so this week marks the end of the second trimester, and as they say it really was the honeymoon period of pregnancy!
during the past few months, i’ve really enjoyed being pregnant and basically had it really easy. morning sickness had disappeared (i’ve even forgotten what it’s like), you both start to grow and you get a rush of energy that makes you want to get out of your sweat pants and into .. well anything else that stretches…
i felt a first real kick at about week 17, which is considered early to some but i just feel lucky!
around week 20, we found out we were expecting a beautiful son! i think 5 or 6 weeks earlier, my maternal instincts kicked in and i already knew it was a boy before we officially found out. the scan also showed no problems in his development, which was a relief too, and this was the last of our known scheduled scans.
there’s been a bundle more of kicks and tumble turns.. a few more purchases and appointments.. and more than an handful of hysterical giggling.
yes, i’m a giggler. i don’t know whether it was gradual, or whether it just exploded into scenes of madness, but i’m one of those lucky women who burst out into spontaneous fits of laughter for no apparent reason. first it was the LOL cats, then it was the shape of the chocolate i was eating, and now it’s anything and everything. my sister describes it as the ‘laughter than came out of nowhere’ and has noted that it doesn’t even sound like me, a woman possessed? lately, there is nothing funnier than the Coles frozen food aisle. no apparent reason, it just is.
to coincide with being the honeymoon period of pregnancy, i guess you could dub it the most boring. if you’re lucky enough to have no complications, you’ll find there’s nothing much to do, which is a great thing! but for me, i kind of felt i could of been doing ‘more’. (oh, how i’ll regret saying that now). i’ve spent alot of the time really just enjoying the quiet and being myself again before i devote more and more to this little boy growing inside me..
yes, there has been some braxton hicks contractions already, but i boil that down to me trying to do everything when i should have my feet up. there’s also been rib aches, leg cramps and some leg and feet swelling but again, that’s me not taking it easy on my body as i adapt. it’s all a learning process, and you really need to learn how to listen to your body. no, you’re not sick – you’re pregnant. but you’re also not superwoman. only superwoman is superwoman.
i’ve found that finally once we hit 5 months i’ve started to ‘pop’. it’s been a slow process with constant ‘but you’re WAY too small’ comments, but it’s very exciting to watch yourself change this way. i think it’s definately made me appreciate what life really is, and what you can do with what you have. it’s not really about pregnancy itself, but understanding what you are capable of and at the same time – letting whatever will be, be. sometimes there are just no explanations for what happens in your life, and rather than fight it or try to explain it without having an answer, maybe we should just be content with what we have.
during the second trimester, i recommend signing up for some sort of prenatal exercise class if you can. i started aquanatal (aqua aerobics for pregnant women) at around 22 weeks, and it’s the best part of the week. i’m pretty much addicted to it, but sadly our own pool is not heated so is not suitable for 7am dips at the moment. exercising makes me feel energised though, so i also can’t wait for yoga to start this week.
water has been an important part of my day also – it’s always important to keep hydrated but for some reason instead of my usual pre-pregnancy 3 sips of water, i’m downing 1.5 to 2 litres daily really easily. i don’t know how i went without it before!
yesterday, as part of the end of the honeymoon and the beginning of the pointy end of the stick, Regan and i went on a lightning fast tour of the birth unit. (seriously, we spent more time waiting in the wrong part of the hospital, than on this ‘tour’).
basically, she showed us what to do before we come in (ring them, as they might tell you to stay at home for another, oh, 12 hours), where to go when we do come in (and noted you might get a parking fine if you don’t properly park your car WHILE YOUR WIFE IS SHOOTING OUT A WATERMELON). she showed us the ‘short’ walk through the entrance, down the hall, turn left down another hall and then up the lift, around the corner, make a left to go down the next hall, turn right and THEN you press the reception button to ‘explain your situation’.. you then get herded into a room that resembled the sports store room at my high school, except there’s a bed in this one instead of the gym mats. (I think it’s the lack of windows and natural light that freaks me out the most).
and that was the end of that tour.
and this is the end of the glorious second trimester! i only hope that every woman’s second trimester is as cool and calm sailing as my was, as i do feel blessed to be so so boring.