The final stretch of the second trimester is when your baby bump seems to take on a life of its own. With the baby moving and growing, you may start to feel like your body doesn’t belong to just you anymore. Your baby will take up more room inside your body and you may have some new consequences to your baby's constant repositioning.
Houston-based mom Melissa experienced one of the most common effects of pregnancy in her second trimester. “In my first pregnancy, I was out with my husband and our dogs enjoying a nice walk. We had walked maybe a half a mile away from home before I felt a small tinge of needing to use the bathroom. I decided I could hold it, but once we got to the water I really needed to go to the bathroom. We hustled back to the road to head home." Just when it seemed that the crisis was averted, one of Melissa's dogs caused her to sneeze after shaking pollen from its fur. "This massive sneeze was accompanied by not only sinus relief but also bladder relief, and I let it all go. Needless to say, never try to hold it during pregnancy, because you never know if you will have to sneeze.”
Around this time you may start to feel your baby moving in a more regular way. It can even feel like your baby is trying to communicate with you. In her 6th month of pregnancy, Manhattan-based mom Claire decided to take her husband to see his favorite band in concert for his birthday. "My son had started to move intermittently at that point, but it was always sporadic and seemed random. I went to the concert thinking I should take advantage of feeling so great in my 2nd trimester and still be able to have a fun date night. But, little did I know that my boy would really, really love the music! He moved so much I swear it was even on the beat. Totally cracked us up. And now that he's six he still loves listening to that band (which makes his dad really happy!)"
Now that you are really starting to feel your baby move and take up space inside your belly you will probably feel even more connected and aware of this miracle growing inside of you.
This article is part of our Pregnancy Month-by-Month series. Parents who have "been there" share their memories with parents just starting their journey toward parenthood. To read the next article in the series, click here.
