I woke up a couple of days ago and realized something. I feel normal again. As in, I don't really feel pregnant anymore. That is, the nausea is gone, the getting up in the middle of the night to go and pee has subsided and my skin seems to be returning to normal. My hair is behaving itself – in fact it feels thicker and heavier – and I've noticed my fingernails are growing at an alarming rate. I even have more energy and am starting to feel more feminine and sexy!
So it would seem I have finally hit that second trimester period of wellness everyone has been telling me about! My midwife says that this is because my body has now become used to the pregnancy. The next milestone I've become preoccupied with is when I will feel the baby move inside me – this is known as 'quickening'. Of course, this won't happen until around at least 18 weeks and more likely from 20 weeks, especially as this is my first pregnancy.
So now I have at least five weeks of feeling 'un-pregnant' – I just need to keep reminding myself that I am. Weirdly, because of this forgetting myself (along with everything else unless I write it down!), I have also recently felt the temptation more than once to have a sneaky cigarette or a glass or two of wine. This makes me feel terrible – of course I won't be acting on it but every time I feel the pang I also feel the pain of missing out! Perhaps I need to write the words "You're pregnant!" in black marker on some Post-it notes and strategically hide them in places where I'll discover them and remember again.
How did you feel in your second trimester? Did you sometimes forget you were pregnant?