Here Comes the Sun

photo by James Jordan

I feel like the second trimester is finally here for me in the sense that finally, I'm feeling pretty good. While I notice sharp twinges in my ligaments if I move too fast, and my back gets achy if I'm in the same position too long, I'm so thankful to be rid of the nausea and exhaustion that were so much a part of early pregnancy. I'm still on Unisom and B6, because otherwise I have a tendency to get gaggy in the morning, but by and large I feel a sense of wellbeing. I feel healthy, I feel like the baby and the pregnancy are healthy, and I'm just happy and thankful for that to be the case. I feel like my whole outlook has just lifted and now I'm really enjoying myself. I still feel like I'm peeing about every 20 minutes, but that's something I can tolerate.

This morning I also woke up starving. For the most part, my appetite during pregnancy has been pretty restrained, ranging from unable-to-tolerate-food to probably just slightly under par for my pre-pregnant days. I've already noticed that I eat a little less quickly, and possibly a little less, period (though possibly also just spread out into smaller, more frequent eating). I've gained about 14 pounds so far, which is pretty much on track, although I prefer to focus on eating high-quality foods and listening to my body rather than the scale. Given that I was close to 8-1/2 pounds and Matt was close to 10, I'm not anticipating that this will be a tiny baby, and my goal is to make sure that we're both optimally nourished for things like birth and breastfeeding that lie ahead. I won't lie and say it wasn't a little anxiety-producing at first to watch the numbers of the scale escalate, but I try to keep a sense of priorities in mind and honestly, I'm at the point now where I'm pretty comfortable with where my body is at (and where it's going). Things that have sounded particularly good to me lately: oatmeal, peanut butter, and the occasional bowl of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. (Favorites: Phish Food and Peanut Butter Cup.)

Otherwise, my bra size has jumped a cup or two and the inevitable stretch marks have followed, and though my belly is considerably bigger, I don't have any there yet. My belly button is on its way out of town though, which is an interesting phenomenon. I haven't noticed much difference in my hair and nails, like lots of women talk about, although my skin has been a little crazy. For the most part, my face has stayed clear, except for constant breakouts on my chin--but the real change has been breakouts on my chest and back, something that was never really a problem before. It's interesting how pregnancy affects everybody differently...