What to Expect When You Are 6 Months Pregnant

I love to write, and when I joined the Columbia Mom team of writers as someone who was trying to get pregnant, I couldn’t wait to chronicle my experiences.

That is, until I became pregnant.

Then things got real.

The last post I wrote was when I was 12 weeks. I am now 24 weeks and am starting to slightly function like an adult (if that tells you anything). I truly had/have no idea what to expect, despite the experiences my pregnant friends and mothers have shared with me.

As I round out my second trimester, I’m here to share with what to really expect when you’re expecting, and all the glorious issues I’ve dealt with lately in month six of pregnancy.

Get ready mamas-to-be … it’s a bumpy ride!

Exhaustion 

The biggest issue for me has been the mythical boost of energy during the second trimester. What. A. Lie! If I can fit in a nap, I do. If I can’t fit in a nap, I still find a way. It could be 2 o’clock in the afternoon and I will have to give myself a pep talk to keep my eyes open just long enough to drive home. If I could squeeze in day’s worth of work between the hours of 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. when my body seems to want to be awake, then all would be well with the world.

Appetite

The lack of energy also may due to my lack of appetite. I’m finally able to eat fairly normal/without wanting to die. For so long nothing sounded appetizing. I would try to force myself to eat in hopes that the baby got all of his nutrients. I’m not a small girl by any means and I always assumed that I would gain a lot of weight during pregnancy due to eating a lot. Don’t worry, I won’t pass up a doughnut.

Body Aches

If I could, I would pay to get a massage every single day. Besides my sweet, darling husband giving me massages, I also try to submerge myself in a (not too hot) bath and lay there for a bit while pondering how much I resemble a beached whale. I then have to call for my husband to help heave me out of the tub. It’s probably the most glamorous moment of my life thus far. And my breasts … we won’t dive into that pain.

Headaches

Thank goodness I’m allowed to take Tylenol. The headaches pop up out of nowhere and generally show no signs of going away.

Clumsiness / Pregnancy Brain

I always thought that women were exaggerating when they would blame their pregnancy for being extra clumsy or not being “all there” up there. Nope, they are 100 percent telling the truth. You can look at my brand new iPhone 6 with a completely cracked screen for proof of clumsiness.

But … It’s Allll That (and then some)!

Don’t get me wrong, I love being pregnant. It is something that I have hoped of for so long and it is finally happening. Luckily, it really hasn’t crept by like I was assuming it would (I’m not a very patient person).

Now that I am farther along in the pregnancy, I have finally started to feel him move. This still blows my mind. The first flutter I felt at 19 weeks / 6 days. The first time my husband felt him was at 22 weeks / 6 days. I first saw my belly jump from the inside at 23 weeks / 3 days. It leaves me speechless trying to form words that adequately relay to you the way it makes me feel. All I can do is smile when I feel him swimming/dancing/fumbling around inside of me … even if it is at 3 o’clock in the morning.

I can’t wait to meet this precious little one growing inside me, and change our “family of we” into a “family of three.” Until then baby boy, I love you … aches, exhaustion, clumsiness and all.

Can you relate? What symptoms and emotions did you experience when you were 6 months pregnant?