This Is What Being Pregnant And In Your Second Trimester Is Like

    And here I thought everything would get easier.

    Conz Preti
    by Conz Preti

    BuzzFeed Regional Director, Americas

    Note: Obviously, everyone experiences pregnancy differently. This is my own personal experience and not a medical opinion. As always, if you have any doubts about your pregnancy, ask your doctor.

    1. First of all, you can finally tell people that you're pregnant! So there's no more need to hide your symptoms or your belly.

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    Of course, sharing the news is still a super personal decision, but most expecting parents wait until they have the OK on all the tests done during this trimester to tell the world about it.

    2. And being able to tell everyone and anyone feels like a burden has been lifted.

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    No more lying about why you can't drink at happy hour, or spending hours in the mirror trying to figure out if your belly is showing. Now you can share the news and get tons of squeals and excitement in return!

    3. You start looking, and feeling, more pregnant.

    4. Which means you have to buy maternity clothes, even if you don't want to.

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    Finding maternity clothes that I liked was one of the hardest things for me. I tried to keep wearing my usual clothes for as long as possible, but there comes a point when you just want to be comfortable. Elastic waistbands became my new best friends, because at least I could eat in peace without feeling like I was choking the baby.

    5. All of the attention makes you feel like a queen.

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    Everyone has a million questions, you get a lot of presents, and strangers just smile really nicely at you on the street. It's a great moment.

    6. Your belly becomes a hand magnet.

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    EVERYBODY will want to touch your belly. I felt like a Buddha statue getting constantly rubbed for good luck. I'm not even sure what people expect to feel, because my baby will stop moving or kicking whenever he feels anyone's hand near him.

    7. And your hair becomes really amazing.

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    Thanks to all of the hormones and the vitamins you're taking, you will probably have the best hair of your life. For example, I noticed that I wasn't losing any hair or clogging up the shower drain. It's hard not to get too excited or too used to having a fantastic mane, since everything changes once the baby arrives.

    8. You have to moisturize your skin more than usual.

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    While I'll be the first to admit that I hate that greasy moisturizer feeling, I hate the now-constant itching even more. I swear, I'll get out of the shower feeling like my skin is covered with mosquito bites. So I looked for moisturizers for pregnant women, and am now a pro at covering my body with them. Some of the moisturizers even say that it will help prevent stretch marks, so we'll see!

    9. You are still super tired almost always, now thanks to insomnia.

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    Yes ladies and gentlemen, pregnancy can cause insomnia. I've never had problems falling asleep in my entire life, to the point where my husband jokes about how I can sleep through a nuclear attack. But now, I fall asleep around 10 p.m. and often wake up at 3 a.m., completely unable to close my eyes again. I try counting sheep, clearing my mind, or telling the baby to stop moving — but nothing helps.

    10. And you find yourself buying seemingly ridiculous things to feel a little more comfortable.

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    What I miss the most isn't drinking alcohol or eating sushi — it's sleeping face down. At this point my belly is too big to sleep in my favorite position, so I even tried out a sleeping pad that promised to help me sleep in peace again. But it didn't work. Sending it back, along with all my frustrated dreams of sleeping well, was painful.

    11. You may not be having your period, but you do still deal with a lot of blood.

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    My gums bleed every time I brush my teeth, and my nose bleeds every time I blow it. I haven't decided yet which is more uncomfortable.

    12. Deciding on a name for the baby becomes an impossible mission.

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    I never thought I'd ever have kids so, so I don't automatically have a list of contenders for names. But, as I learned, everyone around you will always an opinion on everything baby-related, from breastfeeding to belly size. So my husband and I decided to keep our son's name a secret until it was officially on a birth certificate — that way, no one could try to change our minds.

    13. Because people already even have very strong opinions on the baby's gender.

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    Every time I say that we're having a boy, I immediately get an "Ahhh, you got the best!" in response. Which makes me wonder what they'd say if I were having a girl instead, and then I'm suddenly wondering why I care what a total stranger things, anyway.

    14. The little alien you're carrying inside starts to look more like a human.

    Conz Preti

    THERE'S A HUMAN INSIDE ME. I still can't get over it. Now that my baby looks less like a ball of cells, I'm even more in love with the person growing inside my belly. I've already even tried to figure out whose nose he'll have!

    15. And that little human starts really moving around in there.

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    And let me tell you, it's not comfortable. There have been points when I've been in a meeting at work and could feel absolutely everything that was happening in my uterus, and all I wanted to do was yell. Because when your child starts moving, they move a lot.

    16. And you can see some of that movement happening FROM THE OUTSIDE.

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    I thought that was just a thing that happened toward the end of the pregnancy, or when you were having multiple babies. But then, one day, I was lying on the couch and saw my baby kick and leave the outline of a foot on my belly. I'm still not over it.

    17. But the absolute best part? Talking to your baby, and seeing him react.

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    I blame hormones, of course, but one day, when I was talking to the baby, he immediately kicked and moved around. Tears ensued.

    To read about what I learned during my first trimester, click here.

    This post was translated from Spanish.