As of TODAY Friday, August 23rd I have officially entered into the Third Trimester of my first pregnancy, which is quite wild how fast this time has gone by.
As a reflection post, I just wanted to take some time to share my experience and what I would encourage other women with during this trimester. So, grab your newly released Pumpkin Spice Latte(hah, since Starbucks decided to release ridiculously early this year), and let’s talk pregnancy!
Overall, this truly has been a “Honeymoon Stage” of pregnancy and I am very grateful to have a healthy baby. It is especially fun to look back and see that baby bump grow, plus now I experience the baby kicking everyday, and makes me even more excited to meet this little person! Amidst all the changes, I don’t want this to come off as a place to complain, instead, simply just share my personal experience/symptoms and I hope that other women will find this helpful in their journeys.
Three of my 2nd Trimester Highlights:
- Baby kicks(and occasional punches)–This is truly one of the best and strangest phenomenons I have ever experienced in my life! Hah, it also can be surprising how strong they can kick you! Yet, nothing is more rewarding knowing movement is an indicator of a healthy baby. Especially funny after you eat certain things, such as something sweet can really get them dancing(I’m convinced I am growing the next Michael Jackson!)
- 20-week Anatomy Scan–Such a special moment to hold hands with my husband and get a glimpse of our baby. Truly fascinating to see how much Baby Grim changed since my 11 week ultrasound. Amazing all the behind the scenes changes, plus, I loved seeing their little profile, feet and hands.
- “Pregnancy Glow”–Ladies, you will love to hear that your skin, hair and nails thrive in this stage. You can thank the hormones estrogen, progesterone, and hcG for the amplified oil and natural skin glow. In addition, you have about 50% increased blood flow which also elevates that natural flush.
So, cheers to that free beauty hack!
What is fascinating is how quickly your body changes and adjusts based on hormone levels, my Fatigue and Nausea dramatically improved, however, the new symptom of Heartburn emerged, and that has been my constant companion during my “Golden Period” or “Honeymoon Stage” of pregnancy. I now empathize with middle-aged men who have bad heartburn and I remember as a kid sneaking my dad’s Tums as candy.
Traveling while pregnant
My mom and I had bumped up our Portugal trip plans that was originally planned toward the end of Summer to end of the Spring Semester, which timing wise was perfect as I had just entered into my 2nd trimester. We knew this would be the golden opportunity for our epic Mom and Daughter trip before the reality of the baby settled in. I am very grateful for the time I had with my mom, especially since we only see each other twice a year living in different states.
However, International and Domestic Travel definitely induced the triple threat: heartburn, nausea, and motion sickness. I did great on the flight from US to Portugal and only had heartburn , however, coming back I lost all my cookies when we landed into Chicago. This was really embarrassing, so I encourage my fellow pregnancy travelers bring your own trash bag because the ones offered by the plane would not have cut it–thanks mom for saving the day! As for motion sickness/nauseas, I got sick when we rode with Uber drivers since they go EXTREMELY FAST around very narrow streets, and make very quick turns. So, I learned to take a nausea chew BEFORE getting picked up and that really helped.
For the Domestic Flights, I traveled for a work conference as well as a family trip and both of these flights I struggled. As the plane adjusted in elevation and preparing to land, I got terrible heartburn, which led to me losing my cookies on those trips as well. That was NOT a fun experience and even worse having to use airplane bathrooms.
Heartburn: This pregnancy is sponsored by TUMs, I have never appreciated these magical calcium chews until now as I have used them almost every day of my 2nd trimester. Supposedly, the Old Wives Tale is more heartburn you have, more hair the baby will have. For my own heartburn scale, my baby should have LOTS of hair (haha). But, based on the range of pregnant mother’s I have interacted with, this is not accurate. I am still hoping and curious how much hair my kid will have cause oh man, this little momma has suffered too long if I end up with a bald kid.
Motion Sickness: What helped me mitigate these symptoms is Dramamine, nausea chews that I shared in 1st trimester reflection, and I also tried out the motion sickness wrist bands you can wear on your wrists when you begin experiencing these symptoms. Of course, every pregnancy is different, so these options may or may not help you.
Allergies/Cold/Cough: My allergies were definitely heightened during my pregnancy, so Zyrtec is what I occasionally used, since I really tried to limit any type of medication during my pregnancy. Unfortunately, I did have my allergies convert into a cold over a weekend, and I used some Tylenol for a day, but really just drank LOTS of tea with honey and lemon, plus cough drops.That was a rough patch of not sleeping well with a cough and heartburn hah, but little momma pulled through!
In conclusion, the final point I want to emphasize is Body Image.This struggle is something that I didn’t expect to experience and again why are we women SO HARD and CRITICAL of our bodies. Over the past two trimesters, all the baby weight has added up to 20 extra lbs (baby is only 2lbs at this stage) and still got a ways to go. I personally struggled near the last few weeks of my 2nd trimester with how my body was changing. I would have days I felt very confident and cute with my baby bump, while other days, I felt insecure of how I looked. Obviously, clothes don’t fit like they used too and you keep reassessing the closet for options. I had a few nights crying(pregnancy hormones hit hard) and telling my husband I needed him to remind me I was beautiful everyday and giving me a hug. Funny, but true, I realized I was being too hard on myself, and spending too much time critiquing my body.
I hope this encourages other pregnant moms to be PROUD of their body’s amazing changes and enjoy this time. Truly having an attitude of gratitude to embrace this season, and put your focus on your healthy and amazing body that is growing another human, it really is a miracle and we get to be part of that!
Cheers to the third trimester and for any of you pregnant moms out there–You can do this! Oh, and remember, you are BEAUTIFUL. (OneDirection song playing the background)
Sierra