Second Trimester, Ahhhh or Third’s a Turd!

Well, I guess it’s about time that I finished up this pregnancy “journal”. I left off writing about a few weeks into my second trimester. I gained my energy back, lost the heartburn (momentarily) and sickness. I was feeling great and moving around well. I still procrastinated painting and setting up the nursery, of course, that’s just me. I played music for the baby and anticipated the first movements I would feel and see. Ultrasounds showed the baby clearly – and boy was that an active baby! I was frightened to have that peanut grow and kick the crap out of my insides.

Since I’m beyond this trimester, it’s all a bit vague. I do remember it was my “golden trimester” and for the most part things were great and I was happy.

Thumbs up!

My third trimester, well, that’s another story. A turd it was. It was difficult to get around, my feet and fingers swelled, my knees hurt, I was cranky and moody and irritable (not to mention impatient). My rings went around my neck instead of around my fingers. The small workouts I was attempting to keep up with faltered. And the worst, I got carpel tunnel in just about all my joints (every knuckle of every finger, my knees, my elbows), except my wrists, where I thought it only occurred.

I should have taken stock in Tums and pillows – they went everywhere with me.

I loved feeling the baby – that was the best part. I didn’t love the toes in my ribs or what felt like a broken sternum at the end. And as my pregnancy progressed, I was bumped all over the place – moved from a comfortable position or startled out of my seat from a large kick. Man, that baby was strong inside of me!

Face up, fist above head

So that about wraps up the remainder of my pregnancy – in a nutshell.

If you are pregnant, these readings/guides came in handy for me, (not so much the multiple, hefty books I purchased or received from friends):

1. Similac: A week-by-week reading of your baby’s growth and tips for your pregnancy. Also, sign up for Strong Moms, you get free samples, coupons and gifts.
2. “Pregnancy Magazine“
3. “Pregnancy & Newborn” (magazine)
4. Pregnancy Do’s and Dont’s: The Smart Woman’s A-Z Pocket Companion for a Safe and Sound Pregnancy
5. And numerous websites.

Please keep an open mind when reading and surfing the web. Just about everything I looked up had an ambiguous result – some said “yes, it’s ok” and others said “no, stay away”. Talk to your doctor – s/he is the expert, not the internet. Don’t drive yourself crazy trying to follow all the rules, you’ll only succeed in adding unnecessary stress to your pregnancy. Remember, just in dieting and about everything else in life, moderation is key. 🙂

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I’M NOT FAT!!!

I’m pregnant.

Today I had someone stop by my office and say “Congratulations! I had no idea you were pregnant”, then proceed to tell me just how he found out…

In speaking with someone else, this person thought it would be appropriate to say “Yeah, you can tell Andrea’s married” (if you don’t understand this, don’t worry, you soon will). The other person replied, “you do know she’s pregnant, right?” Oops.

So, if it wasn’t bad enough that he said this, this guy then has to blame someone else for the same thing. He tells me that he happens to be speaking with someone else when he mentions, “Have you seen Andrea lately?” The other fellow says, “Yeah, she’s put on some weight. You can tell she’s married now”, (got that? makes sense now, huh?). So this guys sets him straight.

What the hell people?! I understand that sometimes it’s hard to determine if a woman is pregnant or just gaining weight. But damn. Never stop to think about the situation – blame the apparent “fatness” on…a marriage?! Ridiculous.

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They Don’t Make What?!

Last night My husband and I are having dinner with his parents, brother and sister-in-law. We’re talking about maternity clothes and I mentioned that I needed suits for work (especially this coming April/May, when I’ll be much larger) and a semi-formal dress for a work event.

My husband proceeds to laugh at me and tell me “they don’t make pregnant suits! And there are no dresses!” I looked at him, totally disgusted (and unsure if he was joking or not) and said, “what do you think a woman gets pregnant and just stops doing things? Stops living in anything but sweatpants?”

This morning I saw this:

Selma Blair Grade: A- Following in Jewel’s footsteps was fellow mom-to-be Selma Blair, who kept it simple yet elegant in a maternity dress and diamond-encrusted cuffs.

Let the picture speak for itself…

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No Small Expectation

Well, it’s been 17 weeks and I guess it’s a good enough time as any to finally come clean to the world. Yes, because the whole world reads my blog (*waves to my two blog subscribers*). I’m pregnant. I’ve been up and down and I’ve been told a great way to document everything is by keeping a journal (hello, WordPress!), because in the end, you don’t remember anything. I sort of think that if I don’t remember my first trimester, it may be a good thing…

Anywho. Here’s the second project of 2011 that I may or may not abandon part way through. Let’s not take bets just yet.

The Expected Surprise That Was Still A Surprise

Don’t believe how soon those stupid test sticks claim they can predict, it’s a lie! 6 days in advance, my butt! I was almost a week late before any test showed a positive symbol — and even then it was weird. On the afternoon of November 13th, I was informed by my cousin that her test came out positive. Ut oh. I promptly took a test and got some weird-looking almost-line. I took a picture and sent it to her for her analysis, while I proceeded to the nearest drugstore where I picked up Clear Blue Easy — like its name, it was hard to get wrong.

Voilà. I was pregnant.

The First Trimester

Sucked.

Oh sure, I suppose I could elaborate… I was constantly nauseous, full of heart burn, tired and cranky. Well, my cousin defined my attitude as cranky, where another friend defined it as “angry”. Either way, I was not a happy camper. I spent my weekends curled up on the couch, watching tv and the crap pile up around me. I went to the bookstore with my cousin, (who by-the-way is 3 days ahead of me in pregnancy), and picked up a few books where I found out all the things I cannot have for the next year or so. Ugh, this was going to be fun, (can you hear my pessimistic sarcasm?).

Week 8

Sometimes I was happy, sometimes depressed. On November 18th I went to the doctor and in the next week was at the blood-takers’ and the ultrasound techs’. I felt like I was living in a foggy dream world. This wasn’t really real, was it? I couldn’t get pregnant this fast, could I? Was I ready for this? I spent the first few weeks waiting to wake up from the dream. Not that it was horrible, just unbelievable. I was then 30 years old (ok, a month later I turned 31) and never really believed I’d be in this place – especially so soon. I am forever a non-adult.

November 25th was Thanksgiving and we told our families. At a New Year’s party at the end of December, we told the rest of our friends. Not long after, I told work and it was all downhill from there.

The Second Trimester

Has been much better. It took a week or so into the second trimester before I gained my energy back, along with my complete realization of the pregnancy (and that it wasn’t going to be taken away from me). The nausea and heart burn slowly released its tight grips on my body and I became less cranky. I actually began to think about the nursery and began planning for the arrival of our little bundle of joy, (I think bundle of poo would be more accurate, however).

— And here is where I will stop. It’s late, (gaining my energy back has also allowed me to stay up until 10:30/11pm and I don’t want to push it much further).

…To Be Continued…

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