Second trimester recap

I'm officially into the third trimester as of this weekend! Yay for 27 weeks!

It's funny to look back on my last second trimester recap with Izzy to see the similarities between the two pregnancies and the differences.

Similarities

• I gained my energy back in the second trimester. I didn't need as many naps and I was somewhat better rested and ready to deal with a toddler. 
• I started to get some swelling in my fingers and feet, especially if I was out walking a lot in hot weather or on the flight back from Hawaii.
• Despite the posterior placenta placement, I didn't feel the baby until 18 weeks. Maybe because I have had less time to sit down and really concentrate on whether I was feeling something? This time around instead of feeling bubbles in the beginning, I started feeling kicks right off the bat.
• Hard belly after eating and/or drinking.
• A fairly stable mood with some odd instances of crying (see at Sesame Street Live with Izzy). :-)
• Sadly, Harry the Hemorrhoid and his friend Biff never truly went away after my last pregnancy. So far I haven't had any issues with burning or itching from them but I know that they will want to make themselves known soon. Ugh.

Differences

• Bleeding gums after flossing. That one has been interesting and required me to get an electronic toothbrush. Hopefully my gums are not as sensitive in a few months! 
• Shooting pain in my breasts. I don't remember that from last time....
• Insomnia. Ugh. Although I haven't been as tired, I basically dread going to bed every night because the combination of hip pain, bathroom wake-ups, and overall uncomfortableness makes it so that I am rarely happy with my night of sleep.
• At my 19 week appointment I had a pain in the side of belly when the doctor put the doppler on to get Baby Boy's heartbeat. She checked it out on ultrasound and couldn't find anything wrong and thankfully the pain was gone by the time my Level II ultrasound rolled around.
• I'm not sure when I started to have to pee all of the time last time but around 21 weeks I felt the need to pee only 10 minutes after peeing the first time.
• Aching legs.
• My wedding ring came off very early this time- around 19 weeks. As long as it stays cool my engagement ring should be on for a while.
• Huffing and puffing after walking up the stairs- especially if I am carrying Izzy at the same time. This didn't start until the third trimester last time so this doesn't bode well for the next 11 weeks.
• Around 24 weeks I started to see the baby kick and move my stomach already!
• Sore and swollen labia. This is probably TMI, but it's super annoying and uncomfortable when sitting down at work all day.
• While my fingernails and toenails are growing like crazy, the hair on my legs is growing very slowly. That worked out well when we had a really nice day a couple of weeks ago and I hadn't shaved my legs in probably two weeks. The black hairs on my chin were growing rapidly in the beginning of the pregnancy, but have slowed down their growth recently.
• An oh-so-fun trip to Labor & Delivery at 26 weeks.

So far I have gained 17 pounds in this pregnancy. I assume that I am going to gain a bit more than in my pregnancy with Izzy (I think that I gained 20 or 25 pounds?), but I hope not too much more as the more I put on, the harder it will be to get it off.

Onwards and upwards to the exhausting third trimester!