23-24 Weeks Pregnant – Symptoms, Body Changes, Bump Update – Pregnancy Diary
Pregnancy Diabetes – Glucose Test
After a few busy weeks, during weeks 23-24 of being pregnant with baby number 2, I had to slow down quite a bit. I was still feeling sick, unsure whether I caught a bug or not.
Since my last ultrasound revealed that baby boy has a big belly, which could be an indicator of gestational diabetes, I was eager to get my blood work done as soon as I reached 24 weeks.
To my and my doctor’s surprise, I had excellent blood sugar levels, and was luckily not diagnosed with pregnancy diabetes. That was a huge relief for me.
The blood work did show though – as I long suspected – low iron levels. Now I had an official diagnosis, and the doctor suggested I take stronger supplements to increase my iron.
Symptoms
Hiccups
At 23 weeks pregnant, I started noticing baby boy’s first hiccups.
With my daughter, these started quite a bit sooner, closer to 19-20 weeks. So I was wondering when they would make their return this time around.
Hiccups in the beginning feel really cute and are just slightly noticeable. From experience with my daughter though I know that they are getting stronger the bigger the baby gets. And they can get quite annoying – especially of they happen at night, when you’re just trying to fall asleep.
At this point, I was enjoying them. They were a constant reminder of the life growing inside of me, practicing for the real world.
Much stronger kicks
Whereas baby boy’s kicks used to feel quite gentle, at 23-24 weeks pregnant they started picking up.
They were noticeable enough to see and feel easily from the outside now, and there was no more wondering if he is actually moving.
I felt the kicks all over the place, but mostly on the left side of the belly. Luckily, he wasn’t awake at night too much, and still allowed me to sleep pretty well.
Cravings oh cravings
One thing that accompanied me this entire pregnancy are my cravings. And that didn’t change at week 23 and 24 of my pregnancy,
I’ve always had a sweet tooth, but I can control it to some extent.
This pregnancy was seriously testing my will power.
Typical for a boy pregnancy, I was craving lots of salty proteins, like beef jerky (which is not necessarily pregnancy safe), burgers, and all things fast food.
On the other hand, I was also craving sweets like never before. I could not turn down ice cream, or go a day without some chocolate.
While all of this is okay, of course, I had a hard time just enjoying it. I wanted to make sure I was eating a more balanced diet, in order to get all the important nutrients for the baby and me.
Sciatica pain
Something new that started during week 23 and 24 of being pregnant, was the onset of sciatica pain.
During my first pregnancy, I never battled any kind of back pain. Not even when I was put on bed rest due to my incompetent cervix.
This time was different. I started noticing some pain in my lower back, on the right side, which I found out was sciatica pain.
It was most evident after sitting on the couch for a little bit. As soon as I wanted to get up, it hurt so bad in my right lower back that I had to stand for a minute or two before I could start walking.
And only after a few minutes of walking it would get slightly better.
I’m not sure if this was caused by sitting on the couch too much since I was feeling sick. Or was this caused by me carrying my daughter on my left hip, meaning my body was quite a bit unbalanced.
To this day I don’t know. It’s just a really uncomfortable pain that I tried to combat semi-successfully with yoga and stretching.
Still tired – a never ending story of fatigue
At 23-24 weeks pregnant, I was way at the end of my second trimester. And to this point, I never saw the spike in energy, that is supposed to happen after the first trimester.
And that had me scared, knowing the third trimester will be even more tiring.
Luckily, after my gestational diabetes test at 24 weeks pregnant I knew the culprit for my fatigue: low iron levels, as I long suspected.
My doctor advised me to use a slow-release iron supplement. And a few days after starting it, I could slowly see an improvement. And for the first time in months, I didn’t need an afternoon nap.
Body Changes and Bump Update
At this point, there was no more hiding my bump. And I absolutely love it!
As of a week or two ago, my pregnancy belly started growing quite a bit, and by 23-24 weeks pregnant, I had a really nice bump.