Baby Baucom: Second Trimester

I made it through the second trimester!  I can't believe we are now in the home stretch - I'm actually 30 weeks pregnant now so we are getting close.  I just can't wait to meet this sweet Baby Girl!

Here is my comparison from 18 to 24 weeks (I really started popping at 22 weeks and haven't stopped since)

Here I am at 28 weeks - starting my 3rd trimester.

Symptoms: I'm sad to say the nausea has not gone away.  It is definitely confined primarily to night time and it is much more manageable than before but it is still lingering.  I think it'll likely just stay through the entire pregnancy but the good news is, with only 10 weeks to go, there is an end in sight! Tired.  Still pretty tired.  Not like can't make it through the day but can't make it past 10pm and can very easily sleep 10 hours a night.  The heartburn has been contained for the most part - I've learned what to eat and what not to eat and it has gotten much better - yay!  I am starting to get some back pains from this quickly growing belly.  I have started monthly (for now) prenatal massages to try and help with this. There are some other, not so pretty symptoms that I will spare from you but lets just say your body does some weird stuff when you're pregnant (think leakage, hemorrhoids, you know...the fun stuff).

Movement: She is still doing somersaults in my belly!  I have had 2 days that she has moved less than normal and I started to get worried but the next day she would be back in action.  I am assuming she was just lazy/sleepy on those days.  It is fun to feel her move, although it can also be very painful and uncomfortable but movement is a sign that she is doing well and growing so I will take the discomfort to feel her move all the time!

Sleep: Tired and sleeping like a champ still.  I wake up to use the bathroom but other than that, I am able to sleep well most every night.  Taking it all in while I can!

Eating: Still no crazy cravings.  I am starting to REALLY miss sushi and can't wait until I can eat that again.  Also, a cold glass of prosecco is calling my name.  Other than that, eating fairly normal (although when she has her growth spurts I am well aware because I am hungry literally every minute of the day).  

Nursery: We have made some progress here.  We put up a custom sign above her crib that I am OBSESSED with as well as four precious safari prints.  We starting hanging clothes in her closet.  Really, we are just waiting on the rocker and that will be the last major piece.  I do have a few other items to pick up and expect to get some of the little things from the baby showers.  My main goal is to have the nursery complete by the end of February so that I am prepared in case she decides to make an early appearance!

Looking forward to: 30 week check up tomorrow and bi weekly doctor's visits.  A couple of classes that Ryan and I will be taking over the next month (Bringing Home Baby and Breastfeeding) as well as open house at what we think will be our Pediatrician's office.

So here we are, officially in the year that we will meet our Baby Girl.  Right now, all I pray for is a healthy baby.  As long as I get that, I will be over the moon!

Thanks for checking in!

Carly

Baby Baucom: Halfway There

I can't believe it but I am officially halfway through this pregnancy (well, actually 21 weeks at this point, but who's counting)?  This has been the longest and shortest 21 weeks of my life, if that's possible.  The days were looooong, especially those days during weeks 5-16 when I was sick ALL day and genuinely felt like crap.  But, as I look back, I can't believe that 21 weeks has already gone by.  I am so excited that we are now closer to meeting our sweet little girl and that we have less time left than we have already been through. Here is an update at the halfway mark.

Baby Bump at 18 weeks (I have been awful at taking pictures during this pregnancy so this is all I have)

Symptoms: Nausea, still daily unfortunately, now with a side of heartburn.  It has subsided some and mostly only hits me at night but it's still there and going strong. I have a feeling I am just one of those unlucky people that will have nausea throughout the entire pregnancy.  The heartburn is getting worse daily but I'm learning what triggers it and what calms it. Hopefully I can contain it as much as possible. Tired. I haven't gotten that surge of energy that people talk about but I think that probably goes hand in hand with the continued nausea.  Using the bathroom all the time but at least now I know why.  During our 20 week ultrasound, we literally watched baby girl kick my bladder.  She looked like she was having a blast.  Thanks baby girl!

Movement: Baby girl is moving A TON. I started really feeling her about a week and a half ago and she has not stopped.  She moves mostly in the morning but also here and there throughout the day, especially if I sit still for a while.  Ryan hasn't been able to feel her yet but I can't wait until the first time he feels his daughter move - talk about all the feelings.

Sleep: Besides the heartburn and regular bathroom use, I am actually sleeping pretty well! I bought a pregnancy pillow - the Snoogle - which I am really liking.  It helps me from waking up on my back and gives me something to hold onto. Definitely worth the purchase.

Eating: No cravings or repulsions.  Avoiding the things that I'm not supposed to eat and trying to figure out what not to eat in order to prevent heartburn, but other than that, pretty much everything is game.  I do want salty food way more than sweet, don't have much of a sweet tooth at all.

Nursery: We got the crib and dresser delivered this week and I am in love!! The furniture is from Pottery Barn and it is beautiful and is going to be perfect for her.  We got the furniture in soft gray so now we have to pick a paint color and paint the room (I wanted to get it painted but for those of you who know Ryan, he refuses to pay someone to do something that he can do so I wait for him to get home to do the painting).  I also have an amazing piece of art for the wall that is supposed to be delivered today and I am dying to see it!  Other than that, we still have a lot to do but we wanted to get the big pieces and go from there.

Looking Forward To: Our hospital tour and Infant CPR class in December. I can't wait to see where baby girl will make her entrance into this world and learn all that I can (and hopefully never use) to keep her safe.  Also excited to make some progress on the nursery while Ryan has his "off season" and complete our registry! We want to get the registry done before Christmas so that our family can get us stuff off of the registry for Christmas. 

That's my update for now!  Like I said, I'm so happy to be halfway done and I thank God every day for this healthy baby girl growing inside of me.  No matter how I feel and how much I complain, the most important thing is that she is growing and developing and staying healthy!  Thanks to everyone for your love and support!  Will update again soon!

XOXO,

Carly

First Trimester: The Ugly Truth

So here comes the previously mentioned post about my first trimester (well first trimester plus month 4 because there really wasn't any difference in the two).  Warning: it wasn't pretty or fun and I'm not going to hold back on the truth.  I think pregnancy is a wonderful and beautiful thing but I do think that women tend to sugar coat pregnancy and leave out the ugly, difficult, painful parts that you aren't sure you'll ever get through.  The good news is that you will get through them.  The bad news is that it won't be fun.

When we found out that I was pregnant, I was thrilled.  I knew it wouldn't be a walk in the park but I was expecting some morning sickness, sore boobs, aches and pains...you know, things that you hear about but that sound manageable.  What I got was my world rocked instead.

First and foremost - Morning sickness - who came up with this phrase?!?! There is nothing limited to the morning about it, and it is certainly not some slight sickness that is uncomfortable, it is flat out debilitating, exhausting and miserable.  I had nausea all day, every day for about 10 weeks straight.  I was throwing up every day for many of those weeks and, if I'm being completely honest, I still have nausea every day (although it has gotten significantly better).  I had to take days off work, didn't leave my house for days at a time and pretty much stopped living any semblance of a normal life. Luckily, Ryan was here for most of the worst weeks and, when he wasn't, my parents were kind enough to take me in and take care of me.  This has been BY FAR the worst part of pregnancy for me.  I was feeling miserable all the time, which led me to be a miserable human being and downright ugly to those trying to help the most. I lost 5 pounds in my first trimester and had a lot of fears that the baby wasn't getting the nutrients she needed since I couldn't keep much down and what I could keep down was mostly fried foods and crackers, not the healthiest of diets. I tried 3 different medicines that the doctor recommended, none of which worked.  I finally came to the conclusion that this was how my body was reacting to pregnancy and nothing was going to help or change that so I had to just push through it.  My doctors assured me that as long as I was getting my prenatal vitamin down, the baby was going to be just fine. Luckily, I am through the worst of it and the nausea that I experience at night now is much more manageable.

Exhaustion.  This was probably the most common thing I heard from my friends who are already Moms - just how tired they were during the first trimester but the burst of energy they got going into the second trimester.  I was definitely exhausted but I think a lot of that came from being so sick.  I definitely did not get any burst of energy in my second trimester.  Don't get me wrong, I certainly have more energy than I did but nothing close to what I had prior to pregnancy. I'm still optimistic that the "burst" will come!

Sensitive/Sore Boobs. This was one symptom that I am lucky to say was not bad for me.  Was I sore and extra sensitive? For sure! But it was nothing that I would even describe as uncomfortable day to day. This one I can't complain about for one second.

Urgency to use the Restroom.  This one has hit me pretty hard - I swear I pee every hour.  I know they say this gets worse as you get further into pregnancy but I'm not sure how.  I already get up 3-4 times a night and am constantly back and forth to the bathroom.  It's not painful or uncomfortable by any means but it sure is a pain in the you know what, especially when you are exhausted and trying to get a good night's sleep.

I have had some other stuff begin to pop up - back pain (one day last week I almost went to the ER because it was so bad but that has gotten better), heartburn has begun, my eyesight is all off and my gums bleed no matter how much I brush and floss.  All of these things are expected with pregnancy and they aren't too bad, nothing compared to the nausea.  I did get a really fun, bad case of a cold last week that knocked me out for a couple of days but I am on the mend from that too.

As you can tell, pregnancy has not been beautiful or a walk in the park by any means.  The reason I'm sharing this isn't to scare anyone or to get sympathy but to be honest.  While I was feeling so sick, one of the worst parts was that I felt completely alone.  I hadn't talked to anyone who had experienced what I was going through and I started to feel very depressed.  I would never wish that upon anyone and I want everyone to know they aren't alone.  Since I've openly talked about my symptoms, more and more people have opened up to me about the realities of their pregnancy or their friend who felt the same way.  I'm so glad they are sharing that with me now but I do wish I had heard one of those stories before I went through all of this. So, I'm hoping maybe someone will feel less alone because of my honesty.

Oh, and I can't leave out, almost every day I had a terrible, "whoa is me" attitude.  I felt sorry for myself, couldn't understand why I was the only person going through this, etc. etc.  So, if you're feeling that way, it's totally fine, you have every right.

There is no way I would have gotten through the first 4 months without Ryan and my family being there to support me, take care of me, let me scream and yell at them and be a general miserable person.  They listened and waited on me when I needed it most and for that, I am beyond appreciative!

Pregnancy IS wonderful and beautiful and the result is worth every ache, pain, nausea, throw up, etc. but that doesn't make the path easy or fun.  If you don't enjoy the process, that doesn't mean you aren't as grateful for the end result - it just means you're going through what so many other women out there are too!

Thanks for reading and for allowing me to be honest!

Carly