We hadn’t ordered any take out food since the “stay at home” order, and I decided it was a perfect excuse not to make dinner. We ordered some tacos and I whipped up some virgin strawberry margaritas, the taste of summer. The weather in the Chicago area is so back and forth this time of year and I have a really hard time adjusting daily. I still get out of the house and walk 2-3 miles a day, but I would like to be getting a tan while walking, not freezing with a beanie and gloves on.

Walking was getting a little harder as my lower back kept flaring up. By the end of the day, I was hurting. I contributed it to the 20 lbs I had gained. My physical therapist gave me some stretches to help soothe my back that I could do throughout the day. I only worked out once this week but continued to do my walking and physical therapy exercises.

25 Weeks

This was an eventful week! At this point, it feels like I am just complaining about pregnancy. I am a little bit but it gets better soon, I promise. I got a strange feeling in the middle of my back on the right side. My first thought was that it was related to my kidneys. I know UTI’s and infections are common in pregnancy. I didn’t think I had an infection, but everything is different down there. I would rather be safe than sorry and so I called my midwife. My urine had been a little cloudy which can be common in pregnancy anyway but could also mean something is off. They had me come in and do a test. Thankfully, everything came back negative! I have never been a paranoid person but pregnancy is weird.

Our house is under our construction and it has been a chaos zone. There is always dust piling up and I feel like the house is never clean. I’ve heard that once you own a house, your projects are never finished. We have a few big projects to finish and then I am hoping to have a breather. I woke up one morning to maggots in our bathroom. Are you freaking kidding me? I immediately made phone calls and googled lots of resources. Apparently they had a food source down our drain and were coming out looking for somewhere to hatch. I was ready to burn the house down. I had my mother-in-law bring some DIY ingredients over to hopefully help the situation. She dumped some stuff in the sink and we went for a walk. On the way back from the walk, I got the most intense pain on the left side of my body from the middle of my thigh up to the middle of my back. It was my sciatica. I had physical therapy that day and got some exercises to try to help it. I had to monitor it on my walks and not go too far.

The following day, Vito and I decided to walk the dog together in the evening in case my back flared up. I went to the bathroom before the walk and saw something between my teeth. I tried to pick it out and my gums immediately started bleeding. I looked in the mirror to see that my front tooth was cracked from top to bottom. The blood filled the crack and I immediately started crying. I hate getting dental work done. Was my tooth going to fall out? Vito talked me off the ledge and I got a dentist appointment for the following afternoon.

Halfway into our walk, I was limping again in pain. I decided to call the chiropractor and get in the next morning. I looked at Vito, “I am falling apart.” I told him with tears I my eyes. “You are following together,” he said with a smile and gave me a kiss.

The chiropractor worked wonders for my sciatica. It has not hurt since! I am going to keep monthly appointments to help my pelvis stay aligned for labor and delivery. I am so grateful this pain went away. I can’t imagine walking around the rest of the pregnancy like this. I had my dental consultation and would have to come back the following week to get fitted for a new tooth! Luckily, the dentist said that he would only have to use a little local anesthetic even though I wanted to get put under.

After what seemed like a very long week, Vito and I curled up on the couch together for snuggle time. He had his hand on my belly and had only felt the baby kick one time a couple of weeks ago. I was telling Vito that I hadn’t felt the baby much this week and was worried. Then, the baby decided to be a little acrobat! Vito could feel all the kicks all over my belly. It was the bonding moment I needed with my little family.

26 Weeks

Vito walked in the house smiled and said, “You’re so cute. I’m going to miss you being pregnant.” I loved hearing this from him. I might actually be starting to enjoy pregnancy. With my back feeling better, I was feeling back to my normal self. Every morning I woke up this week, I smiled at my growing belly appreciating what my body was doing. I was trying to put my hands on my belly every day and speak to the baby. What a beautiful baby I have growing inside of me.

I still hadn’t gotten back to working out the way I wanted to, but I am walking more and doing lots of exercises from my physical therapist. I stopped eating too many sweets and am feeling better all around. I think this was the first week I was really able to enjoy being pregnant. Did I mention my hair? My hair is glorious. It has never looked this full and beautiful before! I am leaning into the pregnancy and actually excited for my belly to grow.

I went to the dentist and they put a temporary tooth on me. It actually looks good and you can’t even tell. I go back in two weeks for the permanent one. I was so nervous going to the dentist, but ended up having a wonderful experience. The doctor was so gentle and I didn’t feel any pain at all. The baby moved around keeping me company and reminding me I wasn’t alone.

The weather has been getting warmer and sunnier which I think is contributing to my better mood. I can’t wait for summer and to finally be out in the world again and wear cute maternity clothes.

Week 27

I am one week off this week. I keep thinking that I am 26 weeks pregnant, but thankfully I am 27! One week closer to getting to meet my bundle of joy. I can’t believe I am almost out of the second trimester. It’s crazy to think I am two-thirds done with my pregnancy but at the same time, I still have three months left (maybe even more)?! That feels like forever away.

This week started off with my glucose test. I didn’t think the drink was that bad, but 20 min later I felt like I was going to throw up. I had a major sugar crash and wanted to desperately nap in the office while waiting for my blood draw. The lady taking my blood didn’t seem like she was in a good mood. I started a conversation with her and asked how her weekend was. She eventually smiled and I felt more relaxed. Two days later I got my results back. I passed!!

I had a chiropractor appointment on Friday and ran into a friend. I haven’t hugged anyone but Vito in two and a half months. We hugged and both almost cried (she is pregnant too) because we needed that embrace. I have cried a lot this week. Things going on in the world feel heavy and I needed a release. I haven’t done well at working out or doing my pelvic floor exercises the past two weeks. I know that also affects my emotional well being.

I ended my 27th week of pregnancy with a family BBQ for our nephew’s birthday. It was nice to sit in the sun and be with family. I am ready to tan my bump and drink virgin mojitos all summer long!

I am looking forward to the third trimester of my pregnancy and I can’t wait to share the final months with you! To read about my pregnancy from the beginning, click here.