My pregnancy journey: The second trimester

So, everything seemed to be going along smoothly for me and the baby, aside from me losing weight due to morning (all-day) sickness that peaked just before Val arrived in late October. Work beckoned, so he had to fly back a few days later. I, on the other hand, began easing off the morning sickness and started to feel a lot better. There were still dry heaves and vomiting, but the nausea was more manageable (just eat a couple of Sour Patch Kids and I was good). I certainly started to look pregnant around Week 15, but Tita Babie said that my belly was quite small.

          

 

Clockwise from top left: Pregnant belly at 15 weeks, 17 weeks, 20 weeks, 24 weeks

On Week 25, I was officially wearing size 1X tops and dresses. Mommy has become excited because my 1X clothes could fit her (and she can borrow them).

Exercise
I didn't want to be stuck at home for the duration of the pregnancy (I do work from home on a consultancy job) and I learned that it's important to be well-prepared physically for the baby's delivery. After canvassing the different workout options that—

1.     won't require me to lift more than 25 kgs, 
2.     won't raise my heart rate beyond 140 bpm, and 
3.     did not have schedule conflicts with my chauffeuring Mommy to and from her office

I ended up attending barre classes at Open Barre Fitness Studio in Walnut Creek. I particularly like the studio because the instructors and the studio staff are very friendly and the prices did not break the bank (its rates are the most affordable in the area). True, the price points for barre classes are at least four times as high as monthly rates at the gym but I wasn't ready to hit the strength training and the cardio exercises that I used to do before because my exhaustion tolerance is at an all-time low. Also, my OB-GYN actually said that barre is the perfect exercise regimen for me for my pregnancy.

The isometric and bodyweight resistance exercise I've been doing for the past several weeks of barre classes have certainly made me stronger. I've started seeing definition on my biceps (an indication that my arms are getting stronger in preparation for carrying the baby) and less sagging on my triceps. My back wasn't hurting as much as people (including the elders and the OBGYN) were expecting (but that's also thanks to the maternity support wear that I use when I knew I'd be walking a lot). And (I think more importantly), I haven't started getting swollen limbs. Maybe those will appear when I'm in the third trimester... but without it during the latter part of the second trimester is a good sign.

However, I could really feel that I've become a lot heavier...

When I entered Week 20, I started feeling that my belly was too big to do crunches my abs so my instructor started giving me modifications. For example, when the rest of the class was doing crunches, I'd be on all fours doing prone stretches and tucks. By Week 21, I started needing assistance to get out of bed because my belly was heavy. So in class, I had to learn how to roll to a standing position after I had done floor exercises (like planks). On Week 23, my belly had grown so big that I couldn't perform planks on the floor anymore (my belly touched the floor already) so I had to do planks against the barre.

Shopping
I knew early on that pregnancy would force me to buy new clothes. I just didn't realise how early into the pregnancy I had to start switching into maternity gear. By the time the baby and I were in the second trimester, only my Uniqlo wide-leg pants fit me... snugly! It's a good thing that I began shopping for maternity attire while Val was visiting because we were able to go swing by a Destination Maternity liquidation sale when Daddy brought us, Anna, and Kuya Allan to Vacaville Premium Outlets. I also bought Blanqi maternity support wear because my back started aching; I thought that the leggings and the tops would be very useful when I went on long walks and when I had to carry, or chase after, Gabriel. I took advantage of Black Friday sales and of the deep discounts at Ross and TJ Maxx. However, I kept shopping to a minimum because most of my dresses could still fit albeit they started looking like long shirts. I just had to rummage through my dresses to pick up what to wear for the upcoming holidays. I did look big in them though, so I bought two more clothes at Zara. For exercise clothes, I bought a few from discount stores because all of my pre-pregnancy shirts didn't fit me anymore.

Aside from buying things for me, I also started collecting stuff for the baby. By Thanksgiving, I got a few free baby bottles from Destination Maternity and I already bought a diaper bag from Kipling's outlet store in Livermore. Though I'm not a big fan of baby registries, I decided to create one at Buy Buy Baby because in case people ask me what I need for baby, I could easily just direct them to the registry. Also, there are discounts and coupons that could help alleviate costs of setting up the baby's sleeping area. These coupons proved helpful when I bought a playpen and a stroller travel system manufactured by Graco.

Appetite
Thanks to the waning of my morning sickness, I began to eat more than before. In three weeks, I gained the weight that I had lost during my first trimester! That's thanks to ice cream, fruits, rice, and vegetables. I still couldn't stand the taste of beef so I typically avoided it. By Week 19, however, my list of dislikes grew to include anything with strong umami flavour (including mushrooms, chicken in soy sauce). I loved eating citrus fruits, particularly the sour ones, but I wasn't particularly craving for them. Chocolate was also a go-to for me, but I had to reduce eating it because I started feeling palpitations when I went overboard (that is, beyond four Toblerone triangles).

By Week 21, I was on track with the weight gain. The OB-GYN recommended that my weight gain should stay within a limit. Hence, despite wanting to eat more sweets (pastillas de leche and leche flan, for example), I had to cut back (and that's very hard to do). The good news, though, was by the time I reached Week 24, I still had 10 pounds of weight to gain! Already feeling huge, I've been wondering where all that weight would go. But then, as I approached the end of Week 25, the bottom part of my belly started having sharp pains (which my OBGYN says are round ligament pains); so I knew that the weight would be concentrated on my growing belly. Anna said that the extra pounds I had to gain would be a mix of amniotic fluid and baby weight.

Medical check-ups
Typical pregnancy OB-GYN visits are scheduled once every four weeks until Week 28. Then, the visits become once every two weeks until Week 36, and then once a week until delivery. However, in my case, ever since I started my check-ups, I've been to the OB-GYN every three weeks... more frequent than the typical schedule. I'm glad that I get to see my medical team, though, because each time I meet them, I get the opportunity to hear the baby's heart beat and be assured that we are doing fine. On the other hand, the baby also had his own check-ups (we found out that it's a boy at 14 weeks through the non-invasive prenatal test) with the perinatologist. We were first there for the nuchal translucency test (week 12), to see if there were indications of abnormalities caused by chromosomal aberrations (e.g., Trisomy 21 aka Down Syndrome). The baby was already clearly visibly human but was still so small (he had so much room to stretch his legs and I didn't feel a thing during the scan). Our second visit was for the anatomy scan (week 19 day 6), which turned out to be more exciting because at this time, he's been moving a lot and I could feel the big movements (if he felt bored and entertained himself by tumbling over and over, I felt the rolling movements). The tiny ones (like his arms and legs stretching), though, were still imperceptible.

I also started feeling that my pregnancy is really nearing the third trimester when my OBGYN started giving me instructions for registering to the labour and delivery of the hospital she's affiliated with and she started giving recommendations for paediatricians (upon my request). One of the tests I needed to undergo was a glucose challenge test: I drank a super sweet liquid within five minutes and my blood was drawn for glucose measurements an hour later. My results were normal, which is good! I didn't have to do a second glucose tolerance test AND I'm not a candidate for gestational diabetes.