Pregnancy Update: Weeks 13-20

Hello second trimester… and a bump! Read on to learn about the last 7 weeks in my second trimester pregnancy update covering travel essentials while pregnant, workouts, what I’m craving, pregnancy must-haves (so far!), and more!

As a blogger, I wasn’t sure if I was going to give play-by-play pregnancy updates, like so many bloggers do. I realize pregnancy is a very sensitive topic, and it can be really hard for people going through fertility struggles – past and present – to read. I would never want my blog to be a place to make someone sad or uncomfortable, so if this triggers any of those feelings, please take a pass on these posts.

Personally, it’s been really fun and therapeutic to jot down the details of my pregnancy, like a diary of sorts. It hasn’t been all rainbows, but every moment has been wonderful over the past 20 weeks. I hope you enjoy reading these updates, and are hopefully learning something if you’re pregnant too.

If you missed my first trimester recap, you can read it here. And if you have any questions you’d like me to address, of course send me a message anytime.

Pregnancy Update: Weeks 13-16

As a first time mom, I expected my nausea and crazy exhaustion of my first trimester to suddenly stop the second I hit 13 weeks. I thought my body would just know it was time for the fun second trimester that I read about online. My body didn’t catch on too quickly.

After doing some more digging, however, I learned it was perfectly normal to take a few more weeks after your first trimester is over for most mamas-to-be to feel back to themselves.

The week of my 30th birthday I entered my 13th week of pregnancy. I really don’t expect life to follow any timelines, but for some time I said I wanted to become a mom by 30, and low and behold, life cooperated (this one time). I celebrated with a delicious dinner out with just my hubby on my birthday, and brunch with my family the following weekend. My mom is the queen of decorations, so I just have to share the cute timeline of my life she strung together and hung up in the restaurant. Can you spy my baby picture all the way on the left and our babe’s sonogram picture at the other end?

The following week (week 14), we moved! We were having so many problems with our last apartment (I’ll spare you the details), so when we found out we were expecting, we knew a move was in order. We absolutely love our new apartment and have a room for the baby just waiting – albeit empty still! I did start pinning nursery ideas though – but we’re not finding out the sex, so it will be very neutral at first!

I must say this move was pretty painless because my hubby made sure I didn’t lift anything heavy while unpacking, and I took lots of breaks. My mom came in to help us unpack too, so that was a lifesaver!

And later that week, we left for my 30th birthday trip to Paris! December was definitely a busy month and it was full of highs and lows. I got SUPER emotional and we actually almost cancelled the trip, which is SO unlike the travel wanderer in me! (Not to mention protests and police releasing tear gas were happening in Paris a few weeks before we left, so we wanted to be sure we were safe!)

Traveling While Pregnant

I got SO freaked out about flying overseas for a long flight (it’s about 7ish hours from New York), so I took all the precautions my OB suggested…

• Compression socks
• Plenty of water – I drank 16 ounces of water every hour we were flying… and proceeded to use the bathroom every hour on the hour! (My refillable water bottle was a must!)
• Movement – I walked around the plane every 30-45 minutes (OK, so my OB said to take some walks, and I took it to the extreme!)
• Snacks – I packed snacks with extra fiber to offset pregnancy and travel constipation (I have a whole post on pregnancy constipation coming next week with tons of ideas!)

In case you don’t know, you’re at greater risk for a blood clot when pregnant and flying, so it’s important to check with your OB to make sure it’s safe. My OB wasn’t worried at all, but I’m a tad crazy when it comes to these things so I even set alarms for myself to walk around the plane (which was very useful on a red eye flight… although not very restful!).

While my nausea mostly disappeared by the time we left for our trip, unfortunately, my exhaustion didn’t realize we were on Parisian time. Usually we’re very go-go-go type of travelers, and this was definitely a much more relaxing type of European vacation. We planned 1 major activity each day because I really couldn’t handle more than that – sleeping in and daily nap time was a must!

But we still got to explore, eat our way through the city (as much as I could with pregnancy restrictions and allergies), and really enjoyed our time unplugged together. Crazy to think this 30th birthday trip turned into a babymoon and is probably our last time traveling as a party of 2!

Pregnancy Update: Weeks 17-20

By week 17, I finally started to feel more like myself. I had energy to actually work all day (which was definitely a 1st trimester struggle!), go to the gym more often, and eat a bigger variety of foods.

Cravings and Eating

To be completely honest, once my nausea subsided (around week 12-13), my eating habits went back to my normal. I wasn’t feeling much hungrier, some of my earlier cravings (like dairy) subsided a bit, and I was excited to enjoy veggies and proteins again.

Pregnancy constipation did kick in at this time, however, so I made a conscious effort to bump up my fiber (and water) intake. I’ll share more about pregnancy constipation next week (what a fun topic!), because it can be truly uncomfortable – especially as someone having a history of Irritable Bowel Syndrome with constipation and crazy bloating!

Overall, I’m definitely preferring more salty foods over sweet. My love of popcorn returned (thank goodness), so a usual afternoon snack looks like this…

(You can follow along with my What I Ate Wednesdays on Instagram stories for an even closer look at my daily eats!)

Workouts

As my energy bounced back, so did my workouts! Exercising is so good for mom and baby, but it’s especially important that I keep up my cardio workouts for my lungs. As someone with chronic lung disease, exercising makes sure my lung capacity remains as strong as possible. I’ve been going to hour-long dance cardio classes about 3-4 times a week and loving it. I make some modifications (more and more every week as it gets harder and my belly grows!), but I always feel so accomplished and better after I attend class.

I did have to buy more workout clothes to accommodate my growing body! Here’s what I’ve been loving lately…

• These lululemon Align leggings that many people swear by during and after pregnancy
• New sports bras
• More leggings that are comfortable – I’m loving these right now!

I also started doing some YouTube prenatal yoga. It didn’t really capture my attention, but I’ve been trying to stretch more often to prevent aches and soreness.

 

Second Trimester Supplements

So far, my second trimester supplements have stayed the same as my first, so I’ll link to my first trimester recap for you to see what I’m taking and the brands I trust most!

Second Trimester Symptoms

I’m 20 weeks as I’m writing this update, so I feel pretty lucky right now that I’m in this coasting period of my second trimester where nothing’s bothering me too much (please don’t jinx yourself, Chelsey!!!). Even so, I’m having some symptoms – and some really fun stuff too!

Insomnia

In addition to the previously mentioned constipation, the only other annoying symptom I’ve been experiencing these last few weeks (I’m 20 weeks as I’m writing this) is insomnia. Some nights are better than others, but I never know when it’ll strike! To be honest, it probably has to do with the fact that I’m waking up at least once (usually twice) to go to the bathroom, so that’s no fun!

I’m thinking about getting the Snoogle pregnancy pillow that I hear helps my comfort, but if you have any other suggestions, I’d love to hear (and I’ll share what I end up with and how it’s working in my next update).

Breast Growth… Again!

I never had particularly large boobs, so the fact that mine just keep on growing is a bit shocking! My mom says she was the same way when pregnant, so I guess it’s in my genes! Aside from constantly upgrading my bras and doubling up on sports bras in my workout classes, it’s exciting to see how the body changes in preparation for our babe to (hopefully) breastfeed.

I know breastfeeding isn’t easy and not for everyone, but I’m hoping it works out for our baby and me.

Now let’s talk about a part of breast growth during pregnancy that isn’t talked about very frequently… armpit fat. Or what’s really going on, which is the growth of breast tissue in your armpits. Seriously – what is that?! Never knew I had breast tissue there, but apparently it’s pretty common! It’s been the only part of pregnancy that I don’t love when I look in the mirror, but I know it’s all for our babe, so I’m learning to embrace it!

A Bump Arrived!!!

For a few weeks (weeks 16 to 17), I would have this bump by the end of the day and get SO excited. By the time I woke up, though, it was mostly gone!

Then around week 17-18, I looked like I had a really big burrito for lunch. Some days I thought my bump was really coming, but it turns out I was just gassy or constipated (sorry for the TMI, but that’s the truth, and I know pregnant mamas can relate!).

I know they say you all of a sudden “pop” overnight, but for some reason, I didn’t expect it to really happen that way!

Then, all of a sudden in week 19, my belly was there and didn’t go away!

I haven’t had to break out maternity clothes just yet… I only wore these Spanx maternity faux leather leggings once to my friend’s birthday and LOVED them. Apparently 3 pairs of my usual jeans stretch very well, but I have a feeling maternity wear is around the corner!

I’m usually a looser clothes dresser, but I can already tell I’m going to love everything tight this pregnancy!

With my belly growth, also comes caring for said belly. I ordered Earth Mama Organics Belly Oil and Belly Butter from Thrive Market. The prices are unbeatable and ingredients are stellar! I haven’t noticed any stretch marks yet, but I’ll report back on how they’re working in my next update. So far, they’re so soothing and smell incredible!

Flutters and Movement

The infamous “they” say first-time moms don’t feel much movement until later, but for a few weeks I’ve been certain something was going on. I have a feeling I’m going to have one active baby!

In the past week or two movement has picked up like crazy, and one day was so strong I grabbed my husband’s hand and he even felt it – before 20 weeks! There’s truly no better feeling than feeling the baby move. I was sitting on the couch working last week and all of a sudden started crying because I couldn’t believe Baby G was so active… and pregnancy hormones! 😉

And that takes us to halfway!! Questions? Comments? Suggestions? I can’t wait to hear from you – come say hi over on Instagram! I’ll be back for my next update in several weeks!