My second trimester lifestyle--while, okay, still a lot harder than non-pregnant life--is a million, billion times better than the first. Honestly, I am still in denial about the first trimester having happened. I cannot think about it. I cannot write about it. I do not want to look at pictures from it. It. Was. Terrible.
Because I'm teeny-tiny, I am already feeling the physical weight take its toll on me as I carry this cute girl around. So the second trimester is all about minimizing everything, bumping into things with my belly, and striving for as much 1) movement and 2) ease of life as possible. THANKFULLY THANKFULLY the nausea is almost nil now, though my mouth still tastes bad (normal pregnancy thing per the doc--darn) so I go through a lot of chewing gum. Like a Costco pack a month. My bod is definitely feeling heavier, my belly has more than popped out, and someone at church yesterday asked me when I was due--clearly expecting it to be sooner than September. #still17weeksleft
Now that I've hashtagged that I'm thinking about how dorky/ridiculous/old fashioned hashtagging will probably be by the time this baby girl reads the story of my pregnancy with her in book form. I guess its just one of those things she can be thankful she missed, like how I'm glad I didn't have to do 80's hair.
This evening I'm sitting on my blue chair in our (apartment master) bedroom again, shouting to Charlie (because it is after bedtime and I am off duty as far as, you know, parenting while standing up/moving/walking) to stop freaking out about how the clock in his room is one minute different than the clock in Gracie's room. Steve's gone out to grab us Chipotle (second trimester life: we've both thrown our hands up and given up on cooking dinner every night). He'll be back soon and we'll eat burritos and watch Netflix and that will be happy.
(And then I took a hiatus from writing this post for like a week and a half.)
Other second trimester stuff?
Ice. Again. (Still?) Obssessed with ice. Chewing some right now. Carefully. Daydreaming about buying a whole bag of Sonic ice to shove into our teeny apartment-refrigerator. Can't stop, won't stop.
Exercise: It happens now! And only once have I climbed right in bed afterward and started eating Ben + Jerry's ice cream. (I feel zero guilt about this.)
Belly buttons! We talk about them a lot. Charlie in particular has a lot of belly-button-related inquiries. He's still trying to grasp the way the umbilical cord works for the baby, and he's fixated with how my belly button sticks out (you can totes see it through my shirt already) and likes to poke it. (I do not like this. Belly buttons are not meant to be touched.)
Peeing: At least twice per night. The last time is usually around 4:30, and there is this bird in the parking lot who is already singing by then even though it is still dark. Not cool, bird.
Also a lot a lot a lot during the day. Because hydration is my jam. Also ice.
Drive through groceries! This is the best thing ever for a tired pregnant mama with a van full of (hungry) children. For $17 a month, you can order whatever you want online from Harris Teeter and they will SHOP FOR YOU, and when you drive over, and THEY WILL BRING IT TO YOUR CAR.
I do not have to push a cart. I do not even have to get out of the air conditioned driver's seat--they bring out a tablet thing so I can pay the bill. This is literally heavenly to me. And I know what literally means.
Oh yeah--and sometimes it rains. And I still don't have to get out.
See the gum clutched desperately between my teeth? ;)
As long-time in-school/residency poorsies, $17 counts as a lot of dollars to us. But right now? TOTALLY WORTH IT. I would pay more. (But don't tell them.)
Styes. Yep. Again. Though this time they are fewer and much further between--and I haven't hit Quasimodo status.
Naps: 1-2 hours. Everyday. Necessary. Wonderful.
Hunger. I'm hungry. Really hungry. :)
Crying. Okay, this might be the weirdest thing--I'm not really crying much. I might even be crying less than I do when I'm not pregnant. I'm totally cool with this, but, you know, for a girl who cries over that ASPCA commercial (you know, the Sarah McLauchlan one with the sad puppies?) its... unexpected.
Clothes: I'm growing out of them. Here's the stack that got put away last week. Thank goodness for maxi dresses--I have a feeling they might be all I've got left by the end of this. :)
One-floor life. So, other than having to climb a set of stairs to get from the car to the door, apartment-living is kind of perfect for a pregnant woman. Everything is on one level--no up and down to do laundry, check what the kids are up to, or get a brownie and glass of milk from the kitchen to go eat in my bed while I read. It's basically ideal.
ALSO! AT THIS APARTMENT, SOMEONE COMES BY YOUR FRONT DOOR EVERY WEEKDAY AND TAKES OUT YOUR GARBAGE FOR YOU!!!! WHAT?!?!?!?
That alone would make it worth it. :)
