Tuesday, March 31, 2009

The Joys of Pregnancy



I am really blossoming.
As you can see, little baby girl #2 is growing like a weed (and so am I!) I will be 27 weeks along tomorrow (almost to the end of my second trimester, yikes!) with an estimated due date sometime around July 1st.
This pregnancy has been different in every way, which is why Dennis and I were convinced that it was a boy (two ultrasounds have said differently though so looks like it will be another sweet little girl). When I was pregnant with Olive, it was all very glamorous (ok, so not all glamorous, but more so). I had a desk job with a stool under my desk to prop up my feet. I could rest all the time, eat even more of the time, and come home and go to bed after work. This go round, my main job is taking care of Olive, an active 2 year old with her own agenda. She doesn't care that I'd rather be lying on the couch with my feet propped up and dozing in and out while reading pregnancy books. Nope, she doesn't care, and she doesn't slow down for anything.
So this time, pregnancy has been much less glamorous. And I've had all the yucky side effects that I didn't have the first time. For example, with Olive, I was "glowing" - this time, I am zitty and yucky. More nausea (which I'm just now starting to get over, but not completely, I still had to take my prescribed anti-nausea meds the other day). Varicose veins popping up everywhere. (eww) Feeling contractions and discomfort for months. And lots of other too-intimate details to share but let me just tell you that it hasn't been pretty. On top of this, I am so preoccupied by other things that I haven't had as much time to dwell on the idea of being pregnant and this beautiful little creature growing inside. When someone asks me how far along I am, I say, "uh, I don't know, I'm due around July 1st" (I had to look at my calendar to try to calculate for this post). I haven't read the weekly pregnancy books in a very long time (we used to do this religiously with Olive). I also took weekly progress pics of my belly the first time and while I'm doing that now, there are often several weeks that go by without pictures. My doctor reassures me that this is normal and actually a healthier way to parent, where you're not so overly concerned about everything. I guess he's right, but I still feel sort of bad...However, as we creep ever closer to D-day (Delivery Day), I am getting more and more excited to meet this girl and I know that it will all be worth it.
Anyone out there had totally different experiences with pregnancy? The good, the bad, the ugly? I'd love to hear...
**Apologies for the giant picture...this was as small as I could get it. It's probably big enough for you to visually see all my flaws.

2 comments:

Sharon - Pixie Bows said...

You look amazing!!! Hugs to you and that growing little bean! I loved being preggo's but then I only had to do it once to get my two little munchkins ;-)

Jessica Monte said...

I love the photo! What a beautiful photo of you and soon to be baby girl!

As for different experiences with 2nd pregnancies, I feel so much more relaxed this time around, though I am making a better effort to exercise and eat healthfully.

I did have my first anxiety dream though . . . I worried all the time during my first pregnancy and not much in this one, and then last night, I had a dream that woke me up worrying about my baby.

I hope soft dreamy sleep will return though . . . dreaming of large animals like elephants and sea animals (which is supposedly characteristic of pregnant women's dreams).