Second Trimester Checklist: Your Week-by-Week Guide

If the first trimester felt like white-knuckling your way through nausea and nerves, welcome to the part a lot of people quietly love. The second trimester — roughly weeks 14 through 27 — is when the queasiness often eases, the energy creeps back, and that little flutter you've been waiting for finally arrives. This second trimester checklist walks you through what to do, what to expect, and what to plan, so the calm middle of pregnancy stays calm.

There's a lot packed into these weeks: a major ultrasound, a few important screenings, and the first real decisions about your baby's arrival. None of it needs to happen all at once. Think of this as a gentle to-do list you can spread across three months, not a single overwhelming afternoon.

What Makes the Second Trimester Feel Like a Reset

The second trimester usually spans the start of week 14 to the end of week 27 — about months four, five, and six. (Sources differ slightly on whether it begins at week 13 or 14, which is completely normal; pregnancy timelines have soft edges.) If you're ever unsure where you stand, our guide on how pregnancy weeks convert to months can help you make sense of the math.

For many people, this is the most comfortable stretch of pregnancy. Morning sickness tends to fade, the risk of miscarriage drops considerably after the first trimester, and you finally start to look and feel pregnant in a way that's exciting rather than exhausting.

That said, every pregnancy is different. Some people sail through; others still feel wiped out or queasy well past week 14. Both are normal. If something feels off, that's always a conversation to have with your provider — not a reason to push through quietly.

Your Second Trimester Checklist: Health and Appointments

The medical side of these weeks is the part worth staying on top of, because a few of these screenings are time-sensitive. Here's what typically lands on a second trimester checklist for health and prenatal care:

• Keep up with prenatal visits. Most providers see you about once a month during this trimester. They'll check your weight, blood pressure, belly measurement, and baby's heartbeat.
• Continue your prenatal vitamin. Folate, iron, and other key nutrients still matter just as much now as they did in the first trimester.
• Anatomy scan (around weeks 18–22). This detailed ultrasound is the headline event — more on it below.
• Maternal blood screening, if you choose it. Some second-trimester blood tests can screen for certain conditions. Your provider will explain your options; these are optional and personal.
• Glucose screening (around weeks 24–28). This is the test for gestational diabetes, usually a sweet drink followed by a blood draw an hour later. It often falls right at the end of the second trimester.
• Ask about vaccines and your Rh status. Depending on your blood type and the time of year, your provider may talk to you about specific vaccines or an injection around week 28. Let them guide the timing.

Write down questions as they come to you between appointments — it's easy to forget them the moment you're in the room. And if a test result or recommendation is confusing, ask your provider to walk you through it plainly. That's exactly what they're there for.

The Anatomy Scan: The Big Second-Trimester Milestone

If there's one appointment people remember from this trimester, it's the anatomy scan — sometimes called the anomaly scan or the 20-week ultrasound. It's typically done somewhere between 18 and 22 weeks, and it's a longer, more detailed look than the quick scans you may have had earlier.

During the scan, the sonographer carefully checks how your baby is growing — the brain, heart, spine, kidneys, limbs, and more — and confirms things like the position of the placenta and your fluid levels. It's also, for many families, the appointment where you can find out the baby's sex if you'd like to.

A few gentle things to know going in:

• It can take 30–45 minutes or longer, so settle in.
• A full bladder is sometimes requested — check your clinic's instructions ahead of time.
• It's normal for the sonographer to go quiet while they concentrate. Silence isn't a signal that something's wrong.
• Bring your partner or a support person if you can. It's a lovely moment to share.

You can read more about this stage of development on our week 20 page, the midpoint of pregnancy. If the scan turns up anything your provider wants to look at more closely, try not to spiral — follow-up scans are common and frequently end in reassurance. Your care team will tell you exactly what the next step is.

Feeling Baby Move for the First Time

Somewhere in this trimester, you'll likely feel those first flutters — often described as bubbles, popcorn, or a tiny goldfish. This is called quickening.

Most people notice it somewhere between 16 and 25 weeks. If this is your first baby, it tends to land on the later side, simply because you don't yet know what to feel for. People who've been pregnant before often catch it earlier. Either way, irregular early movement is completely normal — your baby isn't on a schedule yet.

You don't need to formally count kicks this early; structured kick-counting usually comes later in pregnancy, and your provider will tell you when and how. When that time comes, a simple kick counter can make the routine easier to keep up.

Second Trimester Checklist: Planning and Shopping

This is the sweet spot for getting practical things done — you have energy, and you're not yet in the home stretch where everything feels heavy. Spreading these tasks across the trimester keeps it from becoming a frantic third-trimester scramble.

• Start (or finish) your baby registry. Now's a relaxed time to research the big items without pressure.
• Make a real shopping plan. Decide what to buy new, borrow, or buy secondhand. Our purchase guide helps you sort the genuine essentials from the nice-to-haves so you don't overspend.
• Think about your maternity wardrobe. Around now, regular clothes start to feel snug. A few comfortable basics go a long way.
• Look into childbirth and baby-care classes. Popular ones fill up, so it's worth checking schedules early even if the class itself is months away.
• Begin the nursery conversation. You don't need to finish it — just start picturing the space and noting what you'll need.
• Sort out the logistics. Check your maternity or parental leave options, review your insurance, and start a rough budget for baby costs.
• Choose a pediatrician. Many practices let you schedule a meet-and-greet before the baby arrives.

You don't have to do all of this in week 14. Pick one or two items a month, and it'll feel manageable. A registry is a great first task because it naturally pushes you to think through what you actually need.

Taking Care of You

It's easy for a checklist to focus entirely on appointments and baby gear and skip the most important person on the list: you.

• Move gently. If your provider has cleared you, walking, swimming, and prenatal yoga can ease aches and boost energy.
• Eat in a way that feels good. Now that nausea may have lifted, focus on steady, nourishing meals and plenty of water.
• Protect your sleep. Many people start sleeping on their side this trimester; a pregnancy pillow can help you get comfortable.
• Mind your back. As your bump grows, posture and supportive shoes matter more than you'd think.
• Check in emotionally. Excitement, anxiety, and mood swings can all share the same week. If low moods linger or feel heavy, tell your provider — perinatal mental health is real health care, and support is available.

The goal isn't a perfect pregnancy. It's a supported one.

A Simple Week-by-Week Second Trimester Timeline

Here's a loose map of how these weeks often unfold. Your own timeline may shift a little, and that's fine.

• Weeks 14–17: Energy often returns, the bump starts to show, and monthly prenatal visits continue. A good window to begin registry research.
• Weeks 18–22: The anatomy scan happens. Many people feel first movements around now.
• Weeks 23–27: Movement grows stronger and more regular, glucose screening usually lands near the end of this stretch, and it's a smart time to lock in childbirth classes and bigger purchases before the third trimester.

If you'd like a day-by-day companion through it all, every page in our week-by-week pregnancy guide breaks down what's happening with your body and your baby at each stage.

What to Tackle Before the Third Trimester

As you approach week 28, a few things are worth wrapping up so you can coast into the final stretch:

• Confirm your glucose screening is done.
• Finalize the big-ticket registry items.
• Have your childbirth class booked or scheduled.
• Know who your baby's pediatrician will be.
• Make sure any leave paperwork is started.

If you're coming to this list fresh and skipped the early weeks, our first trimester checklist is a helpful look back at the foundation — prenatal vitamins, first appointments, and early lifestyle changes.

The second trimester is, for many people, the part of pregnancy that finally feels joyful. Use this calm middle to take care of your health, knock out the planning that's easy to do now and hard to do later, and soak up those first kicks. You're doing better than you think.

This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace professional medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider.