Becoming less Surreal

At around 20 weeks, my belly was definitely looking like I was pregnant and I was starting to feel it too.  My back was becoming more achy with the weight gain, which by this time I gained probably around five (5) to 10 pounds.  The baby started kicking more often and always when I first woke up and, of course, every time i tried to lie down and rest. 
By the time the second trimester started, I had a lot more energy every day.  Lloyd and I ended up going to one of the near-by lakes for a day trip, great way to get out of the city.  We got in some walking but even though I did have more energy I still tired out very quickly.  Carrying around the extra weight that was non-existent before made everyday walking harder.  So normal full day trips would be cut in half, or I would find somewhere to sit down to rest while.  If I didn’t force myself to rest, there’s no way I would’ve been able to carry-on in the days. 
Next trip we did was to the mountains for the weekend.  I was so happy again to be getting out of the city and for a small vacation.  Even though it wasn’t the tropics and didn’t include SCUBA diving, I was still happy to be going and with no one else but my wonderful husband Lloyd. 
If you haven’t noticed… this is the BEST time for traveling!  The first and third trimester your energy is depleted and all you want to do is sleep, never mind that in your last trimester your waddling everywhere you go and constantly running to the bathroom because of the added pressure.  BUT this will all have to wait for one of my upcoming posts.  Back to traveling… the second trimester is, hands down, the best time to accomplish your travels and other such things that will require energy. 
The pregnancy symptoms that became more apparent this trimester was a little bit of heartburn and my joints got a bit swollen but only when it was excessively hot.
For heartburn – the doctors always recommend something like TUMS.  TUMS taste awful though, but they do work most of the time and you get some supplemented calcium from each tablet.  I did later on find the best thing that worked for me was bananas and a BIG glass of nice cold milk! Believe it not they both did work and added bonus with one of your fruits for the day and one of your many glasses of needed milk.  Eventually my heartburn got to the point that only milk or banana would help.  The TUMS would help but only for like five (5) or 10 minutes, this was why I just stuck to the milk or banana.
As for my joints swelling, there wasn’t much you could do.  Elevate your feet, stay off of them as much as possible, don’t stand for too long, take in lots of water, and try to keep cool if possible.  In the day time, what worked best for me was always wearing a pair of sandals or shoes, seemed to help with some of the pressure anyways.  I had to wear footwear inside or out, so I, of course, did what most women like to do, went shopping for an indoor pair of comfy sandals that would also accommodate for the swelling.  Of course there was going to be more swelling, you haven’t had the baby yet!