OK, so considering that I’m now well into my third trimester this post is way overdue, but better later than never, right? Every stage of pregnancy is exciting, but I think the second trimester is when you really start thinking about things and planning, once you get over feeling so grim.  I’m just going to jump right in…

Finding My Pregnancy Glow…or Not!

This is the time that everyone says that you should find your ‘pregnancy glow’ it’s like the holy grail during pregnancy when the morning sickness subsides and you have more energy. I can’t remember the exact point in my last pregnancy when I started to feel more energised, but certainly, with this pregnancy, it took a lot longer and there are days when I don’t feel like I’ve found it at all.

I would say that mid-way through the second trimester is when I felt the nausea disappear and the hungry monster in me is a little less hungry.  I’ve slowly started to feel more attracted to eating vegetables again although carbs still rule and I’ve had a weird craving for citrus flavours, so marmalade on toast, orange juice, and oranges have become must-haves in the weekly shop. 

Not Sure How To Prepare

To say that I feel less than prepared for our baby’s arrival is an understatement. I feel like I haven’t done enough or nothing at all. There just doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day to get ready or mentally prepare with a little one already.  I’m unsure whether to do some kind of antenatal course (do you even do these with your 2nd pregnancy?) because I’ve obviously been through it before and get the general gist of what to expect now – it’s such a mind field!  

I guess with your first pregnancy you have more time to consider things and prepare, but this time around I just don’t seem to have the mental space or time to do so.  I know everything will work out fine in the end, but the guilt around the fact that I just haven’t given this pregnancy as much focus as my last keeps creeping up on me.  At the end of the day, this baby is so loved already despite them not getting as much attention as Aiden did when I was pregnant with him and plus the new baby has the benefit of our parenting experience that Aiden never had. 

From packing my hospital bag, considering antenatal courses, newborn essentials, birth preferences, postnatal recovery – I’m making lots of lists right now!  I’ve even been looking at some alternative and more woo-woo approaches to pregnancy and birth this time like using crystals and essential oils. 

Anomaly Scan and gender reveal

I was more nervous about this scan than any other. With your second pregnancy, you really are left to your own devices, other than my booking appointment I’d only seen my midwife once more at 16 weeks.  Obviously, we’d seen the baby at the 13-week scan, but that felt like an age ago so the 20-week scan was much anticipated.  Thankfully there was nothing to worry about and the baby was wriggling around all over the place and doing really well. We even got to see their lips and nose, which looked identical to Aidens.  Also, they invited us back to volunteer for an extra scan for a teaching day at the hospital the following week, which I jumped at, any chance to see our little bunny again (that’s what we’ve been calling the baby and I’m obsessed with bunnies at the moment!). 

Now I was in two minds about finding out the gender because I don’t know if this is my last baby or not and thought it would be nice to have a different experience because we found out with Aiden.  Alfie, being ever so practical and functional wanted to find out if we were team blue or pink and after some discussions, we thought it would be nicer for Aiden to know what we were expecting so he could bond better with the baby. 

I’m not going to lie or feel guilty about saying I would like a girl this time around because I already have a boy who I adore. Yes, I know all babies are miracles and we would have been blessed either way, but I’ve always seen myself with a little girl at some point in my life. In fact, I’d already had an inkling that we were having a girl because of how different this pregnancy had been up to now compared to my first, so when the sonographer revealed that the tiny baby on the screen was a girl it was the most wonderful moment.  Although, I would like to stress that if we were having a boy we would have been just as happy and he would be just as loved. 

Eek! I’m still in shock that we’re going to be welcoming our beautiful baby girl in a few weeks time. We’re so in love with her already! Her big brother is super excited for her to “pop” and we’re looking forward to raising a strong, bright and independent female. If Aiden is anything to go by, she’s going to be one force to be reckoned with.

The Trouble With Baby Girls Clothes Shopping

After we found out we were having a boy with our first baby, we headed to the shops to buy his first proper outfit.  Since this was kind of a tradition we did the same after learning that we were expecting a girl.  We headed to Next first, which is a fail-safe for children’s clothes, but shopping in the girls’ section felt so weird and we couldn’t commit to buying anything. It not that the clothes weren’t gorgeous, it just felt really surreal and there is so much choice when it comes to girls things.  In the end, we headed to Mamas and Papas who were having a sale and managed to pick out some beautiful clothes for her in the end, perhaps it was the discounted prices that encouraged us along. It was funny though, Alfie was so out of his depth and didn’t know if he was holding a top or a dress most of the time.

Feeling The Mama Guilt Hard

Something that has been bothering me is I’m unsure about how much time and attention I’m going to be able to give to Aiden when the new baby arrives. Yep, that mama guilt has already kicked in, especially since he’s had our undivided attention for 3.5 years. It’s going to be a massive change for him. However, I’m making sure that I soak up every precious moment with him over these last few weeks and his beaming smile is bringing me so much peace and happiness.

Decorating The Nursery

I’ve wanted to do this for so long! We never really got the chance to decorate Aiden’s room when I was pregnant with him because we were living in a rented property and didn’t think that we would be allowed. I think it’s one of the things that most parents look forward to when preparing for a new arrival so I was really excited to get stuck in.  

Even though we’re having a girl, I don’t want her room to be overly girly.  It took us ages to decide on what colour to paint the walls, but we opted for a light true grey called ‘Polished Pebble‘ that looks beautiful on the walls.  This was our first time painting and decorating, which made the whole experience even more fun.  Now I can’t wait for her nursery furniture to arrive so that I can start buying accessories and wall prints to bring it all together. 

So there was quite a lot going on in my second trimester if you made it to the end thank you for sticking with it, if not, then I totally understand.  You can read my first-trimester update with baby number 2 here and follow my pregnancy journey with regular updates in my “Baby” highlight over on Instagram. 

Did you find your pregnancy glow in your second trimester?  How did you prepare for the birth of your second baby?