Second trimester recap

Second trimester was a great trimester.  I started to get some of my energy back and my anxiety over the pregnancy started to lessen once I started to feel the baby around 19-20 weeks.  I was also fairly lucky to not have some of the common pregnancy issues that people have in this trimester (leg cramps, back pain, etc). However, that's not to say that I didn't have ANY pregnancy symptoms....

*Hot weather (or even semi-hot weather) led to swelling in my hands, especially on walks with Buster and my commutes to/from the train to the office.  I did my best to keep my fingers moving after they became fluid-filled, but it usually didn't make much of a difference.  I don't eat a lot of salt and I drink a ton of water but that also didn't seem to make a difference.

*At 17 weeks, I went to the doctor because my right foot/leg was swollen while my left one was fine.  Although I was worried about DVT, the pattern does seem like my right foot/leg swells more than my left.  Like my hands, my feet swell with the heat.  If it continues through the next few months I will likely wear compression running socks, but only when cooler weather comes to Chicago.  The swelling makes my ankles feel tight and overall, edema doesn't feel great, but I can deal with it.

*Early on in the second trimester I had nasal congestion for about three weeks.  I wasn't sick, but just congested every day.  During one of the weeks I even had a bloody nose three times that week.  Annoying, but totally manageable. 

*This trimester I also started to feel a hard belly after eating food or drinking water.  It was towards the top of my belly which my doctor explained was most likely my intestines and because they are getting pushed up from the baby, they will get hard because they have less room to process the food and water.  Thankfully it's not uncomfortable, it just feels kind of funny.

*I'm not sure how to explain this, but at times my uterus felt "heavy."  For those of you that have gone through fertility treatments, it feels like your heavy ovaries before retrieval, but instead the feeling is lower, towards your pelvis.  Dr. Google thinks that it is likely the growing/stretching pains.  Again, not painful just an odd feeling.

*This next one is a bit funny.  Pre-pregnancy I didn't really get hard nipples- it would have to be FREEZING COLD.  However, in the second trimester my nipples are hard and sticking out CONSTANTLY.  It will be 90 degrees and they come out to play.  Again, not painful or uncomfortable but it's a bit awkward because my left breast is slightly bigger than my right one....so in a shirt, one nipple looks lazy and falls a little lower than the other one.  CP *loves* this pregnancy symptom (seriously, he thinks it is great).  LOL.

*For about a week, my left knee started clicking.  It was a bit painful to walk when this happened, but it went away and my knee seems to be back to normal.  Is this from stretching ligaments due to pregnancy hormones?  Who knows.

*My moods have been pretty stable.  I might be a bit more cranky, but I keep waiting for the weird, laughing then suddenly I'm crying episodes.  It has only happened once so far while watching a You Tube video called "Sad Dog Diary"- one of CP's family members posted it on Facebook.  I was laughing hysterically and then suddenly I started bawling.  CP thought that I was nuts. I was psyched to finally have a pregnancy crying episode.  Just waiting on a few more....

*As you all know, I also had the bleeding episode right before Labor Day weekend.  Thankfully it seems as if it was a one-time random occurrence.  I'm sure I will talk to my OB about it next week.

*While I started to feel something different in my belly around 19 weeks, I wasn't completely certain that it was the baby kicking until closer to 20 weeks.  For a couple of weeks the baby would kick, but would suddenly become shy once CP put his hand on my belly.  He was able to see the baby kick my belly a couple of times, but didn't feel an actual kick until 27 weeks.

*The past couple of days I have felt the baby squirming around in my belly more so than kicking.  It's an odd feeling and I really would rather the kicks.  Generally I don't worry as the baby is a bit more active in the early afternoon than the morning but I did freak out last week and started poking and bouncing my belly.  I hope I didn't anger the baby too much, but whatever I did woke him/her up and I felt better.  

*Harry the Hemorrhoid is still around.  My OB advised me that he wasn't going anywhere any time soon (boooo).  I have only had one day where he has made me super uncomfortable, but so far, he hasn't invited any more friends to the party.  I have been using wipes with witch hazel on them which I would recommend if you also have a Harry in your life.  

*I seem to have sprouted a ton of light-colored hairs all over my belly.  No dark line below my belly button (yet), but the extra belly hair was surprising.

*I also have hundreds of small red dots all over my belly.  They are flat and don't itch but it looks like they are here to stay for a while.  Along with the dots I have a few things on my belly that look like blood blisters.  They are raised, but again, no idea what they are.  Something else to ask my doctor next week I guess....

Overall, it was a really great trimester. I finally look pregnant instead of fat and so far, it seems to be all in my belly.  I'm not watching what I eat, but I am definitely craving a lot of fruit and vegetables so that helps.  I'm not super interested in meat these days.  Bending over is getting much harder to do and I'm starting to get out of breath when climbing the stairs.  I continue to walk a ton, but I haven't been able to make prenatal yoga in a while.  I know these things are just going to get harder as the days tick on, but I'm ready for the third trimester.