19 to 20 weeks - XX or XY?

I'm writing in real time now! Yay!

First, I just want to acknowledge that I am at 20 weeks now, which means that we have made it half way through this pregnancy, and that seems kind of unbelievable. The second trimester continues to be much better than the first. I feel a hundred times better, the nausea is all gone, my appetite is back, and sometimes I feel so normal that I forget that I'm pregnant. (At least, until the next time my back starts hurting or I can't get myself comfortable in bed despite the fort of pillows I build around myself every night.)

So, early on in this pregnancy, I got it into my head that we are having a girl. I don't know where this "knowledge" came from, but I was just so sure of it. The rational side of me kept saying that it could be a boy, and I would be happy either way, of course. But my intuition told me it was a girl.

Well, a couple of weeks ago, we finally found out the gender of our baby! And what do you know... we are having a GIRL!!! We got to see our baby girl at the fetal anatomy ultrasound, which was an hour long, and we learned that she is very healthy and measuring right on schedule (even a few days ahead). Those were the best words to hear.

We also got to see our little girl in action, and turns out she is quite the kickboxer. I had no idea because I hadn't felt anything other than bubbles for the past several weeks, but she appears to be quite active. I was beginning to worry about the lack of movement at this point in the pregnancy, but turns out I had nothing to worry about. Right on cue, at 20 weeks, I felt the baby kick for the first time. It's the most incredible feeling - a proof of life growing inside.

Here I am at nineteen weeks, sporting a real bump finally:

19 weeks

Now, we can start picking baby names for real!

13 to 15 weeks - These clothes ain't fitting on me

I wrote this post on March 31, 2013.

I am officially in my second trimester, and I couldn't be happier about it! First of all, it means that we can finally tell people about the pregnancy (we chose to wait until the end of the first trimester in order to get past the riskiest part of the pregnancy). But even more importantly, I am feeling much, much better these days.

The morning sickness lasted over two months. During that time, I didn't throw up once, but I was constantly nauseous (this is not an exaggeration). I did learn to function with the nausea, but it was hard to eat, never mind enjoy food. The fatigue that I experienced in the first half of the first trimester let up somewhat, so I was able to stay up until a more reasonable hour, but I still got tired faster and easier than normal.

The nausea finally let up a few days ago, around 15 weeks. I thought it would slowly go away, but it was actually kind of a sudden transition. One day, I woke up and the nausea was gone! (Note from the present: I still have mild nausea after I eat) It almost felt odd because I had forgotten what it's like to not be nauseous all the time. All of a sudden, food started tasting good again, and boy, am I taking advantage of that. Oh, I have a craving for a croissant? On a daily basis? Awesome, let's eat a delicious croissant and enjoy the heck out of it!

The fatigue is mostly gone as well, but not entirely. I would get bursts of energy at random times of the day, and have an irresistible urge to take a nap an hour later. But overall, my energy level is on the rise, and I hear that trend should continue, so I am looking forward to that.

Second trimester did bring with it some new symptoms. First of all, the pregnancy brain has gotten worse. I forget what people told me five minutes ago if I don't write it down. It's embarrassing, really. Also, my feet have started to mildly swell occasionally, and it looks like I am in danger of developing varicose veins. Super attractive, I know. I ordered some compression stockings on Amazon to try to prevent that from happening.

Meanwhile, here I am at thirteen weeks:

13 weeks

I finally have a baby belly! And I am wearing maternity jeans! And they are actually super comfortable, I have no complaints about them whatsoever. And I got a haircut! And finally got my hair dyed to cover up those grays (waited until the very last day of the first trimester, per doctor's orders)! In other words, I feel like a human being again.

And speaking of that baby in my belly, I saw it on an ultrasound at twelve weeks, and the baby was so adorable and super active, tumbling around all over the uterus. It actually looked like a tiny human being (at the eight week ultrasound, it kind of looked like an outline of a toy.) And yes, I am referring to the baby as "it" for now because we don't know the gender yet. But hopefully we will know it soon!

7 to 9 weeks - More of the same

I wrote this post on February 18, 2013.

The blog has been silent for most of the month of February, and there are two reasons for it. One is that I started a new job at seven weeks pregnant. All of a sudden, I have a lot less free time on my hands than I did during unemployment. But it is also the nature of the job - I sit and stare at the computer screen for over eight hours in a row, and the last thing I want to do when I get home is more of the same thing. The eye strain is incredible.

The other reason for my radio silence is the effect of pregnancy. I've actually learned how to function with nausea (more or less), but the fatigue is inescapable. When I get home from work, all I want to do is take a nap on the couch. I've even been going to bed at some geriatric hour of the evening, which is highly unusual for a night owl like me.

I know you won't read this blog post until at least the second half of March, but I hope that when you do, you will understand and forgive my temporary absence from the blog.

Here I am at nine weeks:

9 weeks

Still no obvious baby belly, but that's partially due to my strategic choice of clothing. :) I even went shopping specifically for tops that could be worn by the non-pregnant me now and in the future, but could also work in these early stages of pregnancy. And that cardigan that doesn't close in the front - I plan to wear it for the entire nine months! Talk about a good investment.

6 weeks - To eat or not to eat

I wrote this post on January 29, 2013.

Week 6 of pregnancy has definitely taught me to take it one day at a time. One day, I feel mostly normal and like my usual self (except for the pregnancy truck induced fatigue), and the next day everything makes me nauseous. I haven't experienced any real morning sickness yet, as I've managed to keep the food down, but it hasn't been an easy task. [Correction: apparently being nauseous counts as morning sickness, even if you are not vomiting.]

Some of my favorite foods, like pork and beets, became surprisingly intolerable at times. But then, on other days, I would eat an entire burger. Go figure. On the worst days, eating bland food has helped. In my case, that was matzoh (my Jewish version of crackers). Keeping pieces of matzoh in a ziploc bag on my nightstand to eat first thing in the morning before I get out of bed no longer seems like a ludicrous idea.

Here I am at 6 weeks:

6 weeks

That's not a baby belly yet, that's mostly bloat and constipation (another fun side effect of pregnancy). Plus, this photo was taken right after I ate. My clothes still mostly fit me, but they are beginning to look awkward over my bloated belly. I didn't expect that to happen until much later in the pregnancy. Just goes to show that I don't know anything about this whole baby making business.

5 Weeks - My milkshakes bring all the boys to the yard...

I wrote this post on January 22, 2013.

... No, they don't. Probably because I don't have a yard. But ohmygod, holy boobs! The symptom of the week has definitely been a growth spurt in my bbs. That's 'boobies' in pregnancy forum speak, for all the uninitiated folks. By the way, the number of acronyms on the pregnancy and TTC (trying to conceive) forums could easily rival the military.

But back to the boobs. They are in pain and they are growing out of control. I am only five weeks along, and already I am busting out of my regular bras. And those bras had some wiggle room to begin with. I knew that breasts increase in size during pregnancy, but I didn't expect it to happen so early on. What am I going to look like in eight months??? (Update from the present: now that I am in my second trimester, the boobs have grown two cup sizes.)

I should stop complaining, though, because really this is the bombshell stage of pregnancy. The belly bump isn't showing yet, but the increase in bra size is putting me on the path toward Pamela Anderson. Still, despite what all the men might think, this growth spurt is not all good. Not only do the boobs hurt all on their own, but the too-small bras are making it even more painful.

To remedy the situation, I went shopping for a maternity bra today. I started out with high hopes, only to be thoroughly disappointed. This was my first encounter with maternity clothing, and it did not go well. I went to Destination Maternity and the Macy's maternity department (which is just Pea in a Pod, really). What I learned is that:

a) maternity bras are super ugly; but that doesn't even matter because
b) no one carries them in my size!!!

Seriously, what the heck? Do pregnant boobs not come in my size or something? I even tried on the maternity sports bras, which are just S, M, L, etc, but none of them fit either. The Small was too small in the cup, and the Medium was too big in the circumference. So I went home braless. Well, not literally braless, just... you know what I mean.

I was able to find maternity bras in my new size online, but they are very expensive and I just don't feel like I can invest in them just yet since the bbs are likely to keep expanding... For now, I just ordered some regular cotton bras from VS in one size  up, so hopefully they will tide me over for the time being.

5 weeks

Here I am at five weeks. Yes, my hair is a mess, and that is what it usually looks like when I just get out of the shower. Welcome to the real life. And I also look very tired. That's because pregnancy hit me like a truck this week (from now on, it will be referred to as the pregnancy truck), and fatigue set in. I'm not always tired, but the exhaustion usually sets in around 4 or 5 pm in the afternoon, and all I can do is lie down on the couch and take a nap.

Aside from the growing boobs and the fatigue, I am not experiencing any pregnancy symptoms so far. Some days I feel so normal that it worries me. But really, I should be enjoying this time as much as possible and thanking my lucky stars for the lack of symptoms. And I am truly thankful. Meanwhile, I have started going to prenatal yoga classes, and I met a girl there (35 weeks pregnant) who told me she never had morning sickness. So now I have this unrealistic hope that the puking won't happen to me either. Keeping my fingers crossed! (Update from the present: hahaha!)