Diaries of the Newly Enciente: Hello 2nd Trimester

The "Essentials" as defined by Daddy PIC have arrived...

So I started this term thinking it would be easier.

But apparently I am doomed to experience all the normal symptoms of pregnancy. With the second trimester comes the exit of morning sickness and the dawn of more indigestion and heartburn.

Unfortunately on intense indigestion days, it also comes hand in hand with nausea and vomiting. The latter of which, I've never had to experience during my first trimester. Other than this, I will give the blogs and guide books props as they weren't kidding about feeling closer to normal during this time. 

Well, as normal as I can be at 17 weeks walking around feeling like one of those little wooden fertility statues you see in museum gift shops with the boobage and the pot belly. At this stage, my tummy doesn't quite resemble a pregnant belly just yet. Its still a cross between a beer gut and someone who's had a big lunch that just won't go away.

Mini Me or Mini PIC?

Another thing I've noticed are a proliferation of age spots that tends to happen during your preggo months. Apparently hyper-pigmentation gets even more hyper as your hormones go into a free for all festival. At first I thought, maybe its because of the summer sunshine, or that I've been slack on my sun protection regimen -- but then I realize I am getting freckles on places that don't really get that much sun exposure. After much googling, I've found that these spots, or whatever you wish to call them sometimes fade months after giving birth while others last for all eternity. Hmm... looks like PIC needs to shell out for some post natal IPL sessions.

So spots and belly aside, it also feels like all my friends and family are on the look out for more signs of gender bias. There is an old wives' tale back in the Philippines that if the mommy-to-be turns gloriously beautiful in her pregnant state then she must be expecting a girl. Alas, for me, this is not to be. I never thought I'd see my husband crow in joy with every little imperfection that crops up. To make matters worse, my own mother and bestie have joined his peanut gallery and have both asserted that I am having a boy. Where oh where is that pregnancy glow everyone's babbling about??

But wait, before the banns are released, am I really having a boy?

Thanks to baba's sponsors!

So far all scans point to a heart rate over 140 which usually means we are having a girl. PIC counters that this is not 100% accurate. Our last scan shows a nub that is forked and does not necessarily point up which, based on a site's scan gallery, usually means we are having a girl. PIC counters that there are boy scans with forked nubs too, and the angle at which the nub is pointing is debatable. Then there's a million and one other "symptoms" of gender that have left us as conflicted as ever. The only upside of this is that PIC has shown signs of breaking - he's finally decided on a baby girl name.

In three weeks, we will finally put a rest to this gender debate. Hopefully then, I will be allowed to focus on my other neuroses.

Now that we've crossed the paranoia stage, we're starting to see an influx of baby stuff come into our crazy household. While getting the sample nappies from a client and the onesies from my bestie were cute -- nothing was as much a splash of cold reality as the first shipment of baby furniture coming in from Amazon.

This is it, we really ARE having a baby!