Good feelings in the second trimester

Pregnancy brings about many changes to your body that you will be excited by, in wonder of and sometimes nervous about. The hormonal changes in your body will also affect your emotions and physical wellbeing and most basic human desires, from eating and sleeping to sex, will be affected.

The good news is that many pregnant women, particularly during the second trimester, will get a boost to their energy, appetite and libido levels.

So, as the early stages of fatigue and nausea begin to wear off why not harness some of these good feelings and enjoy the extra energy and time with your partner, friends and family. Here’s one account of what one mum-to-be noticed as she began to feel better and more energised during the early weeks of her second trimester:

Getting my mojo back – one mum-to-be’s perspective

When I reached the end of the first trimester, I started to realise that I felt a bit more awake in the mornings, that I had the energy to tackle my commute to work with a smile on my face and that I felt more like being active. My mind was sharper and I had an urge to do things and get out to see my friends and family.

I think I must have been in a fog of tiredness for the first trimester as I couldn’t really face doing much. So, when I got myself motivated to join a pregnancy swimming class recently, I knew things were improving. In fact, I really enjoyed it and have met a couple of other mums-to-be there too and we like to swap our pregnancy stories.

Last weekend, I went out for my mum’s birthday lunch with my partner and the rest of my family. I was so excited to be able to choose and eat delicious food without getting a bout of nausea. I am making sure that I eat a healthy diet; salmon for omega 3s for our baby’s brain development and lots of green leafy vegetables to keep my folic acid and iron levels up. I’ve noticed that I have a bit of a thing for tuna sandwiches at lunchtimes – maybe I’m getting cravings too?

One big change that has been very noticeable is that I have been wanting to have sex again. For my partner and me, this had been a bit lacking since I became pregnant. I had just not felt like it and he was worried about hurting the baby if we did and causing me to miscarry. The midwife reassured us that having penetrative sex was perfectly safe but I think even then sex couldn’t have been further from both of our minds.

We have always enjoyed being intimate together though, so we hoped that when I felt better having sex again would be a good thing for our wellbeing and relationship. So, with my rejuvenated sex drive and my partner feeling reassured that he wouldn’t hurt the baby, we are discovering the joys of sex again. We both feel great afterwards and my renewed interest in the bedroom is making both of us pretty happy at the moment!

Pregnancy body – changing times

It has taken me a bit of time to get used to my changing body and some of the inhibitions that I first had about it are now disappearing. In fact, I’m getting to love my new shape and the feeling of having a baby growing inside me.

With sex, we’ve had to find some new positions and I’ve noticed that I am much more sensitive to touch. We’re both getting a lot of pleasure and it feels very loving when we are together. I think that’s also because we are both very excited about the baby we have made together and our future as a family.

Last week, at my aquanatal class, another woman told me that she was having a problem with her and her partner getting in the mood for sex. She didn’t feel like doing it, her boobs are still very sensitive, she said, and she was feeling sore when they did try to have sex. Her partner was very understanding though. She said that he too had become a bit reluctant to have sex because of the pregnancy.

Apparently, this happens to lots of couples and they’ve been told they shouldn’t worry too much. As long as they are able to feel close, enjoy spending lots of time together and show physical affection in other ways, the desire for sex usually returns as the second trimester goes on.

I think she felt much better hearing that they weren’t alone in this, several of the other women in the class were going through the same thing.

For the moment my partner and I are just enjoying feeling good together again and spending lots of time with each other. We’ve decided that we are going to book a holiday abroad together before I am 36 weeks, as some airlines won’t let pregnant women fly after that.

I don’t want to go too far but somewhere sunny would be nice. This will be our last holiday before we become parents, so we really want to make the most of this good bit. And some time to ourselves to enjoy my increased libido will also be really welcome!