If the first trimester felt like survival mode (review my previous article here), the second trimester has felt like finally coming up for air. After struggling to get pregnant for so long, I imagined pregnancy would immediately feel magical. Instead, my first trimester was dominated by nausea, exhaustion, uncertainty and a strange guilt that I wasn’t enjoying the experience I had wanted so badly. I couldn’t feel our baby girl move yet, I didn’t have a visible bump, and most days felt like a blur of symptoms rather than joy. But the second trimester? Things have shifted, and shifted beautifully.
My energy has returned in bursts strong enough to make plans with friends, train hard, work, travel and genuinely enjoy life again. Perhaps the biggest change of all: I can finally see and feel pregnancy. My bump is now unmistakably round and growing by the week, and feeling my baby girl kick and move throughout the day has become the most magical and mesmerising feeling I’ve ever experienced; no exaggeration, there is honestly nothing like it! After months of symptoms without connection, this is the stage where pregnancy has become real in the most beautiful way.
Food, nourishment and cravings
One of the biggest shifts this trimester has been food. After surviving on beige carbs and whatever I could stomach during the first trimester, I’ve found my love for nutritious food again. I’m eating a wide range of whole foods, plenty of colour, protein, fruit and vegetables, and my body seems to be responding so well to it. Treats are still very much part of life but I’m trying to be more mindful about balance. Some days I feel incredibly beautiful in this changing body, and other days I catch myself missing the ease and familiarity of moving through the world in my old one.
Returning to training
One of the greatest joys of the second trimester has been returning to training. CrossFit has been part of my life for seven consecutive years, averaging about five sessions a week. That’s a huge amount of time spent in a sport that, while I’m far from professional, has become deeply tied to my identity. It’s my physical outlet, my mental reset and one of my favourite forms of social connection. During the first trimester, I simply couldn’t train the way I normally would. Fatigue and nausea made consistency almost impossible and pushed me to explore other, more gentle, ways of training like yoga, pilates and swimming. Now, I feel strong and energised again. I’m lifting weights similar to what I was doing pre-pregnancy and training with intensity, but with modifications that come from listening to my body rather than following strict rules. That has been one of the most interesting lessons of pregnancy: learning to trust instinct over perfection. For example, I continued doing pull-ups until one day I noticed the hanging position pulling too much through the sides of my belly. That was enough for me to stop. Push-ups, planks and ab-focused movements felt fine until they didn’t. I began noticing tension and coning through my abdominal wall, so now I modify by moving onto my knees while keeping the same intensity. There’s also something incredibly empowering about being visibly pregnant and still moving, lifting and training. I can feel how much it inspires others too, and I am getting so much love from friends and relatives when they see me train with intent despite the visible big bump, and that feeling is special.
The symptoms that stick around
Of course, the second trimester isn’t symptom-free. Some first-trimester symptoms disappeared, but others stayed, and a few new ones have arrived. Insomnia has probably been the hardest. I wake up somewhere between seven and ten times a night. Between interrupted sleep and pregnancy fatigue, I realistically function well for only six or seven hours a day before needing a nap to feel human again.
Acid reflux and heartburn have also entered the chat. Thankfully, they don’t happen every day, but when they do, they arrive with fiery intensity.
Then there’s the strange discomfort of organs shifting upward. I have a slightly unusual sternum and ribcage shape, with my right rib sitting more inward than normal. As my uterus grows quickly, my organs are literally pushing upward into that rib area, especially when sitting for too long or in the evenings, and it can feel genuinely painful.
And lastly: pelvic girdle pain. This has become one of the more frustrating symptoms because movement usually makes me feel better mentally and physically. Long walks with the dogs or cardio-heavy gym sessions can trigger ligament pain that feels like an intense lower side stitch, forcing me to stop and rest. This is particularly frustrating because I’m preparing for an upcoming functional fitness competition called ATHX, which includes a cardio-heavy event, so I’m hoping not to let my partner down! I’m planning to see a physiotherapist soon to help manage it, and I’ve also started using a support belt after recommendations from other mums who experienced similar discomfort.
Being ‘good’ at pregnancy
Sometimes I wonder if I put pressure on myself to be ‘good’ at pregnancy, to stay fit, eat well, stay grateful and enjoy every moment, when the reality is that some days I’m simply tired, uncomfortable, emotional and counting down until bedtime. But, emotionally, I feel grounded, excited and genuinely happy to be pregnant, to be creating a tiny human from scratch that I somehow already love so deeply. As a first-time mum, this is a feeling unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. Loving someone I haven’t met yet, someone who is still growing quietly inside me, feels both surreal and incredibly natural at the same time. Some nights we lie in bed with his hand on my belly waiting for her to kick, both of us still slightly in disbelief that this is real. In just a few short months, this little being who kicks and rolls inside me will become my daughter.
Even with an incredibly supportive husband, there are moments where pregnancy feels strangely solitary, because no one else can fully feel what is happening inside your body every minute of the day. Overall, more than anything, I feel curious. Curious about who she will be, what birth will feel like, what those first moments together will hold and what kind of mother I will become. Surprisingly, I don’t feel scared of birth, something I thought I might struggle with. Instead, I find myself looking forward to it. Of course, there are moments of nervousness. Pregnancy has a way of reminding you that there is still uncertainty ahead, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t occasionally worry about something going wrong over the coming months or during labour but overall, I feel hopeful. I trust that I’m doing everything in my power to stay healthy, protect her and give her the best possible start.
People often ask if pregnancy is “flying by”, and my answer is always the same: absolutely not. If anything, I’m making time move more slowly because I’m so excited to meet her. Every day feels like one day closer to finally seeing her face, holding her and getting to know the little person I already feel deeply connected to.
One of the best things we’ve done this trimester was a birth preparation course called BirthLogic with midwife Sarah McCann, a truly amazing antenatal educator. The course took place over two Sundays at the Clayton Hotel Dublin Airport, alongside a small group of other couples. It was exactly the kind of preparation I wanted, practical, empowering and realistic. My husband and I learned what to expect from labour, how to advocate for ourselves in the hospital, what postpartum recovery might feel like and how to approach birth with confidence rather than fear. I cannot recommend it enough.
One ritual that has become non-negotiable during this chaos? Weekly pregnancy massages at my business, Fianna. They’ve become my reset button, and I would be lost without them.