The first trimester (second time around)
Since I haven’t been very diligent in documenting about this second pregnancy (unlike with my first where I had ALL the time in the world), I thought I should write a little about the first trimester that is now well and over before I forget any of it.
How we found out
I had already suspected I may be pregnant for a few days - I was spotting lightly (like when I was newly pregnant with Sean) and I just felt different.
Since my period was not due for a few more days, I kept it to myself. I checked the calendar and realized Father's Day was coming up so I thought I'd wait till then to do the pregnancy test.
That morning, I leapt out of bed early, took the test and wahey, the big cross on the pee stick confirmed my suspicions!
Only Sean was up with me at that early hour so I gave him a big squeeze and told him he was going to be a big gor-gor soon. He nodded happily to indicate his approval. It was our little secret, for a few hours at least :)
Foops had had a late night the day before so I thought I'd just tell him later.
We went for dinner at Mozza Pizzeria that night and I went prepared with two envelopes - one containing the receipt of his Father's Day present (an iPad 2!) and the pee stick in the other.
He was very pleased - and surprised - and said that it (baby, not iPad) was the best Father's Day present ever!
[So yes, some of you guessed rightly that it was happy baby news. I didn't have any wine though ;)]
Pregnancy symptoms
Like with Sean, I felt very exhausted during the first tri. I also suffered from insomnia - Sean still has a habit of waking up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason and after that, I would lie awake for 2-3 hours staring into the ceiling. Arg!
So I rested a lot and try to make up for the sleep debt on weekends - I napped whenever Sean napped and went to bed early with him every night and pretty much slept as much as a 2 year old. It is hard work growing a baby!
The nausea (especially around 6-10 weeks) got me quite badly for this pregnancy. I don't remember feeling so nauseated when I was carrying Sean but then again, maybe my memory is a bit holey these days I won't be surprised if I have conveniently forgotten the difficult parts of my first pregnancy!
Diet
A big difference this time round: I don't have much of an appetite. There were days in the first tri when I could not stomach anything other than hard-boiled eggs and some soy sauce. Nothing seems to appeal to my taste buds. I see mealtimes as a chore where I have to FORCE myself to eat something. It's quite pathetic really.
(With Sean, I was ravenous all the time throughout the entire pregnancy. I ate huge meals, craved for rice dishes all the time, snacked round the clock and put on 16kg! Such a blessing to have a good appetite then!)
Even in my second tri now, there has been not much of an improvement. But the good thing about second pregnancies is, you are a lot more relaxed and don't have a lot of time to dwell on yourself.
I just try to eat foods that I like, eat as healthily as I can, load up on pre-natal vits, supplements and chicken essence and hope #2 is getting all the nutrients he/she needs!
On getting bigger
Quite expectedly, I am starting to 'show' much earlier than my first pregnancy. I blame it on my dormant, already-stretched-out abdominal muscles.
My eagle-eyed mum guessed I was expecting when I was about 8 weeks even though I took pains to try to hide my growing belly.
Well, I was huge when I was carrying Sean and I don't think it will be any different with #2 either. I should get my act together and start taking some belly shots!
At 15 weeks now, I am still wearing my normal clothes (though I can't button my pants anymore) and high heels. Contrary to the first pregnancy, I am going to hold out on the maternity wear and flats as long as I can.
Exercise
One thing I really miss about being childless is all the free time I had to do whatever I wanted. When I was pregnant with Sean, I went for pre-natal yoga every day (I worked in the heart of town then) and long walks or swims in the afternoon.
With a kid now, I find it very hard to squeeze time out for a decent workout. I definitely don't feel as limber and active as I used to and I really miss that feeling!
All I can manage is a short walk around the neighbourhood with Sean after I get home from work in the evenings. I really want to do longer walks or swims with him but we have a very narrow window of time before the sky turns dark so we'll see.
I still go for yoga classes on weekends. One thing I am quite happy this time round is, I am still going for my hot classes (on top of the usual Hatha/Vinyasa)! I avoided them entirely when I was carrying Sean (the classes can get very hot and suffocating, not a good thing for the baby in utero).
Having practiced yoga for so long now, I guess I am just more comfortable with my body and know what I can or cannot do in my pregnant state.
I do take a few shortcuts though: I sit near the door where it is cooler. I don't push myself to do all the crazy poses. I skip those that are not bump-friendly (like flopping on my belly, lying on my back for too long or abdominal crunches). And I take a break when I need to.
So far, so good.
Do I want a girl or boy?
I actually don't mind either. I thought I would want a girl but I would love to have another sweet little boy like Sean to love :)
(The husband and my mum thinks it's another boy. I think it's a girl (because of the fussy appetite). Let's see who is right.)
But really, I am just praying for a happy, healthy child :)
How we found out
I had already suspected I may be pregnant for a few days - I was spotting lightly (like when I was newly pregnant with Sean) and I just felt different.
Since my period was not due for a few more days, I kept it to myself. I checked the calendar and realized Father's Day was coming up so I thought I'd wait till then to do the pregnancy test.
That morning, I leapt out of bed early, took the test and wahey, the big cross on the pee stick confirmed my suspicions!
Only Sean was up with me at that early hour so I gave him a big squeeze and told him he was going to be a big gor-gor soon. He nodded happily to indicate his approval. It was our little secret, for a few hours at least :)
Foops had had a late night the day before so I thought I'd just tell him later.
We went for dinner at Mozza Pizzeria that night and I went prepared with two envelopes - one containing the receipt of his Father's Day present (an iPad 2!) and the pee stick in the other.
He was very pleased - and surprised - and said that it (baby, not iPad) was the best Father's Day present ever!
[So yes, some of you guessed rightly that it was happy baby news. I didn't have any wine though ;)]
Pregnancy symptoms
Like with Sean, I felt very exhausted during the first tri. I also suffered from insomnia - Sean still has a habit of waking up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason and after that, I would lie awake for 2-3 hours staring into the ceiling. Arg!
So I rested a lot and try to make up for the sleep debt on weekends - I napped whenever Sean napped and went to bed early with him every night and pretty much slept as much as a 2 year old. It is hard work growing a baby!
The nausea (especially around 6-10 weeks) got me quite badly for this pregnancy. I don't remember feeling so nauseated when I was carrying Sean but then again, maybe my memory is a bit holey these days I won't be surprised if I have conveniently forgotten the difficult parts of my first pregnancy!
Diet
A big difference this time round: I don't have much of an appetite. There were days in the first tri when I could not stomach anything other than hard-boiled eggs and some soy sauce. Nothing seems to appeal to my taste buds. I see mealtimes as a chore where I have to FORCE myself to eat something. It's quite pathetic really.
(With Sean, I was ravenous all the time throughout the entire pregnancy. I ate huge meals, craved for rice dishes all the time, snacked round the clock and put on 16kg! Such a blessing to have a good appetite then!)
Even in my second tri now, there has been not much of an improvement. But the good thing about second pregnancies is, you are a lot more relaxed and don't have a lot of time to dwell on yourself.
I just try to eat foods that I like, eat as healthily as I can, load up on pre-natal vits, supplements and chicken essence and hope #2 is getting all the nutrients he/she needs!
On getting bigger
Quite expectedly, I am starting to 'show' much earlier than my first pregnancy. I blame it on my dormant, already-stretched-out abdominal muscles.
My eagle-eyed mum guessed I was expecting when I was about 8 weeks even though I took pains to try to hide my growing belly.
Well, I was huge when I was carrying Sean and I don't think it will be any different with #2 either. I should get my act together and start taking some belly shots!
At 15 weeks now, I am still wearing my normal clothes (though I can't button my pants anymore) and high heels. Contrary to the first pregnancy, I am going to hold out on the maternity wear and flats as long as I can.
Exercise
One thing I really miss about being childless is all the free time I had to do whatever I wanted. When I was pregnant with Sean, I went for pre-natal yoga every day (I worked in the heart of town then) and long walks or swims in the afternoon.
With a kid now, I find it very hard to squeeze time out for a decent workout. I definitely don't feel as limber and active as I used to and I really miss that feeling!
All I can manage is a short walk around the neighbourhood with Sean after I get home from work in the evenings. I really want to do longer walks or swims with him but we have a very narrow window of time before the sky turns dark so we'll see.
I still go for yoga classes on weekends. One thing I am quite happy this time round is, I am still going for my hot classes (on top of the usual Hatha/Vinyasa)! I avoided them entirely when I was carrying Sean (the classes can get very hot and suffocating, not a good thing for the baby in utero).
Having practiced yoga for so long now, I guess I am just more comfortable with my body and know what I can or cannot do in my pregnant state.
I do take a few shortcuts though: I sit near the door where it is cooler. I don't push myself to do all the crazy poses. I skip those that are not bump-friendly (like flopping on my belly, lying on my back for too long or abdominal crunches). And I take a break when I need to.
So far, so good.
Do I want a girl or boy?
I actually don't mind either. I thought I would want a girl but I would love to have another sweet little boy like Sean to love :)
(The husband and my mum thinks it's another boy. I think it's a girl (because of the fussy appetite). Let's see who is right.)
But really, I am just praying for a happy, healthy child :)