I don’t know why I think “Level Up” when I think about making it to my second trimester.  A video game analogy?!?  But for some reason when I think about entering this second stage that is what I think about.  And it is a win for sure.  Everyone says the second trimester is the best and so far its not bad but my first trimester really wasn’t all that bad either, just different.

I feel really lucky that I really only had about two weeks of feeling ill during the first trimester.  Those two weeks being the week of Christmas and the first week of the new year.  I felt pretty much 24-hour nausea but only had one episode that sent me running for the bathroom.  I certainly had weird food aversions, along with some cravings, but mostly just aversions.  And the aversions were for things I normally love; chocolate, coffee, sweets in general, chicken, fish, cauliflower, a lot of vegetables.  The cravings were mainly salty and starchy; breads, breads, mac and cheese, pizza, breads, chex mix, chips, etc.  Aside from the nausea I was extremely sleepy.  I felt like I could have napped all day every day at my desk and when I would get home I could have gone to sleep right then; and a few times I did.  I had very little interest in work other than hoping it would make me feel normal.  And I certainly had no energy or inspiration to exercise, so I didn’t.

But moving past those two bumpy weeks I’ve felt really good.  My stomach still goes through waves of being nauseously hungry (when I’m not really) to way too full too soon.  I can tell my metabolism and digestion have slowed down and I have tried to consciously plan more snacks throughout the day but I haven’t been good about this since college.  Chocolate and coffee tastes good again, along with pretty much everything else.  Spicy foods are the one exception…the thought of Indian food for some reason makes me a little queasy, but I’m sure I’d eat it.  And I hate prenatal vitamins, with a passion.  I haven’t really been any more emotional, maybe a little more irritable and expressive about being irritable.

I’ve been able to exercise and be physical again, which for me is so needed.  I especially need a mental break and physical exertion during this time of what is otherwise work, study, eat, sleep, repeat.  Without my studying, I would certainly be struggling.  I am conscious of not doing harm to my body, although not sure Bryan thinks I am conscious enough about it, and am trying to chose exercises that feel good and are good for me.  The ClassPass membership I started is certainly helping me explore what those exercises are and I really love ClassPass!

I’m only just starting to show now that we are at nearly 14 weeks and my weight hasn’t really changed much at all in the first trimester, which is perfectly normal.  I can feel that pants, and certainly intimates, are starting to feel a lot more snug.  We had our second monthly check-in with our doctor this morning and so far all is good.

And Bryan has been a big help around the house and as an emotional support.  He is my little watchdog though and I’m not sure about that.  My sleep has been a little off with him constantly jabbing me to roll off of my back.  He’s checking in on me taking my prenatal vitamins and how much iron I am eating.

Now that we are in this stage I think we have felt safe enough to actually start thinking and planning more for a little one.  We have purchased some furniture for the nursery but haven’t yet built it.  He have started talking about names we like.  And we have only just begun talking about what types of parents we want to be.  We still have tons of time which is good and this period certainly seems to be moving nice and slow which I think is good for both of us to allow for this big adjustment in our lives.  In the meantime, we are just moving right along.

Chelsea