Second trimester is over! Plus my #1 tip for dressing with maternity clothes
I'm smiling here but... man, I am uncomfortable most of the time now... baby is pushing up against my rib cage or something on the right and even when she's not kicking I feel pressure there. I'm feeling very... full all the time.
There was one moment a couple weeks ago where I looked at myself in the mirror and was just shocked at how big my belly had become! I had taken a photo a week before, so did it again... these pics were 8 days apart! Wow!
I have a lot of the same symptoms as I did at this time in my first pregnancy (27 weeks/healthy pregnancy faves and 30 weeks, third trimester update), plus two, minus some. I have the exact same spider veins on my left ankle, and one varicose vein behind my left knee. (Those went away after I delivered before. So weird.) I'm a little puffy, but my ankles and hands are definitely less puffy than with my first pregnancy at this point. That's nice.
I'm also not feeling back pain like last time, yet. Weighed myself to write this post and I can't currently remember what I weighed when I started out but I think I've gained 22 lbs so far. (Thanking my previous self for making that note in my 30-week post last time so I can compare. I don't track it anywhere else so probably wouldn't know otherwise.)
I do have one difficult new symptom, unfortunately: I think it's acid reflux, and it sucks! Awful feeling like I have something stuck in my throat, like when you swallow too many vitamins at once, but it lingers. I've never ever experienced heartburn or anything like this before so I had to do some googling, but it sounds like this is what it is and it's very common in pregnancy due to hormones and stomach being moved up. It happens mostly after 2-4pm or so and lasts until bedtime sometimes, regardless of my position. Really not enjoying it.
Another new symptom this time: round ligament pain. When I run, so I stopped my walk/runs and just walk, but now I feel it when I walk fast, too. Trying a support belt to see if that helps. I've heard round ligament pain is more common with second/later pregnancies.
I definitely was worried about handling pregnancy with a toddler... other than having to shield my belly from him climbing on me, so far it's okay. (The first trimester was hard when I was feeling so icky and tired all the time.) I can even carry him still (I always wondered how moms did that).
He just turned 2 and is so spirited and energetic, and moody (classic toddler) but also so, so sweet. We snuggle and talk about baby sister and mommy's tummy. He overwhelms us with his cuteness, and wears us out with his high pitched energy sometimes!
I definitely have also stocked up on maternity tees and tanks for summer and layering, and feel much more confident in those. (See my favorite affordable maternity basics here.)
This brings me to my #1 tip for feeling good in maternity clothes, and flattering a baby bump. I've found that the best look with maternity clothes is a snug-fitting, long top (ending well below the bump) with elastic at the side. This is common on maternity clothes but I have a couple of dresses that don't have this and I just feel way more like a big blob! The elastic really helps pull the fabric closer to the bump so it's obvious that there's a baby under there and you're not just a bigger person. It's also more comfortable to have clothing close to your body the whole way down rather, rather than creating a tent under the belly! (This dress is $25 and super flattering!)
I don't often wear super snug-fitting dresses and tops when not pregnant, but I promise you'll feel cuter in something like this versus a loose babydoll dress or oversized tee!
Onward to the third trimester. I can't believe I have almost 3 more months to go still, but I imagine it'll go by pretty fast. So excited to meet our baby!
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