Second Trimester

Each three month block of a pregnancy is known as a Trimester, as a means to simplify reference to the different stages of fetal development.

Well, I started to put on weight everywhere during the second trimester. I think I'd say I got podgy!

My clothes started to get a bit tight, but at this stage I didn't have a big bump.
During the second trimester, I started to get more emotional, tearful on occasions. We went on a couple of short holidays. For once, I got organized and made a list of things which needed doing round the house. We gave the house a spring clean and made some more storage space.
second trimester - nursery frieze

We needed to make a nursery and used bright orange and green colours as we didn't know if the baby was a boy or a girl.

This meant giving up our spare room which meant that we lost a desk and a computer workstation.
One journey to Ikea later and it was all sorted.

Symptoms By the second trimester, I started to get some energy back.
I still had a bit of morning sickness and nausea, but not as much as in the first trimetser.
I did notice that my skin changed and obviously my belly started to grow, so much so that I ended up with a few stretch marks. However, I can say that the stretch marks faded away after delivery and are now barely noticeable.
I believe that permanent stretchmark removal treatments are available.

Stretch marks during the second trimester

Here are some tips to help minimize or prevent stretch marks:

keep your weight gain steady and under control.
promote elasticity in your skin by nourishing it with a good diet.
drink plenty of fluids, especially water.
use a stretch mark cream or a prevention cream .

I did have some quite severe back pain during the second trimester, but I guess that could be down to my increasing weight.
It hurt when I bent over and I did aching near my pelvic bone from the pressure of the baby's head.
I also kept urinating frequently during the second trimester and never had a good night sleep. Whatever time I went to bed, I would sleep restlessly.
I even tried cutting out caffeine totally which wasn't easy.

Saving Money

We started thinking about the dreaded M word - money.
Could we survive, and what would I receive from work and the Government?

Basically you will be entitled to:

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
Child benefit (claim online).
A payment towards your child's Child trust fund.
Working tax credit for working parents.

Basically, when you're pregnant, you are entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay. It gives you some money to help you to take time off before and after the birth of your baby. SMP is paid by your employer, but is classes as earnings, and your employer will deduct tax and National Insurance.

Child Benefit is a tax-free monthly payment to anyone bringing up a child or young person. It is not affected by income or savings so most people who are bringing up a child or young person qualify for it.

A Child Trust Fund (CTF) is a savings and investment account for children set up by the government. Basically, all children born on or after 1st September 2002 receive a £250 Child Trust Fund voucher to start their account. When they reach the age of seven, they receive a further £250 payment.

You can claim two tax credits, Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit - payable from April 2003. The details are quite complex, so I won't outline them here; visit the site.

Cutting back

Whatever benefit you get, one thing's for certain, it's not a lot of money, so start saving early!

When we looked into our finances, we found that it was a mess! We were paying for mobile phones we didn't own any more, and Buildings Insurance which was covered by another policy. We had to take control.

After the baby arrives, your purse will be stretched as much as your emotions, you really need to save money as much money as you can early on. The real dilemma is the loss of one income.

That said, we didn't have extravagant meals out or holidays in the early months, so we weren't spending money.

Nappies really are not that expensive and neither is formula milk if you are bottle feeding. We found Supermarkets and Cash and Carrys good for cheap nappies. Don't buy too many of each size as your baby will grow out of them in the early weeks.

We tried working out a budget and worked out that we couldn't afford to exist!
It didn't look good at all. In the end, we lengthened the term of our mortgage slightly. Like most parents, we just get by.
It was around this time that friends and family bought us teddy bears and toys for the baby. We had so many that they almost filled the cot up!