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Well, now, I’m already a few weeks into my 3rd trimester with #minivegan. Already?? It’s time for a recap of the 2nd trimester.
I already posted about my 20 Week Ultrasound. This post includes all the other happenings.
In general, it’s true what “they” say about the 2nd trimester (for me). My energy came back. And that was a good thing, because I was working a lot.
My food aversions went away, and I started eating more like “normal” for me. The “desperate hunger” diminished, although I was left with a pesky sweet tooth. I really got that under control after we got back from Snowbird (week 21). I also stopped having to eat in the middle of night, except for some especially hungry weeks (i.e. ~week 25). I think the little boy has growth spurts. Despite my appetite ups and downs, my weight gain has been very consistent since week one.
As each week passed, my belly was much smaller than I thought it would be…
WEEK 15
I had an appointment with my midwife at Cascade Birth Center on February 19, 2014. We heard baby’s heartbeat:
WEEK 16
At the end of this week (March 1), I think I felt the first little kick. I’d get real quiet before going to sleep at night, and see what I could feel with my hands on my belly. It felt like a little tap.
16 Weeks
WEEK 17
On March 5th, I had my blood draw for the Harmony prenatal test. The next few kicks came at the end of this week (March 7, 8, 9). Eric was lucky to feel a BIG one on the 9th.
WEEK 18
On Friday, March 14th, the blood test results came back: BOY! (See the 20 Week Ultrasound post for more details). After that, I was feeling kicks daily. I called him my “lowrider” because I felt the kicks barely above my pubic bone.
WEEK 19
I had a midwife appointment on March 19th. The ultrasound was on the 21st. Listening to the heartbeat never gets old!
WEEK 20
We spent the week with family, skiing in Little Cottonwood Canyon, at Snowbird and Alta (Utah). This shows our view out the window.
20 Weeks
WEEK 22
By this week, baby was kicking with higher frequency. After dinner was a particularly energetic time!
22 Weeks
WEEK 24
For some reason, I started getting more emotional this week and the next. I could cry without much provocation. I cried tears of gratitude, love, worry, and for no real reason at all. If you’d needed an actress to cry on cue, I was your girl!
24 Weeks
WEEK 25
This week was when I noticed that my belly felt much more firm instead of soft. I had another midwife appointment, which meant another opportunity to hear baby’s heartbeat…
On May 3rd, my belly was lopsided as I snuggled with Millie on the couch. When we went out to dinner with Eric’s parents that evening, my mother-in-law gave me a nice gift.
Baby “swam” over to the left side!
Thank you, Diane!
WEEK 26
At the start of this week, my mailman delivered a super sweet gift from my friend Anja. Go check out her website/blog at All Up Anja. I love my #PPNSNG pals!
At the end of this week, I started feeling my first Braxton Hicks contractions. At first I thought that baby was just doing something different, but then I realized what it was. My belly just got uniformly firm and stayed that way for a minute.
Thank you, Anja!
26 Weeks
My biggest physical complaint during the 2nd trimester has been my declining sleep quality. It seems to be a pattern of: go to bed about 9:30 PM, then wake up any time between 11:30 and 2:00, pee, then wake up at least 2 more times after that. Or, I’ll just stay wide awake for an hour (or 2), or I’ll toss and turn the rest of the night. Ugh!
Because of all that, I basically gave up (after week 23) doing any before-work exercising. I’m cutting myself some slack right now. I skied all through ski season and now I go on walks each weekend, but, with my work schedule, that’s all I can muster. At least my job is an active one.
I’m very much looking forward to my last 2+ months. My work schedule is finally lightening up, I’m almost finished with getting the house ready for baby, and I’ve got some fun events on the calendar.
Not to mention, it’s almost summer, which is always good for body and mind!
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2nd Trimester Weights (Weeks 14-26):
February 11, 2014 = 113.2 lb
February 18, 2014 = 113.4 lb
February 25, 2014 = 115.6 lb
March 4, 2014 = 114.6 lb
March 11, 2014 = 116.4 lb
March 18, 2014 = 117.0 lb
March 25, 2014 = no data
April 1, 2014 = 118.0 lb
April 8, 2014 = 120.2 lb
April 15, 2014 = 121.0 lb
April 22, 2014 = 121.4 lb
April 29, 2014 = 122.8 lb
May 6, 2014 = 124.8 lb
Total 2nd Trimester Weight Gain = 11.6 lb
Total 1st + 2nd Trimester Weight Gain = 25.8 lb
January 17, 2014 – 10 Weeks + 4 Days Pregnant
January 17, 2014 – 10 Weeks + 4 Days Pregnant
Here, I will recap my 1st trimester with #minivegan. Every pregnancy is a different experience! Here’s mine…
First of all, I didn’t take a pregnancy test until day 45. Up until the test I really did NOT think I could be pregnant! I just couldn’t see how it was possible based on my “data.”
Over the past year, I’d had some really long menstrual cycles…i.e. a 37 day cycle in June, 36 days in July, and 38 days in September. My longest cycle ever in my life was 39 days. But that was a long time ago.
I attributed the increasingly long cycles to peri-menopause. I am 42! Needless to say, at some point it seemed wise to take “the test.”
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2013
I did my volunteering at New Moon Farm Goat Rescue & Sanctuary in the afternoon. I bought a pregnancy test at Safeway in Arlington, WA, and met Eric for dinner at the Shire Cafe Vegetarian Restaurant & Bar. Eric had a delivery to do for work before he went home, so I beat him home by about 45 minutes.
I took the test right when I got home. The double lines showed up instantly. I didn’t have to wait 3 minutes like the instructions said. My reaction was complete disbelief, shock, and denial. No way could it be real! I paced the house until Eric got home. It seemed like it took him forever!
Once he got home, I brought him back to the bathroom where the positive test was sitting on the counter. I said, “There’s something going on.” I can’t speak for him, but needless to say he was shocked, too. Our birth control method– though not foolproof (obviously!!)– had worked well for 20+ years. Now this!
January 17, 2014 – 10 Weeks + 4 Days Pregnant
The next day, Eric described my pregnancy announcement to a friend on Facebook, like this:
“I got home from work and she said there is something going on as she led me back to the bathroom. I was thinking maybe we had a pipe burst or something like that. Fortunately it was just an unplanned pregnancy…”
Hahaha!
I didn’t sleep well Friday night. On Saturday morning, December 7, I was still in denial and so I took the second pee test. After the second positive test, I decided it had to be true. Then, I informed my parents, sister and all of my Facebook friends.
I didn’t have any pregnancy symptoms for another week. Starting in mid-December, my appetite started picking up. Hunger has definitely been my #1 symptom, and it hasn’t let up. Sometimes it is a *desperate* hunger!
January 17, 2014 – 10 Weeks + 4 Days Pregnant
If you have followed this blog, then you know that– prior to this pregnancy– I was eating a vegan diet that was largely NSNG (No Sugar No Grains). Well, pregnancy changed all of that. “Desperate Hunger” has meant that I’ve had no choice but to increase my consumption of grains and starches.
For one, I became turned off by some major “players” in my NSNG diet: nuts and nut butters. For two, I started craving things like toast, homemade muffins, rice, oatmeal, cold cereal, and baked potato. For a time, I wanted hummus but I was turned off by tofu. My food preferences seem to change by the day. For now, I still can’t eat the lentil soup that I’d been eating for lunch for the past several years.
Remember my post about going 35 Days Without Coffee? I loved my daily lattes! Once I found out I was pregnant, I cut them out to avoid the caffeine. I had one or two decaf soy lattes at first. But now coffee is “meh.” Pregnancy is goofy!
My nights should be sponsored by the PROBAR Superfood Slam. This is what I’ve been eating when I wake up hungry every night between midnight and 3 a.m. Yes, it contains more sugar than I’d like, but it does give me a substantial 380 calories, 20 grams of needed fat, and 10 grams of protein.
PROBAR Superfood Slam
The PROBAR delivers nuts to me in a palatable form. I’ve found that I can tolerate nuts and nut butters as long as I don’t try to eat them “plain.” I can eat peanut butter and almond butter IF I put them on toast or bake them into muffins. I also blend them into banana smoothies.
The very worst of my 1st trimester symptoms was the PROFOUND lethargy I experienced, lasting about 3 weeks. This phase covered the week before Christmas through New Years. It was awful! I never felt so tired in my life. It was downright depressing because I’ve always been a super active person. I felt so weak and inadequate.
Other symptoms: bloating, heartburn, headaches. Some days are better than others. I’m VERY fortunate that I haven’t experienced any nausea or vomiting!!
My favorite symptom? Bigger boobs! I’ve never really had boobs, and now I have a little bit of fullness there. Yippee! It’s definitely worth the minor soreness. They started growing around Christmas. Thanks, Santa! The soreness started out near my armpits and worked its way medially.
Christmas gift from my sister’s thoughtful mother-in-law.
Sunday, January 5, 2014 was the turning point for my lethargy. It finally abated. What a great relief that was! I can’t say I feel completely “back to normal,” but the improvement was significant. I can now function during the day. Just as important, I’m starting to get back into an exercise schedule. I do want to be a fit pregnant lady!
TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2014
I had my first midwife appointment at Cascade Birth Center. We heard the heartbeat for the first time on Doppler. It took a few minutes of probing my belly to locate our little person, but once the signal was picked up, the sound was UNmistakable! Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! That made it REAL. So special. I should have taken an audio recording with my phone.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 2014
First ultrasound! We went into the appointment thinking that I was about 12 weeks along (based on my last menstrual period). My due date would have been July 30, 2014. But, based on the ultrasound, my due date was adjusted to August 11, 2014.
Eric was able to join me for the appointment. I was expecting to have a transvaginal ultrasound, but the technician was able to get all the views she needed via abdominal ultrasound. Right when she put the transducer on my belly, the obvious image of a baby emerged on the screen. “There’s a baby there,” she said!
The best part was seeing the little person start squirming around. The little bug appeared to be turning over, doing ab crunches and making boxing moves with his or her arms. TOO CUTE!!
I intended to include our ultrasound pics in this post, but the radiology clinic’s CD burner was not working. We have to wait until next week to get a copy. I’m going to do a separate post with all the pics. Stay tuned!
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STATS…
Last Menstrual Period: October 23, 2013
Probable Date of Conception: November 17, 2013
Due Date: August 11, 2014
1st Trimester Weight Gain (Weeks 0-13):
November 11, 2013 = 99.0 lb (pre-pregnancy weight)
December 16, 2013 = 99.8 lb
December 26, 2013 = 102.8 lb
December 31, 2013 = 104.8 lb
January 7, 2014 = 106.6 lb
January 14, 2014 = 108.0 lb
January 21, 2014 = 110.2 lb
January 28, 2014 = 110.4 lb
February 4, 2014 = 112.0 lb
Total Weight Gain = 13.0 lb
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“Before” Pics:
(My best “before” pics were taken almost exactly 1 year before #minivegan’s due date.)
Pre-Pregnancy Body- August 3, 2013
Pre-Pregnancy Body – August 3, 2013
Pre-Pregnancy Body – August 3, 2013
Freeheel Vegan 