Second Trimester Recap

I did this for my first trimester so I figured I'd do the same now that I made it through the second. If nothing else, this is to remind me what the experience was like if we decide to have another baby some day in the future.

Despite the indisputable expansion of my waistline, I would say this trimester was easier to handle than the first. The first trimester (especially as a first time mom) hits you like a bomb. The tiredness, nauseousness, hormones, and the general sense of unease that you feel those first few weeks are tricky to navigate. Thankfully most of those symptoms leveled out for me in the second trimester. Many people say the second trimester is the "honeymoon" period and I would have to agree with them, so far. Even just a week into my third I'm already getting the sense that the next two and a half months could be less enjoyable overall.

Almost 29 week bump....and a sneak peek at a few nursery details!

Here is a run-down of some things I experienced in my second trimester. I'm keeping it real here so skip the rest of this post if TMI isn't really your thing:

Total Weight Gain: Get ready for this. My total so far (including the first trimester) is 28 pounds! Yikes! My doctor doesn't seem nearly as concerned mainly because I'm still eating pretty healthy meals (just more of them!) and exercising. Apparently it is common for first time moms to retain fluids?? I hope that's all it is but I'm skeptical. I look back at my 6 week photo with longing...I hope I can see that bod again someday. I wish I could say I was one of those women who just grew a belly however, it turns out baby weight for me has made a home on my hips, rear end, thighs, arms and face too! Yay.

Stretch marks: None yet but my skin has been itchy as it gets tighter. Almond and jojoba oil have helped. 

Belly button: Still an "innie" but it's starting to get pretty stretched tight. 

Emotions: Emotionally I think I've been pretty even keeled, though sometimes I think I cry easier at silly things in books, movies or TV shows. A few times I've been in a mood and unloaded on James for no real reason (but quickly apologized). Besides the moments when I feel a little panicky about the idea of becoming a parent which can result in a minor freak-out moment, I'd say I'm holding steady.  

Exercise: Jogging 3-4 times a week early on (weeks 14-24). Still running every now and then but focusing mostly on walking or using our elliptical machine now due to pressure on my bladder that is making it impossible to run without being really, really uncomfortable. Like, "OMG I'm going to pee in my pants" uncomfortable.

Baby movement: Felt my first "tickles" at 14 weeks. James felt them by week 18. At 28 weeks they had turned into full on somersaults!

Nesting: Oh yes! Nesting is for real. Some mornings I have to fight the urge to get up at 5 am to organize the junk drawer. My next project is to dust all of the trim around our floor - once I can figure out how to get down there that is.

Cravings: Nothing especially strange. Mostly still cold, fresh fruit (raspberries, watermelon, grapes and lately apples) and an occasional sweet tooth. Oh - did I mention I started eating chicken? That probably deserves its own post because it's a pretty funny story about my "first time". I know, I'm a terrible, terrible human being. It was the baby, I swear.

Aversions: Not many, though sadly I'm still not really digging Mexican food.

Morning sickness: A thing of the past, thankfully!

Baby's size: week 13 - the size of a peach; week 28 - size of a head of iceburg lettuce (2.2-2.5 lbs!)

Unwanted side effects: Weight gain (ha!), waves of tiredness, clumsiness, constant potty breaks, sore feet, inability to concentrate, seriously Ginormous boobs. Yes, with a capitol G. Peeing when sneezing. For real.

Wanted side effects: My hair is still growing like a weed and I have some seriously amusing dreams.

What I miss: (Real) running; being able to wear my pretty dresses; not having to worry about every little thing I feel/eat/smell/touch; good sexy time (just keeping it real); sleeping through the night.

We'll see what's in store for us in the last lap of this adventure! 

Family of Four...Going on Five

By this time next week, my brother Curt's family will grow from four to five with the arrival of our new niece or nephew. Unless she goes into labor early, Mandy is scheduled for a c-section on October 4th. Did I mention they live right next door to us? It's going to be so much fun having babies together! We managed to squeeze in a quick (literally five minute) family photo session this week before their little bundle of joy makes his/her way into the world. Congratulations Curt and Mandy!

28 Weeks

28 weeks marks the start of the third trimester. Only 12 more weeks to go! I've been feeling pretty good overall but lately I've definitely noticed that I'm pretty exhausted by 7 or 8 pm. The babe is doing well though, so active and growing like a weed. I can say the same for me - at least the growing part! Be sure to check out our four-week, eight pound growth spurt (eeek!) on the bumpdates page.

A Rainbow to Start Your Day

This is what we woke up to outside our window. Hope it's a sign of a good Monday for us all!

First Day of Fall

Oh fall! Finally. Love, love, LOVE this time of year. Is there anything better than crisp, dry, cool air and the smell of wet leaves and pumpkin pie? Mmmmmm. We spent the first day of the season picking apples and pumpkins at a local orchard with our good friends, the Barton's and their daughter Hannah, my mom and my sister-in-law and her kiddos Andrew and Aubrey (and number three coming in just a few weeks!). It was the perfect way to spend the morning. Now I just have to figure out what to make with all of our apples!

Matching cousin bumps!

27 Weeks

Saying goodbye to the second trimester this week. Overall, I'm still feeling good though my belly is starting to spill out of the bottom of many of my colorful bump t-shirts. Time to upgrade to some maternity shirts I think! Check out the bump building process over the first two trimesters here.

18 Holes with 9 Fingers at 27 weeks

This weekend James and I took part in a golf tournament. I played golf competitively in high school and while it's not an obcession for either of us, we try to play every once in awhile for fun. Don't tell James but I'm still better than him. Even 27 weeks pregnant. =)

Playing with a belly is definitely...interesting. But it wasn't as hard as I expected it to be. My clubs felt a little shorter than usual and by the end of the round I was definitely feeling a bit fatigued, but it didn't stop me from bringing home the longest drive trophy. Just goes to show you, pregnant women can do just about anything. Especially stubborn competitive ones. =)

Do you think she looks like me?

Oh...and if you're wondering what the "9 fingers" comment is all about...let's just say I had a little run in with my sewing machine late last week. A big run-in actually that resulted in a visit to the ER and left me down a finger for the tournament. More on that later though once I reveal what I was making!

26 Weeks

Another week, another bump picture. Things are progressing steadily and there's nothing too exciting to report on this week besides my expanding waistline. Be sure to check out all of our weekly bumpdates here.

Front Door Makeover

A few weeks ago, we gave our front door a much needed face lift. The door and support beam couldn't be painted when we moved in last winter (too cold outside) and were still only primed a yucky yellowish-white color. We went back and forth about what color to paint the door. I had originally wanted to paint it a burnt orange color, but we settled on this slate blue because it seemed to go better with both the interior and exterior of the house. It's easy to change the color so maybe some day down the road we'll try the orange. I like bright colors! Especially on front doors. We also painted the trim and the support column white. What a difference a little paint makes! We also got a new slate address sign to replace the printed version we had up for six months. Much improved. Now, if only I could remember to water the plants on a regular basis...

The "before" shot.

Our poorly done "diy" address sign for the delivery man.

Summit loves the window sidelights. She can check out who's strolling down her street!

I have plenty of those!

Bird's Eye View

This is my colleague and friend, Joel. He's a fellow GIS mapping nerd like me. Maybe just a tad nerdier, actually. Sorry, Joel. This is his homemade quadcopter. It is outfitted with a GPS and digital camera and Joel can control the position of the quadcopter very precisely from his remote or laptop. He can see the location of the quadcopter in real time over high resolution aerial imagery (think Google Maps) and using the on-board digital camera, he can capture photographs and various angles and stitch them together to create ultra high resolution (think two inches!) aerial imagery that can be used in GIS mapping programs.

 Okay...enough nerdy stuff. Take a look at these cool pictures he took with the quadcopter in our back yard. It kind of makes our house look ginormous, especially compared to our neighbors, so...that's a little embarrassing. I think it's the hill though. Our house is big..but not THAT big!

Cool, right? Doesn't it make you wish you could be a bird, just for one day?

3 Years!

Happy third anniversary to us! It's been a fun, adventurous, BUSY three years. Every few months or so I still find myself sorting through all of our wedding day details and reliving the very best day of my life. Can't wait to see wait else life has in store for our little family!

September 6, 2009