First and Second Trimesters in Retrospect

It's blowing my mind that I'm in my 27th week of pregnancy. It dawned on me a few days ago that this is the last week of my second trimester, which most women consider to be the most pleasant time of pregnancy. Compared to the first trimester the past couple of months really have been a breeze, with no constant nausea or serious food aversions.

The first trimester for me was probably easy enough that some women would want to punch me in the face for saying I had a hard time. And I know I was extremely blessed in those first three months. I have heard so many horror stories from women who could just smell food in the first trimester and be sent running to the bathroom. I, on the other hand, have yet to throw up this pregnancy. Please don't hit me, I promise I was still miserable in my own way. I was stuck with pretty much constant nausea until I was about 11 or 12 weeks along. There were days that I really wished I could have just thrown up, maybe it would have made me at least feel better. Car rides could be pretty bad too, one trip in particular. It was Thanksgiving Day and we were riding with Jim's parents up to North Carolina to his aunt's house. It was about a 3 hour drive, down back country roads for the last half of the trip or so. I thought I was going to lose it. The bumps were AWFUL and made me feel more nauseated than I ever have before. And to make matters harder, Jim and I were the only ones who knew I was pregnant. We hadn't been to the doctor yet and I wanted to wait until we got it confirmed that our little gummy bear (as we called him before we knew he was a he) was safe and healthy. So since his parents had no clue I was expecting, I just had to lay down in Jim's lap and try to take a nap..try being the key word there. And the exhaustion in the first trimester...oh good grief! I had to take a nap every single day. No matter how much sleep I had gotten the night before, I was constantly tired. Beyond tired. Even the word exhausted doesn't seem to cover how I felt. Oh, and the precious breakout that plagued my chin was just adorable...really, I loved it. Don't get me started on how bloated I was, either...I felt like the whole world could tell I was pregnant already because of how HUGE my stomach was (I hadn't seen anything yet).

But alas, I survived.

Then I got to enter the beloved second trimester. When baby boy started fluttering, then kicking, and now karate chopping my insides. Honestly, that is my favorite part of pregnancy. Getting to feel his little jabs and kicks and feeling them get progressively stronger. With his growth, however, comes a little bit more discomfort for mama. As my second trimester is coming to a close I'm getting more and more uncomfortable and it's hard to find sitting or laying positions that are comfortable for very long. Hip pain is starting to be more of a problem. Coupled with my calves cramping up pretty bad sometimes too. One night in particular I woke up with a STABBING pain in my calf and it was so tight I couldn't move my leg. I was just laying there, half asleep, crying over how bad it hurt. Jim woke up and I told him what was going on so he stretched and rubbed the cramp out of my calf...my sleepy little hero. BUT along with the discomforts come some pretty cool symptoms. Like the fact that my hair and nails are growing like mad! My hair is already long, but good grief it is off the chain right now. And it seems to be fuller too, which I won't complain about. I've also been told I'm "glowing" which is always nice to hear. I've had an increase in energy the past couple of months and don't need a nap every single day, so I'm able to get my workouts in a little easier with the extra energy. The nausea has gone away (thank goodness) and I am so excited that I like peanut butter again! I hadn't been able to even smell it since November without feeling queasy. Somebody mentioned PB&J the other day and I thought, hmm that sounds delicious! So when we got home I tried smelling the peanut butter to see if it still made my stomach turn. IT SMELLED LIKE PEANUT BUTTER AGAIN! So now I  love PB&J, even though jelly used to gross me out and I wanted no part of it. It's so great to have one of my favorite foods back in my life..I feel complete again ;)
 I can definitely see why this is usually a woman's favorite time in pregnancy. 

13 weeks                    27 weeks

I honestly can't believe how fast this is flying by. The first trimester crawled by, I think because I was wanting to get to the 12 week mark, where the risk of miscarriage drops significantly. The second trimester has FLOWN by, though. I feel like we just told everyone I was pregnant. And now I'm about to enter the last 12 weeks of my pregnancy on Monday. I have a feeling the third trimester is going to crawl by like the first. I'm so excited to meet my little man and kiss his face and hold him in my arms. I can't wait to hear that little cry and to know what his little face looks like.

 Good grief I love this kid.   

Every single time I feel him move I am overcome with that feeling. How much I absolutely adore this little person who isn't even finished developing yet. How I will do anything for this person who I have no clue what he looks like, what things he will be interested in, or what his personality will be. Because none of that matters. 

This is MY SON. 

And every time I think about him or feel his little somersaults, I am overcome with tremendous pride and joy that God chose me and Jim to be this little guy's parents. We are beyond blessed and as my belly expands and the discomfort grows, I can't help but to think how blessed I am that I'm carrying our son right now.

Bring it on, third trimester. Baby boy and I are ready for you.

XOXO, 

Courtney