Second Trimester

Out with the old, and in with the new! Symptoms that is. Gone are the first trimester symptoms of nausea, gagging, and extreme fatigue and in its place are some fun new pregnancy challenges.

First up, rashes! Yep, I have a lovely rash along my neckline that looks like a constellation of small red bumps. They don’t itch, but since I hate to wear anything that covers my neck I feel like it’s on display. The Dr. said it’s related to hormones and probably won’t really go away until after birth! Awesome.

Next, headaches and sinus problems. I’ve always had bad sinuses and allergies, but this is on a whole other level. Part of it is probably just the season and cold weather, but I get a headache daily (severity and length vary). My nose is very stuffy (not drippy) and it bleeds. I feel like I am breathing through cocktail straws! I don’t like to take medicine even when I’m not pregnant, so I’ve mostly just been suffering through it and using some saline nasal spray (sparingly) and cold compresses. Sometimes a warm cup of tea helps too :)

Then there’s the random middle of the night insomnia. I’m still more tired than before pregnancy, but not nearly as tired as the first trimester. In recent weeks, I’ve been waking up around 2-3am and am not able to fall back to sleep for about 2 hours. It’s not every night, but at least 2 times a weeks. I tried staying up later hoping that it would cause me to stay asleep, but no dice. I just ended up twice as tired the next day. I think it has to do with the extra blood flowing through my body. I get hot and my mind races and I just can’t fall back to sleep right away when I get up for a middle of the night trip to the bathroom.

Last, but certainly not least, squished organs! As Ward Jr grows, my stomach and lungs are being squished to make room for all his “stuff.” I get full really fast only to be hungry shortly thereafter and I get short of breath from walking up one flight of stairs at work.

Between the headaches, feeling overheated, and shortness of breath I got a little concerned about preeclampsia. The day before Christmas Eve (Christmas Eve Eve if you will) I made Ward take me to RiteAid to check my blood pressure for peace of mind. Luckily all is well so I can relax and focus on our next big project – The Nursery!

Hope everyone had a good holiday. I’ll try to get up belly pics and Christmas pics this weekend.

17 Weeks

How far along: 17 Weeks

Total weight gain: 6.5 pounds total (.5lb this week/.5lb last week).

Food craving:  Subway! I've been eating it a lot for lunch. Don't worry, I am not eating cold deli meat. During this whole pregnancy I've been craving the comfort foods I used to eat growing up (family things like Mashed potatoes on toast w/cheese, Varner Dip, Dunham style pot roast, and hamburger cheese bake). At Subway, I get a peperoni and cheese sub which is probably an homage to WV peperoni rolls.

Food aversions: Luckily, none.

Maternity Clothes: Not quite yet. I am still getting away with using a rubber band on my pants button and wearing loose non-maternity tops. I tried on some maternity pants and they were too big in the belly still.

What I’m looking forward to:  Christmas! I can't believe it is only one week away. This year has flown by and I feel like it was just Thanksgiving.

Milestones: This week we complete the 4th month of pregnancy and enter the 5th. Just a few more weeks until I'm at the halfway point (assuming the baby stays put the whole 40 weeks)!  The baby is the size of an onion this week. I want to know who determines the fruit/vegetable of the week because I don't know of anyone who wants to think of their baby as an onion!

Best moment this week: Finding out that our baby is a boy!  Now we can really start planning and buying stuff. I had a dream last night that I was shopping for baby boy clothes and none of the outfits had pants.


I'm ready for Christmas, and I'm not ready for Christmas. We have bought all the presents, but haven't wrapped them. I put up the tree, but we haven't decorated it. We are headed up to Atlanta on Christmas Eve to spend the holiday with my family so I probably won't decorate the tree this year. Ward says the lights are enough and I'm trying not to get too stressed out about it. I'm just ready to have a few days off and to spend some time with the family.

We showed the ultrasound video to my SIL (sister-in-law) and niece this week when we dropped off their Christmas presents. My niece thought it was "so weird" and kept saying "that's in your belly!" Yes, I agree. The whole thing is surreal and it is so weird that there is a living thing in my belly.

IT'S A BOY!!!

IT’S A BOY!

Looks like it’s snakes, and snails, and puppy dog tails for the Boswells! I have been referring to the baby as ‘he’ whenever I’m not really thinking about it, so maybe subconsciously I knew it was a boy.  But, I’ve always pictured the baby as a girl so I’ll have to adjust my mental picture.

We had a wonderful ultrasound tech who gave us a free 3D/4D sneak peak even though it wasn’t included in our gender check package. We got a DVD of the whole thing and I can’t wait to show the families. Ward Jr. had the hiccups and looked like he was trying to suck his thumb. So Darn Cute!  The tech said there was no question he was a boy and she could tell from several different angles.




Oh, and we’re not really naming the baby Ward Jr, but I don’t know what else to call him until we come up with a name (Oh God, we have to come up with a name! I won't think about that now, I'll think about that tomorrow.).


Here is my 16 week belly pic. Symptoms have really started going away this week and I feel significantly less pregnant!  I was able to enjoy food again (hello Mellow Mushroom) and had a decent amount of energy this weekend. I have no doubt that I will still have some bad days and feel like crawling in a hole, but as long as the majority are good, I’m good!

Up next, nursery décor!

Girl or Boy!?!

We have our gender ultrasound in a few days. Just for fun, I went through the old wives tales to see what they predict.  Hopefully the baby will cooperate next week and we will get to see if they were correct.

1. Carrying low and all out in front = Boy
     Carrying high & wide = Girl

 I don’t think I’m showing enough for this one :(

2. Hold your wedding ring on a string directly over your belly.  
    Circle Motion = Girl, Back & Forth Motion = Boy

 Boy

3. Baby's heart rate is faster than 140 beats per minute = Girl

Girl

4. Severe Morning Sickness = Boy
    Morning Sickness Milder, but Last Longer = Girl

Girl

5. Round Face, Acne, Thin Hair = Girl
    Hair Grows Faster, Pregnancy Glow = Boy

Girl

6.  Hubby Gains Weight = Girl

Girl

7. Craving Sweets = Girl
    Craving Sour = Boy

 I’m not really craving either

8. Sleep on Right Side = Boy
    Sleep on Left Side = Girl

Girl

9. Clumsy while Pregnant = Boy
    Elegant while Pregnant = Girl

Boy

10.  Compare your age at conception with the year of conception.
       Both odd or even = Girl, One odd/one even = Boy

Girl

11.  Chinese Gender Chart

Girl

12.  The Shettles Method

Boy


Out of 12 tests we got 7 Girl predictions, 3 Boy predictions, and 2 that we were not able to tell.  So it looks like old wives tales are pointing toward Girl...which means we will probably have a Boy!

Place your bets! Vote Boy or Girl in the poll to the right!

15 Weeks

How far along: 15 Weeks

Total weight gain: 5.5 pounds total (1.5 this week...yikes).

Food craving:  Honeybaked Ham! Someone at work was eating something that smelled like a Honeybaked Ham and I wanted one SO bad! I didn't actually get one, but I'm trying to arrange for one for Christmas dinner. I never crave ham so this is a weird one for me.

Food aversions: These are slowly going away though there were a couple of evenings that nothing sounded good and I felt a little nauseated.

Maternity Clothes: My pants wouldn't button this week :(  I'm still to small for maternity clothes, but I did have to start using a rubber band on my pants button.

What I’m looking forward to:  One more week until we find out the gender!

Milestones: The baby is the size of an orange this week. My belly button is slowing turning into an outtie!

Best moment this week:   I think I'm starting to feel the baby move. I can't be sure because it's just little flutters, but I should be able to start feeling it between 13-17 weeks.  When I lay down at night it feels like my insides are trying to tickle me, but it doesn't last very long. 


I feel like my tummy popped a little this week. You can now see it when I am wearing regular clothes though it mostly looks like I had too many pieces of pie at Thanksgiving!  My symptoms are slowly going away and I'm having more good days than bad. I still can't stay awake past 8:30pm no matter how hard I try. 

I'm not quite as hungry all the time as I was during the first trimester. I feel like I ate a lot less this week even though I gained more weight than I have any other week.

First Trimester

14 Weeks

I finally got an overdue hair cut!

How far along:  14 Weeks 

Total weight gain: 4 pounds total (one this week).

Food craving:  Turkey (it was Thanksgiving!). I also got to eat some of my favorite meals with The Momma and The Sister.  Mexican, Japanese, and homemade pot roast. Yum.

Food aversions: They came on and off this week. Sometimes I felt fine and could eat anything and other times I felt very nauseated and couldn't hardly eat anything.

Maternity Clothes: nope.

What I’m looking forward to:  Two weeks until we find out if we are Team Pink or Team Blue!  We really don't have strong feelings either way and have already decided to decorate the nursery green, but we need to start thinking about names. We have no names picked out and it may take the rest of the pregnancy to come up with one.

Milestones:  The baby is the size of a lemon this week. My belly is starting to get stiff and pokes out a bit even when I lay flat on my back.

Best moment this week:  Getting our new couches delivered. I love them and they are super comfy. We just have few finishing touches left on the living room and then it's on to the nursery.

We went shopping for nursery furniture.  I thought it would be easy and I already had some ideas of what I wanted from browsing online. After looking in the store, I have no idea what to get :(  I want to finish the nursery (paint, decor, and furniture) by the time the third trimester starts, so I still have a little time to decide.

13 Weeks

How far along:  13 Weeks 

Total weight gain: 3 pounds total (none this week).

Food craving:  PF Changs

Food aversions:  Pretty much everything! I have had a terrible cold this week and I just don't feel like eating anything.    

Maternity Clothes: nope

What I’m looking forward to:  I have all of Thanksgiving week off work and I'm so excited. There's lots to do, but not having to go to work for 9 days is going to be awesome!

Milestones: Second Trimester!  We officially entered the second trimester on Sunday.  I should start feeling better and the risks have decreased greatly.  We also have a little GA Peach this week! The baby is the size of a peach and growing like crazy. 

Best moment this week:  Girls days day out with my sister. We ate PF Changs and did lots of shopping. I bought my first maternity shirt, but of course it is huge on me and won't fit for awhile.

Thanksgiving is just a few days away and I'm so excited for a big turkey dinner! I've still been having some nausea in the evenings, but I think I'm starting to get some of my energy back.  The Momma and The Sister are coming down today to help pick out nursery furniture! I'm super excited.

Happy Thanksgiving!

12 Week Ultrasound

Monday was our big 12 week ultrasound where they check for Downs Syndrome and some heart defects. Everything looked good. There was some blood work that we have to wait on the results for, but the Dr said it is very unlikely that the ultrasound is good and blood work bad. They usually support each other.  


According to my last ultrasound, I should have been 12 week and 1 day today. The baby measured ahead at 12 weeks 5 days. Those things are so subjective, but it was nice to know that we are pretty much on track and not behind. The heart rate was strong at 157 beats per minute.


The baby was a little lazy at first. The ultrasound tech needed a neck measurement and the baby would not get off it's side.  I told her that it was early in the morning and if the baby is related to me at all, it's not a morning person. She had to poke it with the ultrasound wand to get it to move. It started kicking it's little legs and waiving around a little. I wish I had a video, but we'll get one for the gender check in December.


We got a few good pictures (and a few that I can't quite figure out what they are).

That's a leg and the umbilical cord, don't get any gender ideas!

Look at that pot belly!

This is a picture of the hand. I think the baby was telling the ultrasound tech to leave him/her alone!

Just to put those pictures in comparision, here what the baby looked like at our 7 week ultrasound. It's amazing how it finally looks like a baby now!

Looks kinda like a peanut!

If you click on the pictures you can see them larger. Just one more working day until my week long staycation! I'll be out of the first trimester and off work for a week. I have never needed a staycation so badly in my life!

12 Weeks

12 Weeks

How far along:  12 weeks Sunday

Total weight gain: 3 pounds total (none this week). 

Food craving:  McDonalds Hot Cakes. I had a pregnant lady moment this week and just HAD to stop at McDonalds on the way to work to get Hot Cakes. To keep my fast food moments from showing up on my bank statement, I’ve been using the $20 cash The Momma gave me for Halloween. So thanks for the 10 servings of Hot Cakes, Mom!

Food aversions:  Not anything specific.   

Maternity Clothes: nope

What I’m looking forward to:  MONDAY!  Our 12 week NT Scan.  We should get to see the baby for 20-30 minutes on the ultrasound and get a few more pics (If you want more information on what an NT Scan is click here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuchal_scan ). 

Milestones:  The baby is the size of a plum this week and will start growing more rapidly now. Most of the major organs and systems are formed so now the little bean can focus on growing and gaining weight (which unfortunately means I will too).

Best moment this week:  Buying new living room furniture. I’ll post pics when we are done, but we are completely re-doing the living room including new couches, paint, TV, entertainment center etc…


Last week and this week have been the worst symptom wise. I’m just not feeling great. I think some of it has to do with daylight saving time and my body having to adjust.  At the end of next week (11/20) I’ll be 13 weeks and should start feeling better. The placenta should take over the hormone productions and give my poor body a break!  I’m very ready for the first trimester to be over. 1 more week!

On a separate but related note, I saw that Michelle Duggar is pregnant with her 20th child. All I could think about when I read that was: “SHE DID THIS FIRST TRIMESTER CRAP 20 TIMES! This kid will be lucky to have a sibling.”

11 Weeks

How far along:  11 weeks 

Total weight gain: 3 pounds total (half pound this week, but it may be water retention…see below food cravings). 

Food craving: Chinese/Japanese food (specifically anything with fried rice and a lot of soy sauce) and Papa John’s Pizza.  I know, healthy right. But I did have a fruit smoothie to make up for it and I still can’t eat a lot in one sitting.

Food aversions: These seem to be dying down some though I still can’t eat steak (not that I was a huge steak eater before). 

Maternity Clothes: nope

What I’m looking forward to:  Finally being able to tell everyone at work! We decided to wait until after our 12 week ultrasound on 11/14 and I’m tired of being in the closet.  Luckily I only have to hide my 400 trips to the bathroom and constant snacking one more week.

Milestones:  The baby is the size of a lime this week. The head is half the size of the body and the baby has hands that can close into fists (for calling the Dawgs, I assume).

Best moment this week:  GA beating FL and AR beating USC 

I’m very much ready for the first trimester to be over!  I’m awake okay at work, but once I get home I crash. I just can’t say awake past 8:30pm, but the bad part is that I am wide awake at 5:00am and can’t go back to sleep. My stomach has been bothering me after dinner and I get indigestion. Still nothing like some of the horror stories I heard before getting pregnant, but it’s annoying.

Symptoms

When people find out the big news one of the first thing they ask is “how are you feeling” (usually with a look of sympathy if they have been pregnant recently enough to remember). I have three stages: Hungry, Sleepy, and Gagy.  These are not mutually exclusive states of being and sometimes all co-exist at the same time creating a hybrid stage, Pregzilla.

Hungry

I seem to be hungry ALL THE TIME!  It doesn’t matter how often I eat or how much I eat.  My metabolism is in overdrive! Here is a typical day:

6:00am                 Big bowl of Special K

8:30am                 Wheat bagel with cream cheese at work

10:30am               I start getting snacky and have some almonds or Triscuts

11:30am               I am starving. Typical lunch choices are Subway and Chick-fil-a

2:30-3:00pm        I start getting snacky again and grab the popcorn 

4:00pm                 OMG is this workday over yet…reach for Triscuts or pb crackers

5:30pm                 Home and starving.  I eat a pre-dinner salad while I cook.

6:00pm                 Dinner

2:00am                 Yogurt (this isn’t an every night occurrence, but happens enough to bear mention)

This is my work stash (and doesn't even include what I have in the fridge)

Sleepy

The quality of my sleep is sucking up a storm right now.  I wake up too much in the night to either pee, eat, readjust, or all of the above to get a restful night’s sleep. So, I just feel tired all the time even though I now go to bed at 8:30pm. I spend the weekends taking naps to catch up and I finally feel human by Sundays.  This is pretty much what my first trimester has looked like:

Note: the puppies do not mind the extra naps or going to bed early

Gagy (yes, I’m allowed to make up words)

Nausea has been pretty mild and comes and goes. Contrary to the “morning sickness” designation, I feel good most mornings and start getting a little queasy in the late afternoons/evenings.  If my stomach gets too empty or if a strong smell comes my way I start getting gagy. Gaging is no fun so I try to eat consistently and avoid certain things that I know set me off (stinky trash, Fritz’s wet food, the break room at lunch when everyone is heating up their food).

We won't talk about Pregzilla stage. Just be aware that if you ever cross paths you should probably run the other way!

The Boswell's are Breeding!

As you have heard by now, a new breed of Boswell is heading our way in May 2012.  I created this blog to chronicle our journey and to have something to look back on in years to come. We also want to include our family and friends that we don’t get to talk to as often as we should. I hope to at least do a weekly belly picture and update.  Maybe more if I can stop being so darn tired all the time!

10 Weeks

How far along:  10 weeks  (that’s a little over 2 months for The Momma who doesn’t like to count in weeks)

Total weight gain: 2.5 pounds so far.  I’m supposed to gain 5 pounds by 12 weeks so I have 2 more weeks to gain 2.5 more pounds or face the wrath of the OB.

Food craving: Carbs, cheese, and salt!  Earlier this week I said the words “I would cut a b*tch for a mashed potatoes on toast with cheese*.” And yes, I ate one right after work.

Food aversions: Steak and meat in general.  It may be years before I can eat steak again.  I can eat chicken if it’s cut up into little pieces and smothered in carbs (like chicken alfredo…mmm chicken alfredo).

Maternity Clothes: Not yet. I bought a couple of boxy sweaters in a size small (I usually get XS) so I hope they get me through Christmas when I can go shopping at the Mall of Georgia.  Not sure what to do about pants…I have such a hard time with pants. 

What I’m looking forward to:  We have our 12 week ultrasound on 11/14. I’m super excited because I’ve heard that is the *big* one where it actually looks like a baby and moves around a lot. Our first one went by so fast and we didn’t really get to see much since the baby was so small.

Milestones:  We bought a fetal doppler this week.   It’s basically a home device that lets you hear the baby’s heartbeat whenever you damn well feel like it.  We listened to the heartbeat on Sunday and it was amazing!

Best moment this week**: Coming home from work and putting on elastic waist sleep pants! There’s a whole lot going on in my lower belly and dress pants put extra pressure on it even when they aren’t too tight.  I have never appreciated the elastic waist so much.

Thanks for stopping by!

*For non- Dunham/Varner’s that’s a toasted piece of bread topped with mashed potatoes and a slice of American cheese. We’ve been eating them since we were kids.

**I actually wrote this post on Friday of last week :)