Topic Archive: trimester

January 22, 2012

An Interview with My Husband

Since this is my third (and most likely last) pregnancy, I thought it would be interesting to ask my husband to share his thoughts on this pregnancy compared to the two previous ones.  Additionally, I was curious about his perspective on witnessing up close all the dramatic changes that I experienced throughout the nine months.

What has been most surprising to you about your pregnant wife or about pregnancy in general? 

I was surprised by how big she got, especially towards the last few months.  I told a good friend about my surprise and then he later confided to me that he was also surprised by how big his wife became when they were expecting.  My wife became more beautiful with all that shiny hair and glowing skin.  And even though she complained a lot about her belly, I think it is beautiful.  Not necessarily sexy, but definitely beautiful.   She became more beautiful. (more…)

December 9, 2009

Shhh… Don’t Tell (Until Your Second Trimester)

August 29, 2009

First Trimester: Then and Now

I thought it would be fun to compare the first trimesters of my pregnancies. I think it’s pretty surprising how different they have been!

Getting Pregnant:
Then – We had decided to officially start trying to conceive at the first of the year in 2008 but actually got pregnant two months earlier, when I went off my birth control early to manipulate my cycle for our vacation to the Dominican Republic.
Now – Because I am still nursing, my cycles hadn’t returned to normal yet. So I had to use an ovulation prediction kit to know if I was even ovulating. I am very grateful that we had success with my first cycle with a positive ovulation test. But I have to say that I prefer the lack of stress about trying to conceive of my first pregnancy!

Reactions:
Then – I experienced a short period of disbelief, but mostly it was excitement! Being my first pregnancy, I wanted to know EVERYTHING and at times almost overdosed on information. The first person I told was the receptionist at my OB’s office and I cried when I told her!
Now – This time, my first home pregnancy tests were the Dollar Tree cheapies, and even though they work just fine, early results can be difficult to read. So I wasn’t convinced that the line was a line! It took some convincing of message board friends online to get me to believe it! Telling people we were pregnant this time was less tearful and a lot more fun.

Sickness:
Then – For the longest time, I never vomited, even though I felt nauseated quite a bit. My worst times were brushing my teeth in the morning! I carried around crackers, drank lots of Sprite, and ate lunch at my desk to avoid offending smells.
Now – My morning sickness hit around 8 weeks and really didn’t let up until last week (13 weeks). Much more vomiting this time around, including once in my kitchen sink! I feel more exhausted as well, but I also have a very fast walking toddler to chase!

Complications:
Then – I didn’t have anything unusual happen during my first trimester last time. It was a pretty uneventful pregnancy, until the end, when Pregnancy Induced Hypertension got the better of me.
Now – At my viability ultrasound, they detected a uterine blood clot. While that was pretty scary, it hasn’t caused any problems, not even bleeding, which is almost certain to happen with a blood clot like that. We are also dealing with some insurance complications, to put it mildly. Our private health insurance covers no maternity benefits, so this baby is going to be very expensive for us!

Weight Gain:
Then – By 13 weeks, I had gained an uncomfortable 8 pounds and had already taken numerous belly shots!
Now – Starting at basically the same weight this time, at 13 weeks I have gained nothing and have taken zero belly pictures!

Overall, I feel so different about this pregnancy. I have worries about many things, including our finances, how this is going to change my life and my son’s life, but most of the worries aren’t about the pregnancy. Having so recently experienced pregnancy, I’m trying to enjoy it more. I’m not as annoyed by the ridiculous comments of others (and I know it’s going to get worse!), I’m eating healthier, and trying to stay focused on my family. In the grand scheme of things, pregnancy is so short and the unpleasantness is absolutely worth it!

Episode 80 | January 21, 2008

Keeping Your Pregnancy Worries Away

How do you keep pregnancy worries at bay? What are some tips to dealing with fears during the first trimester? How to have more ups than downs during pregnancy. And, Birth stats for 2006-has there really been a baby boom?

Episode 41 | March 5, 2007

Trying-Trimester and Pregnancy Books/Websites

Pregnancy is divided into three trimesters, this week the PregTASTIC group will talk about the trying-trimester: Was your pregnancy a surprise? Did it happen as planned? Did you try, what felt like forever? + Pregnancy books, best websites and some prenatal vitamin ideas.