The second trimester is quite an eventful one! Barely-a-bump to giant bump, permanently paranoid to moderately calm, no movement to constant movement, fear and excitement to excitement and fear (okay, that last one didn't change). Here's every detail of the past three months...
August 31st, 14 weeks
I'm waiting for the joyousness that's supposed to come with the second trimester! I'm still tired all the time, and now I have frequent headaches and random abdominal pains and twinges as things down there start to grow. Waistbands - even maternity ones - are incredibly uncomfortable. The heart monitor is a godsend, since the pains worry me constantly that something is going wrong. Some days I feel massive even though there's still barely a bump, which is weird. I've even caught myself waddling when not paying attention! What's that about?!?
September 11, 16 weeks
So, you know that bump I'm quite excited about? That's not the baby. Nope. The baby is actually much lower - just below the panty-line, before the bump even starts to stick out. I know this because that's where I have to go to find the heartbeat. The bump? That would be all of my organs being squooshed upwards and out. Lovely. So when you pat my belly with congratulations? You're patting my organs. The baby is hiding underneath.
In other news, I am starting to feel some of my energy coming back. I've even been able to work out a few times, which helps with the constant guilt that I'm not doing everything I'm supposed to be doing. Now, I alternate between worrying that the bump is growing too quickly, and worrying that is isn't growing enough. Siiiiiiigh. I did start a shopping list for when the baby comes, which is exciting but also terrifying both financially and mentally... which car seat is the safest? What if the monitor stops working because I didn't spend enough money on it? Should the baby sleep in our bedroom at first? What do newborn babies WEAR?? (Note: I am not looking for answers! I'm surrounded by more answers than I need right now!)
September 14
I've been experiencing quite a bit of muscle pain around my abdomen, even finding it difficult to walk or stand sometimes. It was particularly bad at Christian's sister's wedding yesterday, though people just assumed I looked miserable because I was sober (I won't lie, that was part of the reason. Weddings are made for drinking).
According to the interwebs: "During the second trimester, all of your pelvic and abdominal organs are being pushed upwards and sideways due to the enlarging uterus. Displacement of your intestines can cause many discomforts and lead to other conditions resulting in abdominal and pelvic pain." For more horrifying and gross things that can happen during the second trimester - check this page (or don't, because yuck). I have self-diagnosed my pain as "round ligament spasm," especially because I am quite prone to muscle cramps, and have decided not to worry too much unless the pains continue for a long period of time and cannot be relieved by lying down. I very much like lying down these days :)
September 28, 18 weeks
It's a boy!! Gulp.
I'm apprehensive about boys. I'm not too worried about the small boy, but a teenaged boy? Yikes. The 18 week scan was exciting. He was "wild and crazy" in there (the technician's words) and Christian greatly enjoyed watching him stomp on my bladder. Everything is still looking good and I was particularly relieved to see him moving so much since I haven't been able to feel anything yet. The scan also included some 3D images that are just plain creepy (sorry, kid) :)
I'm still waiting to feel better! I just want to lie on the sofa and watch terrible TV. All. The. Time. I'm sure Christian is getting quite sick of my patheticness and I know the third trimester is going to be even worse. I have increased respect for everyone who has been through pregnancy since I never knew how much they were suffering, which means they didn't tell me, and all I want to do is complaaaaaiiiiiiin!! Complain and/or curl up in a ball and cry for no reason.
October 4, 19 weeks
I felt him move! WEIRD!! I've been trying* to feel him move since week 16 (*as much as you can try to do something like this), and then all of a sudden - there it was! Weird tiny popping/tapping sensations below my belly button. Weeeeeeeiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrd.
In other news, my uterus is moving up. I've been experiencing some shortness of breath as my lungs start to get more squished. Also, I'm still struggling to sleep more than 3-4 hours a night! You'd think my body would want to get as much sleep as possible in preparation for when the baby is here, but nope. Did they make TLC programming for pregnant women and nursing moms? I think so. I have never had any patience for the shows on that channel, but now I love them all. Say Yes to the Dress, 19 Kids and Counting, Something Borrowed Something New, Quints by Surprise... If it has weddings or babies then I'm in. Hopefully this isn't a permanent adjustment in my tastes!
October 8
Nightmares! So many nightmares! I'm waking up every hour or so from some kind of weird dream. I don't remember most of them more than a few minutes after waking, but there was one particularly vivid one about Christian and me being arrested in Mexico. I was desperately trying to tell Facebook of our plight while being carted off in handcuffs. Hmmm.
We've discovered that the baby likes prohibition-era jazz music. Last night was the Hot Sardines at the Colonial, and he kicked nonstop for three songs! This was only the second time I've felt him move. Cool stuff. There was a tap dancer on stage, so we think that's what he was doing.
October 10
Tonight's dream: The newborn baby could crawl everywhere, including up and down stairs. He was also peeing in every room like a cat.
October 11, 20 weeks and Christian's 33rd birthday
My bump has met my boobs. We're only halfway through. This is terrifying.
October 14
Tonight's dream from the terror vault: A horrifying, white, featureless human-shaped monster with pinpoint, purple staring eyes was in love with Christian and trying to kill me. Sometimes it was in love with me, yet still trying to kill me. I kept trying to help it. Couldn't get back to sleep after this one! Ughhhhshiver.
October 17, 21 weeks
I felt babylander move three distinct times, each a couple of days apart. Now I haven't felt him in a week, so I'm back to my checking-the-heartbeat-every-day paranoia. Nightmare! The Internet is full of lots of reassuring stories about how the baby is still small and needs to be in exactly the right position for me to feel him, but there are the occasional tales that ended in tragedy after the baby stopped moving at this point. And yes, I know I should stop looking. Fgyjdkjhufhtrdghhhcddffffff.
One app says he's the size of a banana, the other says he's a carrot. Since he was a mango last week, does it sound to you like he's getting smaller? Certainly thinner! :-D
October 20
Being pregnant is weird. I'm carrying around this bump, which has suddenly become everything that matters about me - how I look, how I feel, what I'm eating... It's all focused on the fact that I'm growing a person. I feel like it's this huge, mega, amazing, ridiculous achievement while at the same time it's a run-of-the-mill, everyone-does-it, we're-nothing-special type of ordinariness that's incredibly boring...
October 21
... And then I have a complete meltdown in the grocery store because I can barely keep things together for two of us, how ON EARTH am I going to cope with three??? WHY CAN'T YOU DRINK WHILE PREGNANT??????!!!
October 26, 22 weeks
The baby weighs 1lb, I have gained 15lbs. That is all.
October 31, 24 weeks
They just bumped up my due date by over a week to Feb 18! Gulp! I just jumped from 22 to 24 weeks with no effort. Apparently they knew this from a past ultrasound, but forgot to share...
The average weight gain for a pregnant woman is 28-32lbs. I did find out what makes some of the extra weight:
November 8, 2014, 25 weeks
We just had our first review with our financial planner. I'm now up at 3 a.m. worrying about our financial future. I know four things for sure:
November 14, 2014, 26 weeks and our 6th wedding anniversary
Almost at the end of the second trimester! It's amazing how much has changed since the beginning of this post. I feel much calmer now that I can feel him all the time, and have started looking forward a little bit to the end of pregnancy and the beginning of baby (though fear still outweighs excitement). We have a shortlist of names ready and work on the nursery has begun. We still own no baby furniture or accessories, and I still have no idea how I'm going to manage a household of three when I can barely keep things together for two, but I'm feeling moderately more prepared.
I started doing prenatal water aerobics a couple of weeks ago, which is less exercise and more lots-of-pregnant-women-gossiping-in-water-while-a-tiny-instructor-guy-bounces-around-trying-to-make-himself-heard, but it's the thought that counts, right? My favorite moment was chatting to one young first time mom-to-be whose due date is close to mine. When I said I found it all quite scary, she looked at me with wide eyes and asked, in all seriousness, what on earth I found to be scared about. Um, really? Is it my age and wisdom that brings fear? I honestly had no idea how to answer that question since I find EVERYTHING about this scary. Bring on the third trimester!
August 31st, 14 weeks
I'm waiting for the joyousness that's supposed to come with the second trimester! I'm still tired all the time, and now I have frequent headaches and random abdominal pains and twinges as things down there start to grow. Waistbands - even maternity ones - are incredibly uncomfortable. The heart monitor is a godsend, since the pains worry me constantly that something is going wrong. Some days I feel massive even though there's still barely a bump, which is weird. I've even caught myself waddling when not paying attention! What's that about?!?
September 11, 16 weeks
So, you know that bump I'm quite excited about? That's not the baby. Nope. The baby is actually much lower - just below the panty-line, before the bump even starts to stick out. I know this because that's where I have to go to find the heartbeat. The bump? That would be all of my organs being squooshed upwards and out. Lovely. So when you pat my belly with congratulations? You're patting my organs. The baby is hiding underneath.
In other news, I am starting to feel some of my energy coming back. I've even been able to work out a few times, which helps with the constant guilt that I'm not doing everything I'm supposed to be doing. Now, I alternate between worrying that the bump is growing too quickly, and worrying that is isn't growing enough. Siiiiiiigh. I did start a shopping list for when the baby comes, which is exciting but also terrifying both financially and mentally... which car seat is the safest? What if the monitor stops working because I didn't spend enough money on it? Should the baby sleep in our bedroom at first? What do newborn babies WEAR?? (Note: I am not looking for answers! I'm surrounded by more answers than I need right now!)
September 14
I've been experiencing quite a bit of muscle pain around my abdomen, even finding it difficult to walk or stand sometimes. It was particularly bad at Christian's sister's wedding yesterday, though people just assumed I looked miserable because I was sober (I won't lie, that was part of the reason. Weddings are made for drinking).
September 28, 18 weeks
It's a boy!! Gulp.
October 4, 19 weeks
I felt him move! WEIRD!! I've been trying* to feel him move since week 16 (*as much as you can try to do something like this), and then all of a sudden - there it was! Weird tiny popping/tapping sensations below my belly button. Weeeeeeeiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrd.
In other news, my uterus is moving up. I've been experiencing some shortness of breath as my lungs start to get more squished. Also, I'm still struggling to sleep more than 3-4 hours a night! You'd think my body would want to get as much sleep as possible in preparation for when the baby is here, but nope. Did they make TLC programming for pregnant women and nursing moms? I think so. I have never had any patience for the shows on that channel, but now I love them all. Say Yes to the Dress, 19 Kids and Counting, Something Borrowed Something New, Quints by Surprise... If it has weddings or babies then I'm in. Hopefully this isn't a permanent adjustment in my tastes!
October 8
Nightmares! So many nightmares! I'm waking up every hour or so from some kind of weird dream. I don't remember most of them more than a few minutes after waking, but there was one particularly vivid one about Christian and me being arrested in Mexico. I was desperately trying to tell Facebook of our plight while being carted off in handcuffs. Hmmm.
We've discovered that the baby likes prohibition-era jazz music. Last night was the Hot Sardines at the Colonial, and he kicked nonstop for three songs! This was only the second time I've felt him move. Cool stuff. There was a tap dancer on stage, so we think that's what he was doing.
October 10
Tonight's dream: The newborn baby could crawl everywhere, including up and down stairs. He was also peeing in every room like a cat.
October 11, 20 weeks and Christian's 33rd birthday
My bump has met my boobs. We're only halfway through. This is terrifying.
October 14
Tonight's dream from the terror vault: A horrifying, white, featureless human-shaped monster with pinpoint, purple staring eyes was in love with Christian and trying to kill me. Sometimes it was in love with me, yet still trying to kill me. I kept trying to help it. Couldn't get back to sleep after this one! Ughhhhshiver.
October 17, 21 weeks
I felt babylander move three distinct times, each a couple of days apart. Now I haven't felt him in a week, so I'm back to my checking-the-heartbeat-every-day paranoia. Nightmare! The Internet is full of lots of reassuring stories about how the baby is still small and needs to be in exactly the right position for me to feel him, but there are the occasional tales that ended in tragedy after the baby stopped moving at this point. And yes, I know I should stop looking. Fgyjdkjhufhtrdghhhcddffffff.
One app says he's the size of a banana, the other says he's a carrot. Since he was a mango last week, does it sound to you like he's getting smaller? Certainly thinner! :-D
October 20
Being pregnant is weird. I'm carrying around this bump, which has suddenly become everything that matters about me - how I look, how I feel, what I'm eating... It's all focused on the fact that I'm growing a person. I feel like it's this huge, mega, amazing, ridiculous achievement while at the same time it's a run-of-the-mill, everyone-does-it, we're-nothing-special type of ordinariness that's incredibly boring...
October 21
... And then I have a complete meltdown in the grocery store because I can barely keep things together for two of us, how ON EARTH am I going to cope with three??? WHY CAN'T YOU DRINK WHILE PREGNANT??????!!!
October 26, 22 weeks
The baby weighs 1lb, I have gained 15lbs. That is all.
October 31, 24 weeks
They just bumped up my due date by over a week to Feb 18! Gulp! I just jumped from 22 to 24 weeks with no effort. Apparently they knew this from a past ultrasound, but forgot to share...
The average weight gain for a pregnant woman is 28-32lbs. I did find out what makes some of the extra weight:
- Growing uterus (not just stretching): 2-3lbs
- Growing boobs: 5-6lbs (yowzer!)
- Amniotic fluid: 2-3lbs
- Extra maternal stores of fat: 10ish lbs
- Extra blood pumping through body: 1-2lbs
November 8, 2014, 25 weeks
We just had our first review with our financial planner. I'm now up at 3 a.m. worrying about our financial future. I know four things for sure:
- We should not be having kids
- 97% of people in the developed world cannot possibly be saving enough for retirement
- Inflation is insane
- I hate being a grown-up
November 14, 2014, 26 weeks and our 6th wedding anniversary
Almost at the end of the second trimester! It's amazing how much has changed since the beginning of this post. I feel much calmer now that I can feel him all the time, and have started looking forward a little bit to the end of pregnancy and the beginning of baby (though fear still outweighs excitement). We have a shortlist of names ready and work on the nursery has begun. We still own no baby furniture or accessories, and I still have no idea how I'm going to manage a household of three when I can barely keep things together for two, but I'm feeling moderately more prepared.
I started doing prenatal water aerobics a couple of weeks ago, which is less exercise and more lots-of-pregnant-women-gossiping-in-water-while-a-tiny-instructor-guy-bounces-around-trying-to-make-himself-heard, but it's the thought that counts, right? My favorite moment was chatting to one young first time mom-to-be whose due date is close to mine. When I said I found it all quite scary, she looked at me with wide eyes and asked, in all seriousness, what on earth I found to be scared about. Um, really? Is it my age and wisdom that brings fear? I honestly had no idea how to answer that question since I find EVERYTHING about this scary. Bring on the third trimester!
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