Second Pregnancy Update: Weeks 24-28

Mom guilt, flying emotions, and complete exhaustion have been the most momentous as I wrap up my second trimester. But overall I’m feeling OK and finally wrapping my head around welcoming another baby into our family!

Like I did with my first pregnancy, I’ll be sharing some pregnancy updates on the blog, and specifically how pregnancy relates to nutrition. I am not a prenatal dietitian, just sharing my personal experiences. I know pregnancy is a sensitive subject and these types of posts can be triggering for some people, so please take care of yourself first and foremost.

To learn more about my second pregnancy check out these blog posts:

• Surprise I’m Pregnant with Baby #2
• Weeks 13-23 & My Prenatal Supplement Routine
• How to Deal with Pregnancy Nausea

The past month I’ve felt hella pregnant. It’s like all of a sudden I’m waddling, more uncomfortable, utterly exhausted and on an emotional rollercoaster, and dealing with terrible twos from my first kiddo. Now I’m not sharing this to complain or for sympathy! I’m sharing because that’s just the reality of life right now. Weeks 24-28 have been TOUGH. But motherhood makes you tougher and we get through it!

So how have I really been feeling at the end of the second trimester?

To put it into 3 words that all being with ‘e’…

• Exhausted
• Emotional
• Excited

Let’s break ’em down…

But first I do want to acknowledge how grateful I am to be in my position. I know I’m so lucky to be pregnant and not everyone is as fortunate as me. I’ve also done a lot of inner work to accept that I can feel grateful for one thing and frustrated and/or feeling some negative emotions at the same time.

The exhaustion of a second pregnancy is real.

I feel like no one really talks about how much more tiring pregnancy is the second time around. If you’ve found the contrary, boyyyy am I jealous. But between chasing a toddler, working, and just life, there’s been less down time and me time this go around.

I think I knew I was lucky to work for myself during my first pregnancy so I could mold my schedule around my rest times and nauseous times, but I didn’t know just how lucky I was until this pregnancy. Throughout my first pregnancy I don’t think there was one day I woke up before 8am. This pregnancy 6:15am is a good day… especially the last 4 weeks.

As a result, I never had that second trimester energy boost that women talk about. And that’s meant a lot more mid-day naps when my son naps (if I can sneak away from work), early bedtimes (I usually get into bed right after my son!), and leaning on other people for rest when I need it (which any mom knows is so hard to do).

Emotions have been running wild…

Before my first pregnancy my husband used to joke that I was going to be an emotional rollercoaster when I was pregnant, so steer clear (like not emotional in a good way!). But I really wasn’t my first pregnancy.

This pregnancy – and especially the last two months – my emotions have been running wild… and not in the way I originally thought.

As I’m writing this just at 28 weeks, this is the first week in too many to count that I haven’t been hysterical one day. The hormones coupled with exhaustion have just led to sadness. Sometimes it’s paralyzing, to be completely honest. I do what I have to do on the days that I’m working (since I had my son I only work 3 full days/week), but there have been many days that I’ll crawl into bed as soon as I get home from school drop off. And the tears just flow.

I’m sharing this not for sympathy or empathy, but because I don’t think it’s talked about enough. There’s nothing wrong with struggling with your mental health. And for the first time in my life I feel like I truly get it. And I’m lucky because it has been so mild. But those days when there’s this gray cloud just hanging over my head is hard. Especially when I have a family to take care of.

Motherhood and pregnancy can feel so lonely sometimes, but the more we talk about this, the easier it gets.

How have I been helping myself?

1. To help myself feel better, on the days I’m up to it I make sure to get some fresh air and go for walks. It makes all the difference. Even just 10 minutes around the blocks resets my mindset.
2. I ask myself daily “What do I need right now?” Sometimes that’s crawling into bed. Other times it’s baking in the kitchen. And sometimes it’s distracting myself with work.
3. Rest as much as possible. It’s not easy with a wild 2 year old and my husband returning to the office (which means long days mom-ing), but I’ve given myself a break to rest when I can. Even if that means taking on less work and making less money. It’s what I need right now.
4. Journaling – I’m not consistent with it, but I do try to journal out my feelings to identify how I am feeling.
5. Avoiding comparison. It’s so easy to compare these days with social media in your face 24/7 (especially with my job), but comparison is the thief of joy. There’s no point in comparing my pregnancy to another – even my previous pregnancy (more on that here), or my career because we all have different things going on in life.

Last, I’ve been excited!!

I don’t think I let myself get suuuuper excited before the past month. The baby has been moving like crazy and now I just can’t wait to meet him or her (we still don’t know the sex).

I have SO much to do to get ready for the baby, but I’m finally at the stage where I’m excited (albeit nervous) for this next chapter!

What I’ve Been Eating in my 2nd Trimester

I don’t think I’ve had as many “cravings” as I’ve had aversions this pregnancy. I’m still not thrilled with the idea of eating meat or even cooking chicken, so I honeslty haven’t been most days.

Since the weather cooled down over the past month I’ve been leaning hard into veggie soup, adding some cheese and whole grain bread and calling it a meal.

Your protein needs do dramatically increase during pregnancy though so there have been days I’ve “forced” myself to eat it. It’s been really helpful to have the grilled chicken from the local pizza place already prepped and in the fridge so I don’t have to cook it!

Most days I try to eat…

• 2 eggs with breakfast – not just for the protein, but also the choline. 2 eggs fill your choline needs for the day
• Some form of dairy – yogurt or cheese (usually the latter)
• At least 1-2 serving(s) of veggies (lately it’s been in soup form); more if I can stomach it/it sounds good
• High fiber carbs – pregnancy constipation is no joke!

Every week I’ve also been eating 1 can of tuna because that I can actually stomach well!

As far as specific cravings, there haven’t been many, but I do eat dessert daily. I did in my first pregnancy too. However, this pregnancy I will also want more salt at very specific times, so there’s that too!

Exercise in the 2nd Trimester

I started this pregnancy in a VERY different place when it came to fitness than I did my first pregnancy. Throughout my first pregnancy I did high intensity dance cardio classes at least 3 times/week.

This pregnancy I’m lucky if I go for a short walk daily.

Each week I try to do:

• 2ish (20 minute) barre classes – I skip the core section though because I don’t want too much pressure
• 1-2 (20 minute) spinning classes – sometimes I stop at 15 minutes 🙂 I try to make 1 of these spin classes a Peloton Bike Bootcamp, so it includes some strength training as well
• Walk daily, but in reality it’s only 4-(maybe) 5 days per week
• Stretching daily – usually when I’m playing with Lex on the floor

Weight Gain During Pregnancy

One of the reasons I’m so glad to have a better relationship with my body is that prenatal weight gain doesn’t scare me. I get that it’s a normal part of the process and I actually love seeing my body shift.

HOWEVER, I have been gaining weight faster this second pregnancy than I did throughout my first. Of course that has me second guessing if I’m eating too many sweets or not getting enough protein, etc, etc. BUT I can only remind myself that I’m doing the best I can and it’s normal for each pregnancy to be unique.

Not once have my doctors mentioned anything to me about weight gain and I’m very lucky because I know if I was in a larger body to start they would (even if those recommendations are slightly outdated).

If you’re ready to improve your relationship with food and your body before you try to conceive, join the waitlist for the Nutrition Training Program or apply for 1:1 coaching today!

XO