Our 2nd trimester started off well – in that our genetic defect test came back negative, and we were told that our chances of down syndrome, or other genetic defects were then reduced to a 1 in more than 10,000 chance, based on blood work and our scan.  They sounded very happy about this news on the phone, and, in spite of the nausea and exhaustion, we were relieved to hear that little bubble had passed another test, before he was even born.

I did indeed cave and call a cleaner to come in to the house and sort it out.  Two ladies came, in fact.  And, y’know what? Judge and call me whatever lazy-ass names you’d like, but with visitors and an international move on the horizon and having slept for most of the first four months, it was the best money I’ve spent in a long time and I’ll do it all over again in my third trimester when I’m too huge to be bothered getting up to clean (and, obviously, if we are blessed with a next time!)

Thankfully my nausea subsided, and, true to old wives tales and everyone I know who has ever been pregnant telling me, my exhaustion did too.  Not like the light switch I had hoped for, nor as soon as I hit T2 for that matter, it took a while, but soon enough I was back to epic cook-ins, cleaning, tidying and even baking – which I hadn’t done in a while.  The exhaustion of T1 was finally gone – this was a big moment.  Nausea I can deal with, but feeling so tired that you can’t make toast? That shit isn’t on!

My second trimester brought with it a whole new set of challenges, starting with some early-term lower back aching – thank GOD for my chiropractor, who quickly stopped that in its tracks.  Next to rear its ugly head, was some sciatic nerve pain.  I’d wake up in the middle of the night with pins and needles and a shooting down my leg (from my hip) – for this, my chiropractor in a pain clinic  slightly amended my adjustments, but also advised starting to sleep with a pillow between my legs, and, when big enough, one under my bump.

Having forgotten to put my pillow between my legs last night, I can tell you, that it *does* in fact make a difference.  I was up twice last night with sharp sciatic pain.  Won’t be forgetting that any time soon!

A common T3 issue, that seems to have hit me the minute I sneaked in to T2, is heartburn and acid reflux.  It’s at the stage that I can’t eat within a few hours of bed (or I have to sleep practically sitting bolt upright) and my food choices are getting less and less adventurous, rather more and more bland to try and compensate.  It’s gross and it’s only getting worse.  I have developed a great sympathy for those who suffer with GERD, but, again, if heartburn is the biggest complaint I have about this pregnancy, compared to those who suffer hyperemesis and other such things, I’ll once again say, I have it easy!

Here’s a newsflash that no one tells you about beforehand:  you will hurt.  Not always, every now and then, when you sit, stand, or wake up.  It will feel like period pain.  You are growing a PERSON, in (at first) a very, very small part of your body, stretching, growing and squishing all your organs up under your boobs, will ache, twinge and hurt on occasion.

My OBGYN told me that about the ligament in your crotch area (round ligament) that does most of the stretching, so if the pain isn’t low in the crotch where that ligament is, then it’s probably good advice to call your doctor for a chat.  For me, I was prepared for this (thanks Dr Diase!) and it’s only been occasional, so while it’s uncomfortable and annoying, I’ve never really been worried about it and I’ve tried to adjust my behaviour (for example, standing up slower than I used to) to help reduce bothering the ligament myself, I also enjoy some warm baths and standing up slowly from a sitting position, that helps too!

In spite of having been told my skin is looking better than ever, let me tell you, it’s not.  I feel like a teenager some weeks and the dryness is something I’ve never before had to contend with – I’m keeping Bath and Body Works and Body Shop in business at the moment!

Americans (or expats living in the USA) – this is a hint/tip for y’all.  Something I didn’t know when we first got pregnant, is that our Flex Savings Account (FSA) could be used to pay for a number of baby-esque things.  Pregnancy tests, ovulation kits, vitamins, breast feeding accessories (like breast pumps) – check with your insurance company for the full list of things covered.  It’s a great way to save a few bucks, in a process that’s pretty darn expensive!

Next up, I got sick.  I had severe sinus trouble (I’m convinced by the luminous snot that it was an infection), nosebleeds, congestion, headaches, the lot.  I fought it, fo’ days I fought it, telling myself I didn’t have time to get sick, stuffing oranges and oj down my throat to try and scare it away with vitamin C…but, after about a week, it turned out that I needed to dig out the ‘pregnancy approved’ medication leaflet and go to CVS.  I’ve been very careful during this pregnancy, even though it’s ‘pregnancy approved’ by my fertility specialist and OBGYN’s office (and, when you Google, most of the entire internet too) I still didn’t want to use anything that could potentially harm bubble.

So I’ve suffered a little on occasions.  Or, rather, endured.  Headaches, muscle aches, pain etc, but I deemed it all low enough on the pain threshold not to cross-over and take meds.  Until now.  Col went and grabbed me Sudafed from CVS, the Sudafed the pharmacist gave him, was NOT the Sudafed he asked for, but we didn’t know that right away – he got home, I opened the box, ripped off a tablet and was on the verge of taking it, when he screeched that I should stop.  Further investigation was inconclusive, so he went back to CVS, told them their screw up and came home with the ‘right’ kind.

I only took one, I was feeling much better the following day and had no need to repeat.  But, my advice to y’all is, if you need it, take the damn (approved by your OBGYN) pill.  ONE pill improved my ailment, just one – and I’m sure bubble feels better, when I feel better.  I should have taken one sooner, but I was insistent on not hurting my baby, and in the end, we both ended up hurting, cause I wasn’t sleeping, eating right and I was sore and miserable.

My OBGYN has since told me to invest in a humidifier and, if necessary, add vicks to it – so this will be done quickly – I’ll report back!

I think my pregnancy-changing moment (or, dare I say, life-changing moment) happened in my second trimester.  You’ll laugh when I tell you how banal it is, but many of you will nod your heads with a sage understanding of what I’m talking about.

I went underwear shopping.  Yes, ladies, I did it.  I was told to hold off as long as I could, cause my already heaving bosom would increase, increase and continue to increase until well after bubble arrives.  Which, is a scary thought – granted.  However, I was DONE.

I was sick of having red marks on me from my band being too tight, and I was literally FOLDING myself into the two bra’s that I had classified as ‘still fitting’.  Boy.  Was I ever wrong.

I went to Lane Bryant (after trying a different undies store and coming up empty) and came home with three, yes THREE, new bras and I haven’t looked back (though I was hugely impressed with myself cause I scored a great deal to boot!)  I know they’re expensive, I know people tell you to wait…don’t.  Do it.  As soon as you feel discomfort, go treat yourself to a new boob-holder, you deserve it – and sweet lord above, the ladies will feel a million times better when you do!

You’re growing a person – indulge your knockers, spend the cash and upgrade your undies.  You’ll be glad you did – especially if you increase like me, so far I’ve gained two back sizes and one cup size!!

Due to the fact that we were scheduled to depart the good ole US of A in the New Year, we have been on some what of a baby-buying mission this trimester.  Normally, I wouldn’t.  Normally, I’d wait and be sensible, ‘just in case’ and all that.  But, when people in your new destination country tell you to stock up on, well, ALL the baby things because they are substantially more expensive out there, you do it.  My inner couponing demon went ka-razy!

On the up-side, though, we are now officially ready, aside from a car seat base here (we would only need one in Dubai, but need two here) and some small bits there, we are bubble-ready.  Not that I’m encouraging him to make an appearance!! It’s also helped my positivity and outlook.  My friend Laura told me to buy an outfit for bubble, hang it up in my bedroom, look at it every day and tell myself that I WILL bring home our baby to wear that outfit.  For me, having all this baby stuff to trip over, is similar.  Yes bubble, this crap is all yours and you’re damn-well going to use it! LOL!

We spent a few days in the second Trimester (again, for the move), organising his things, tidying, moving and re-moving his stuff.  His clothes are all split in to tubs by age, there’s a tub for bibs, shoes and socks, one for bedding, one for sleeping bags and bath stuff, he’s even got his own toiletries and medicine box.  There’s about three breastfeeding boxes (more-so for mummy than for baby) and a baby weaning box that’s got fun and colourful things like snack catchers and spoons and what-not and the place is well stocked for nappies and wipes.

We even took a wee jaunt to Ikea to get a couple of ‘wee’ expedit units and fabric drawers – this is a big deal, normally we avoid Ikea like the plague, unless it’s just to nip in for lunch and to watch the idiots trying to park in the car park – it’s a sport!  One for his room (for all his nappy changing stuff) and one for downstairs, again, for nappy changing stuff, burp cloths, spare clothes and to put wipes and the monitor on – so in the case of an emergency, we won’t have to run upstairs covered in drippy vomit to get what we need.

We have a decent sized house, but storage-wise, most of the rooms have one cupboard that we filled upon arrival, and not much else, so these were of paramount importance – and, we may well end up getting more, they are VERY versatile and blend in well with the type of furniture we already own.

It would seem that this little boy is very like his mother when it comes to food, as soon as he’s hungry, he’s breaking the door down for grub in a ‘FEED ME NOW’ styley.  So much so, that he’s managed to bully me in to a regular breakfast.  I wake up feeling like I haven’t eaten in days and have to eat something substantial (toast with peanut butter and fruit mostly) or I feel like I’ve got a percussionist in my tummy!

We also asked the first of our Godparent choices for bubble, to be his Godmother.  Thankfully, Sheri was touched, and said yes (she doesn’t know what she’s in for!)  If you’re interested in reading about her, go here.

At 26 weeks, I went in for my 1 hour Glucose challenge test, which I failed and a few days later, had to go back for the 3 hour Glucose tolerance test.  It wasn’t pleasant, and you can read about it here.

The last thing I want to mention about T2, is my fantastic husband.  He has been truly amazing!  I ended my 2nd trimester with a total pregnancy weight gain of 9.5lbs to date.  It’s been a slow increase, nothing too drastic and I’m trying to keep the weight gain to as little as I can – for fear of adding additional stress and medical complications to the pregnancy.

All the reading material says, don’t put on too much weight, too quickly, or you’ll get stretch marks, well, let me tell you, at almost 10lbs over 27 weeks, I figured that was quite a slow progression – but my bump is still covered in ugly lookin’ red lines.

I haven’t been happy with how they look, how I look, but, thankfully, having such a supportive and loving husband telling me that it’s not only normal, but it’s really not as bad as I think it is (he insists I’m my biggest critic) has really helped.

I never realised just how important having a reassuring ear to talk to when I’m feeling crappy about myself, but I’ve found it to be very settling – and having Col rub lotion on my bump every day, has been quite therapeutic and helpful too.

Our final acts of T2, now that we are staying in the USA for his birth, were to schedule our 3D ultrasound appointment, pre-register with the hospital we will be giving birth at, fully pay the bill for our OBGYN to deliver bubble and to pick a pediatrician to look after bubble after he is born.

We also informed our OBGYN that we do not want bubble circumcised (many of you may be surprised to hear that it’s standard here, in that it’s the automatic option – unless you state otherwise), we asked for immediate skin-to-skin contact (assuming that’s possible obviously), it’s all becoming more and more real now!

Next step: Whooping cough vaccines all-round!