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.