Second Trimester Fatigue – & Halfway Through!
20 weeks today! 20 weeks to go until due date. Or 21 weeks ’til baby, knock-wood-and-all-is-okay, since neither of our moms has had a habit of popping earlier than due date. We seem to bake ’em for an extra little while. I cooked for 43 weeks, and John (I think) for 42. ( Though he may have been 3 weeks over as well. ) I think they didn’t do induction quite so quickly in those days. Ripley was early – he came only 4 days after due date – so maybe 20 weeks is true. … Ramblemumblearewethereyet?
I’m not posting much right now, probably won’t much for a while. Can’t get to it. Don’t have much brain & am so very VERY tired. According to the blood tests, though, I’m healthy, and Spark’s healthy, so it’s just where I’m at. (Spark’s what we’re calling this one. Buggo was Ripley’s in-vivo name. Buggo & Spark.)
Being told we’re healthy is mainly fabulous, but also a little bit annoying, since if it were anemia I could take iron pills and then maybe I would be able to think again.
We’re transferring over to the OB next week, though, so I’ll be quizzin’ him on possibilities. Want. Brain. Back.
It is still nice to be able to fall asleep quickly though. Average time to get to sleep? Under five minutes. Ripley I had scads of insomnia with. Hours of waiting for sleep. Then he was born, and *he* had insomnia. Maybe this one will be a sleeper.
My next door neighbour was fatigued and sleepy throughout her pregnancy, with no diagnosible medical reason (and a healthy little girl at the end). My GP also said it could just be one of those things. People have suggested it’s because I have a toddler and am pregnant, and that would be true if I weren’t being an utterly lame mom right now – I mainly find places where I can sit and hold my eyelids open while Ripley plays, outside or inside. Our house is suffering neglect. We’re eating simple meals. I’m not really a frenetic mom-on-the-go, right now. I’m the stuffed-animal version of mom.
John is fantastic. He gets home from work, and completely takes over after dinner while I sleep. He also gets up first in the morning. I’m really cramming sleep into every conceivable moment. Normally I nap while Rip is napping, but today I’m tired of sleeping and not waking up feeling less tired. So I’m playing chicken with my own drowsiness.
Since I found maybe 3 references to “second trimester fatigue” online, one to do with dying horribly, I thought this post may work as a public service announcement – the last post wasn’t very google friendly. Supposedly, it does happen, and supposedly, it can just be a normal symptom. If I learn otherwise, I’ll post about it. However, if you are surfing into here with tape holding your drooping eyelids open at week 15, wondering where all the get-up-and-go is: well, sister? I hear ya.
Update! – Hello, all – Maybe it was because I loved the community of moms coming here to discuss what’s going on, but these days I’m working as a prenatal class mentor with Dancing Star Birth, here in Vancouver BC.
I cam across this googling “extreme fatigue second trimester”. How funny that an almost-7-year-old blog post has so much action!
I feel so much better for not being a supermom. This is my second and with the first girl I had insomnia and lots of nervous energy. Like the mom in the actual post, I am totally phoning it in this pregnancy.. little one has been SO awesome and husband hasn’t been too bad (just a bit complainy about the housework not being done – I say do it yourself!)
Whew, anyway. Good to know I’m not alone.. kinda!
What a wonderful ongoing site. Yes, I too, feel so relieved to know that at 21 weeks it’s okay to feel like my behind is growing roots into my mattress. I have to keep myself lighthearted and find laughter and joy anywhere I can, not always easy I know. Fish oil has helped a lot with the on and off blues (just make sure it’s purified to remove mercury) and a little with energy levels. In an earlier post someone mentioned that her partner was not as understanding as others. My hubby is very helpful but I had him read afew of the post to remind him that I’m not the only one who is struggling to keep the home in tip top shape, or get into the kitchen to create a 4 course meal. Hang in there all you sleeping beauties, something wonderful is about to meet you face to face in just a few short months/weeks. Ok, now I’m off to take another nap.
Its great to read all the posts, I am only 13 weeks and about to begin my 2nd trimester but i am sure that this tiredness, sleepiness, breathlessness and laziness are going to last much much longer, may be throughout my pregnancy.
I only function for eating and feeding my 4 year old boy, which ends up being mac and chees for him a lot of the times. Since my husband never learned to cook he is only able to help me in cleaning the dishes that too only when he is home before 9pm as he works 80 hours a week. Most of the evenings I end up complaining of my inability to do anything and him arguing that I dont love him or like him anymore!! He has not yet cleaned the house or vaccummed it even though I have not been able to do it in god knows how many weeks! I feel like we are living in a complete mess but he is not bothered by it, so it will get done only when I have some energy! I envy all you lucky women with amazing helping husbands and hope to get over this phase soon!
Thought I’d join the club! This is my second pregnancy, I’m 24 and oh my god I am always sooooo tired! I’m 17 weeks and my first pregnancy was nothing like this one! I had loads of energy then and only a bit of nausea. This one is awful! I was so sick for 13 weeks, then I stopped feeling sick and thought yay here comes the energy…but no, not as yet. I wake up, take my 5yo to school then come home to a disgustingly messy house…then sink into the sofa and can’t seem to get back off till it’s time to go and get him again. Then we get home and I’m back on the sofa! I feel so guilty as a mum that I haven’t cooked a proper dinner in months but I just have no energy. Ever. Yet my iron levels and everything are fine. I soooo want it to get better! And I get so down about it and tearful, moodswings are awful. Reading all of these posts has definitely made me feel better about it all though! Good luck to us all!
I know how you all feel. 17 weeks and totally worn out. Feel guilty for sleeping when there’s so much else to do…..
Finding it difficult to muster up any motivation for anything. I’m 32 and this is my first baby.
I’m 24 weeks and also exhausted. Was feeling decent from 18-23 weeks, now I sleep 8-10 hours at night, take a 3 hour nap and am still too exhausted to do anything else. Sigh….
This is my first pregnancy and I am expecting twins. I’m 16 weeks and still feel like I’m 5. Nausea was in my first tri and dizziness/lightheadedness has been since day one. I even had to go on medical leave because I am sooooo dizzy and exhausted. My couch is probably sick of my left side by now and it’s made a permanent indent because of me laying down this whole time. I’ve complained to my ob, my gp and specialty ob and they all said this is normal and it should subside in the second tri. Well it’s the second tri and I still feel like hell. They checked my iron (13.9), routine blood pressure checks and results are good , checked my thyroid and it was great, glucose was good too. I had all kinds of test that I couldthink of to find an answer of why I’m not able to get off my butt without feeling lightheaded or tired. Nothing. Eveything is great which I’m grateful for.
But this is just getting me down and depressed because I waited all my life for pregnancy and wanted to enjoy it. I pictured going to prenatal yoga, taking daily walks with my husband and our dog but I can’t even stnd up for 5 minutes without feeling faint. I eat when I’m hungry and force myself to have snacks in between even when not hungry, I drink 4 liters of water and still feel terrible.
It felt so good reading about others who are and were waiting for the rush of energy to come in because I’m still waiting for mine. Thank goodness I found this site to help me get through!!!
I found this looking for answers to why im so tired. im going to doc this afternoon and im going to ask him too. i am 24 weeks and I just feel so whooped plus just dont feel like my brains working right either. this kid hope HE sleeps when he comes out as much as he made me sleep lol or at least 3/4 thru the night :)
I realize that it’s now 2013 and everyone who has commented is now enjoying their beautiful little babies, but oh well… I had to comment. :-p I’m 16 weeks today and amd feeling sooo tired and achy. Where’s my 2nd trimester “honeymoon”? :( Heck, I’m still getting on anti-nausea medication because my 1st trimester nausea is trying to hang on for dear life. It’s good to know that I’m not alone AND that it won’t last forever… you guys have all made it over the pregnancy hump. Can’t wait to join you all!
I thought I was going crazy… So happy reading these posts and knowing that what I’m going through is actually normal, despite what the books, doctors and websites say!! First pregnancy, 23yo, fit and healthy. All day nausea and vomiting for the first 18 weeks, now at 22 weeks the vomiting has come back (though not as bad) but added in is extreme exhaustion, feeling like my arms and legs are made of bricks,aversions to almost all foods, weakness and severe restless leg syndrome. All my blood work us perfectly normal. So thankful to hear that this extreme exhaustion is relatively common!
I’d started to think it was just me! Funny thing being I did get the energy surge at the end of 1st trimester (along with the nausea disappearing). In fact, for a while I felt almost normal.
Then this last week or two I’ve just been unmotivated, drained, and some mornings the idea of showering is exhausting (I do anyway, but way to much effort involved for comfort). Midwife says I’m about 22 weeks, feel like I could just sleep forever.
Great to hear I’m not the only one suffering with this I had severe vomiting early on. I also had a couple of weeks where I thought I was getting back to normal. Now 20 weeks and still feeling constantly fatigued also getting lots of headaches. Struggling to get on with basic things. All my test have come back fine so hoping there will soon be a lovely baby at the end as this is my fourth pregnancy and lost my other three early on.
I’m 24 weeks and I feel so much better knowing that I am not some freak of nature, I have been sleeping 20 hours a day, and barely able to keep my eyes open this is my first kid, I’m unable to get anything done around the house I’m just so exhausted, I’m usually working two jobs, and coming home doing laundry and cleaning,I use to never stop but I’m feeling horribly tired like I just can’t stop sleeping its just recently I have been like this never felt like this in my first. Trimester.
Hi ladies, happy 2017! I’m 22 in may and I have a beautiful boy turning one end of march, and I’m due another end of June. Which makes me 23 weeks exactly, with my son I suffered preeclampsia and had to be induced, right now I have a headache 24/7 and feel extremely fatigued all the time. My partner is so understanding he just wants me to be comfortable but if I spend anymore time in bed I might as well be surgically attached to it and it’s making me miserable, everyday I get up feeling okay and make a list of to-do’s then half an hour to an hour later can barely move, originally docs said anaemia and I started taking iron but now my levels are fine (still taking to be safe) and I feel no better, it wouldn’t bother me so much but when my partner is home I want to be with him but I’m lucky if I can stay out of bed for a couple hours, I feel like a terrible wife. :(