All in all, I think my pregnancy has been a fairly easy compared to some. No serious complications. And, until recently, I've felt pretty darn good. My second trimester was exactly what people told me it would be: the best of the three; I no longer had morning sickness, which wasn't as bad as it could have been, and had a lot of energy. My body was changing subtly but not so much to make me uncomfortable or feel fat. (That changed when I had my band loosened, but I've already written about that so won't discuss it further.) I was active, my clothes fit, and it was fun to start feeling the baby move inside me.
The last couple weeks, I've noticed a serious drop in my energy level, especially towards the end of the work week. By Friday, I'm dead and it takes all weekend to restore my energy to go back to work on Monday. We've decided to "seriously limit" our weekend activities in order to give my body the rest it needs. This past weekend was the first time we didn't have a single thing planned. I was bored to tears by 4pm Sunday - even after spending 3 hours in church. Steve wasn't sympathetic and told me I'd get used to not doing as much. It's kind of funny how habit-forming being busy can be. Fortunately, I have plans the next two weekends so I don't plan on being bored at all. Yay!
A big component of energy depletion is lack of sleep due to restless legs and a growing belly that makes finding a comfortable position harder and harder. Last week, I asked my doctor about my restless legs and she gave me some advice to deal with it - Benadryl. I started taking it an hour or so before bedtime and also started taking a hot bath for 15-20 minutes before going to bed. It seems to be helping. I still have a hard time getting comfortable in bed, but at least my legs aren't restless. I have to get up a a couple times (or more) during the night to pee, but I'm getting a couple long stretches of sleep sometimes, something I wasn't getting at all before. Amazing how much better I feel with a little sleep.
I'm finally fitting into my maternity clothes, more or less. I find that if I try something on and it fits, my mood is good. If I try something on and it's too small, I'm cranky and depressed. So, I stick to clothes that are fairly certain to fit. Up to this point, I've been pretty adverse to spending money on clothes that I (hopefully) won't be able to wear post pregnancy (because they'll be too big), but I recently decided that it's worth it if it helps me feel pretty and not-fat. Luckily, Steve is super supportive about this, and actually encourages it. I still refuse to be extravagant, but a shirt or pair of shorts here or there is okay. And, I bought new bras on Saturday. I spent a lot but it's worth it to have comfortable, supportive bras.
Everyone who doesn't see me regularly has been asking if I "finally" look pregnant. Yes. I do. My belly isn't huge but it's definitely there. My clothes don't accentuate my belly, but it's still noticeable...to most people. The IT techs who work down the hall from me didn't notice and were surprised when I mentioned in passing that I'm pregnant, but they're college boys who don't pay attention to old married women. *smile* I feel like I'm growing wider more than anything. A woman with whom I work knows a gal who had a tummy tuck then got pregnant and never really developed a huge pregnant belly like she'd had with her previous pregnancies. That's just one story, so who knows how my tummy tuck will affect my pregnant belly. We'll never know, really, since I was never pregnant before my tummy tuck.
Last week, we went to the doctor and learned that Baby weighs 3 lbs and has a big belly and big head. Oh goodie. Just what I was hoping to hear. I'm glad he's healthy and all, but I can't help but wish he didn't have his daddy's big head. *smile* We'll now start going to the doctor more frequently. It's so strange to think that in a couple months or so, we'll have a baby! It's really been brought home to me since my friend and my sister-in-law both had their babies recently. I'm next. Crazy! Scary!