- Charlotte Nichole
My Second Trimester : Hope & Nesting
I couldn't believe it. When my app informed me I was into my second trimester, it felt surreal. Those first 12 weeks felt long and draining, and I was starting to feel like my usual self. Albeit a little more bloated and feisty.
That nerve-wracking first scan had been and gone, screening tests conducted and results in. Everything was looking and feeling healthy! And we only had just a few weeks till we had our big 20 week scan!
Announcing it to family
I don't believe in telling people too early or too late when it comes to pregnancy. We told our immediate family as soon as we had found out, and did so to have a support network should there be any problems. We had been through early loss, and it was very lonely. Especially since many didn't even know we were pregnant in the first place. We didn't want to feel alone this time.
We decided that following a positive 12-week scan, we would share our news with other friends and family members.
This was just what felt right to us.
We also decided to keep everything offline. Not just from my blog accounts and socials, but from our personal ones too. Social media is often filled with those individuals you wouldn't chat to in the street but who will happily stalk your Facebook profile for updates, and we didn't feel like those people deserved to know.
Milestones and shopping
Once the dust had settled and we bathed in the congratulations from friends and family, we started to prep for Baby P.
We quickly established there seems to be every gadget and item for every walk of newborn life. And wherever you look, everything seems to be a 'must have'. After watching endless youtube reviews and scouting the web, we started to settle on the bits and bobs we wanted to nab.
In between shopping online and visiting as many baby stores as we could - there really aren't that many and that was pretty gutting, I started to feel flutters.
Symptoms had wandered, and my appetite was back to full force. There were still some foods I couldn't stomach thanks to early morning sickness, but all in all, I was eating for two!
Keeping the gender a surprise
The weeks started to pass pretty quickly and before we knew it, we were back at the hospital for our 20-week scan. This was a big one, where every aspect of the baby was measured and analyzed. Thankfully, it went swimmingly and once again, we left the sonographer on cloud nine.
Naturally, we were asked if we wanted to know the gender, and we opted for the surprise. The teacher in my husband did want to know for planning purposes, but we kept to our word and left it a surprise.
My little bump
The real beauty of the second trimester was that evolving bump. I really relished it and enjoyed finally looking pregnant, as well as feeling it. I did buy a few maternity bits here and there, but as someone who loves baggy clothes, a lot of my usual pre-pregnancy buys fit that growing bump too. Although there were a few occasions when I wanted tight fitting clothes just to show off my little bump.
Soon enough, we were staring at our third and final trimester. It was an exciting time of Birthday's, Christmas and of course maternity leave. I was as eager as ever to see the new year in with the prospect of our next journey just a few weeks away.
