I finally entered my third trimester a couple of weeks ago, and I would say “Oh my gosh I can’t believe I’m already in my third trimester!” except that if anything, I can’t believe I am ONLY in my third trimester. These past few weeks have been craaaawwwling by, and I have a feeling the next 10 weeks won’t exactly fly by, either. In fact, mid-October feels about 100 years away! Apparently (aka I am told this by most new moms I know), I will look back on pregnancy and miss these “special moments” of being woken up by being kicked in the kidneys and having to pee again as soon as I walk out of  the bathroom. And I’m wondering if that’s not a little bit like looking back on the experience of pushing a child out of your vagina and remembering how magical it was in retrospect. I guess I’ll find out. But, in the meantime, here’s what I learned in my second trimester:

1. Having to pee constantly = using incredible amounts of toilet paper. I mean, it makes sense, but you wouldn’t really think about it… But seriously, our toilet paper expenditures have at least doubled.
2. Naps are (still) your friend. Let’s just use this as an all-around pregnancy rule.
3. It’s kinda fun to look pregnant. I will qualify this by saying, it’s fun to look pregnant for those few weeks where you have a cute bump but the bump isn’t constantly punching you in the bladder or body slamming you in the ribcage… But hey, those magical weeks are in your 2nd trimester, so enjoy them.
4. It is totally ok to feel kinda weirded out by baby kicks, even though everyone around you is talking about how amazing and incredible they are.
5. If you thought your body changed a lot during the first trimester, then hold on tight during the second trimester. Every single day is a new adventure, and those adventures include stretch marks, weird thigh cellulite, protruding belly buttons, and boobs that change in size on an hourly basis.
6. To go along with #5, if you are planning to stay active in your 2nd and 3rd trimesters, they you have to stay on top of it. Waiting too long between workouts can mean walking into the gym with a body that you have basically never worked out with before. If you can work out at least 2x a week, you will have fewer incidents of going for a movement and realizing out of nowhere, “Nope, can’t do that anymore!”
7. You will be surprised by how many people walk straight up to you and say, “Oh my gosh look at you/your belly/how much bigger you’re getting/how pregnant you are!” Or my personal favorite, “Wow, you really are pregnant!” (Side note: Please don’t ever say these things to a pregnant lady. Just stick to “Wow, you look great!”)
8. Now IS the time to start reading parenting books, asking questions, and making plans. If you’re anything like me, you are going to want to research the crap out of everything from cribs to swaddles to pacifiers, and you might as well get started while you still have the luxury of taking your time.
9. Slowly but surely, people will stop asking you about anything other than your pregnancy and baby. You might even start to feel a little bit like your sole purpose in life is to grow a human. But apparently this feeling only gets worse and then is replaced by your new identity as “So-and-So’s Mom,” so I’m just trying to embrace this one.
10. This time I will say “Enjoy it!” Because now, people know you are pregnant, they are excited for you, you even look a little bit pregnant, but you aren’t so big that you can’t shave your legs or walk up the stairs without huffing and puffing. The second trimester is the pregnancy sweet-spot, so soak it in!