I see the light.... 2nd Trimester

               My second trimester has proven to be my good friend. The nausea has gone, and I can actually say I am enjoying being pregnant. I must admit that always being one of the skinny girls had taken its toll on me. Once I finally began to pick up weight I thought I was going to have a meltdown.

(Side Note) At this point you will start to see that I refer to Bralen as Briz. Its my little nickname for him. I like it!

            The first time my thighs touched I wanted to jump from my top floor (just kidding, kind of) and to actually have BOOBIES is another story all in itself. I gained about 7 lbs. in my 5th month (see pic below) and at that point maternity pants were still a joke. I bought a couple of pairs, but during this time I was still in my regular clothing just loosening up the buttons a bit. I remember every time I would come home from work, Glenn would loosen my top button so I wouldnt "choke his son", lol! Truth is, I had plenty of room, but I would still humor him.

           At our 5 month visit, my doctor informed me that I needed to slow my weight gain to about a pound a week. I had to let him know that I wasnt binging on anything and that my diet hadnt changed much since before. I would like to think the weight packed on so fast because my body missed it during the 1st trimester. At this point that was the only explanation I had for the sudden gain since I was walking 30 minutes a day at work and incorporated stairs and some free weights.

                In the pciture below I am about 6 months along (please excuse the towel as I was multitasking this day). At this point my weight gain is about 14 lbs total. I am mostly belly and BOOBIES -I like capitalizing BOOBIES if you havent noticed yet- and I am still feeling pretty good. I have started to see some swelling in my ankles, mostly my right one, which is not very cute when you wear a size 10 normally like I do.

                 We went to see our specialists this month for our 2nd Trimester check up to make sure Briz wasnt at risk for Downs Syndrome or any other abnormalities. He, in true fashion, decided to show off for his audience.  He turned away from the tech constantly. We were able to see how long this kid is truly going to be. His feet alone were already measuring 2 weeks ahead. This can be attributed to a 5'10" mother with size 10 feet and a 6'3" father with size 13 feet. This kid is going to be massive! I will post the ultrasound pics in the next BLOG. Anyway, this particular appointment lasted for about 45 mins to an hour mainly because of Briz's refusal to cooperate so the tech could get adequate pictures for the doctor who bore a strange resemblance to Julio from Sanford & Son. My dad and other mom attended this appointment with us and it was quite entertaining watching my stepmom snap on the tech for calling Briz a crazy kid because of his acrobatics. I never said a word but secretly thought about how I deal with this little boy on a daily basis and he is crazy all over the place.

                At this point Briz is still breech and is sharing his space with an ugly fibroid tumor. I remember in the first trimester (pics on next BLOG) how you could actually see my son peeking over it as if it were his hiding place...too cute! The doctor is now saying that if he does not turn by delivery we may have to consider a C-Section. We do NOT want a C-section. I simply just dont want to be cut. I plan on taking 3 months or so off from work and dont want a large portion of that to be spent healing from a major surgery. I prefer to allow nature to take its course and have Briz come into the world uninterrupted. So as of now we are taking the wait and see approach. We have a birth plan for the most part that we still have yet to share with my OB. We already know there is going to be major opposition to every aspect of it, but we are prepared to remain steadfast.

               I have recently developed something called a PUPPPS (Pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy) rash which is a common rash in pregnant women. It is very itchy and I always forget how strange it looks to outsiders as I walk and scratch my belly in public. This condition is harmless to mother and baby, but can be very annoying. It lasts an average of 6 weeks and resolves spontaneously 1 to 2 weeks after delivery. The most severe itching normally lasts for no more than 1 week, I hope I have already gotten the worst of this. Other than this, everything is great! Glenn is ecstatic at how my belly seems to grow overnight and he even got a little kick or two from Briz (I bear the brunt of the stronger kicks as he stomps on my bladder 24/7).

               So far I have gained about 17 lbs total - Woo hoo! So I rate this one as....

Baby 1 Mommie 1