And somehow, we’re already halfway through this pregnancy! That is wild to me!
This pregnancy is flying by way faster than my first did. Truly, it’s been a blur, and I’m a little sad that it’s already halfway over! With my first, I feel like I spent every waking (and napping) moment living, breathing, and speaking pregnancy. This time around, I have felt so distracted, disorganized, and pulled in so many different directions. To be fair, I felt that way before becoming pregnant – such is the life of a mom of a toddler! But being a mother to a child on the outside and a child on the inside certainly comes with its own set of challenges.
Here are a few things I’ve noticed about this pregnancy reflecting at this momentous halfway mark:
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My emotions are WAY more this time intense this time. Everyone keeps saying it’s because I’m likely carrying a girl (I’m also carrying much higher than my last pregnancy), but we won’t know if that’s true until I give birth! No, we are not finding out the sex of our baby, and we didn’t get a peak during our anatomy scan! Regardless of if it’s a boy or girl in there, my emotions have been pretty intense. I cry at the drop of a hat, my temper is short, and I’m very sensitive. I was not at all this emotional my first pregnancy. Maybe it is a girl…
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Weight gain has been so slow this time around. By 20 weeks, I’ve only gained 10 pounds unlike my first pregnancy where I had gained about double that in the same time (plus I had lost about 8 pounds in the first trimester of that pregnancy). I’m not concerned by the slow weight gain – each pregnancy is different, even for the same mama. We carry our babies how they need to be carried, and each baby needs different accommodations. I’m certainly growing larger; the numbers on the scale just aren’t changing as quickly as I expected.
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Speaking of growing larger, I am way bigger way faster this pregnancy. For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you may have seen that I got so big so fast that my midwife was starting to question how many babies were in there! By 17 weeks, my belly was measuring at about 25 weeks. We did my anatomy scan a little early just to verify how many babies were growing in there and to make sure fluid levels were normal, and we confirmed that we have just one healthy, happy little baby in the right amount of fluid. It does appear that my placenta is anterior, so my chiropractor is guessing that the combination of the placenta location, baby riding high, and the fact that this is my second pregnancy all came together to push my uterus up a little higher than is typical in this stage of pregnancy. I feel huge already so I don’t get how I still have half of this pregnancy to go, but I trust that my body knows what it’s doing. I’m also amazed that my husband is still into me, but it seems that the larger I get, the more attracted to me he is. It’s very flattering, but also very confusing.
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Because I got big so quickly, my not-so-fun pregnancy symptoms came on faster. I started feeling round ligament pain as early as 12 or 13 weeks. My symphysis pubis dysfunction (SPD) came back around 15 weeks, and heartburn around 16 weeks. I had to stop using the barbell at CrossFit for everything other than deadlifts and shoulder to overhead movements at around the same time. It is also just harder to move this pregnancy – everything feels super tight and super loose at the same time. It’s an odd feeling! My sleep has also been pretty terrible due to discomfort. On the plus side, the nausea and extreme, extreme exhaustion of the first trimester went away at about 13 weeks, so at least there wasn’t too much overlap! Also, I think because I got big fast, my skin is trying to play catch up. The stretching mixed with the unusually cold, very dry Texas winter air has led to some annoying itching. Everywhere itches! It’s nothing terrible, but it’s very noticeable and pretty constant.
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Cravings are something new this pregnancy. Churros, gummy things, and sweets seem to be my go-to’s. Walking around Costco one day, I got a serious craving for a Costco churro only to get to the food court and find out they had stopped carrying them! I was so sad, and my wonderful husband even made me some churros that evening to try to help. There’s just something about those Costco churros with the perfect crunch on the outside, the right amount of cinnamon sugar, the size….clearly, I’m not over this craving! I don’t seem to have any random 2 am cravings, but I definitely want more specific things this pregnancy than last where I had none.
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All in all, I’m enjoying this pregnancy, but it’s also been hard to focus on it. I feel like I am relying on the fact that I’ve given birth and did SO much research during my first pregnancy. But I know I need to refresh that knowledge and continue building upon it. This time, I go into pregnancy, birth, and motherhood much more experienced, but that doesn’t mean there still isn’t a lot unknown! Plus, having two kids will be a whole new adventure. So I am working to focus on connecting with this baby growing inside me as he or she dances around my belly every night. We’ve known each other for 20 special weeks, and we have another 20 to go! Here’s to halfway….grow, baby, grow!!
