Trimester smack-down

From comparing my week-by-week updates from this pregnancy and my last pregnancy, I've definitely noticed that I'm experiencing all the same symptoms -- and at the exact same times.

I had heard that boy-pregnancies and girl-pregnancies were supposedly really different, but I haven't found that they're too different.

The only real differences have been in my morning sickness, my chunkiness, and my energy levels. My morning sickness could have been worse this time because I'm having a girl, OR it could have just FELT worse because I was also chasing my toddler.

So now I present ... my very scientific breakdown of first and second pregnancies:

First trimester:

Baby #1:

• I got chunky immediately
• I felt sick all the time
• I was tired all the time

Baby #2:

• I got VERY chunky immediately
• I felt VERY sick all the time
• I was not quite as tired

Second trimester:

Baby #1:

• I continued to get massively chunky
• The fat reached every part of me (face, arms, butt, legs, etc.)
• I had lots of energy

Baby #2:

• I was not nearly as chunky
• The fat seems to be mostly contained to my stomach (no back fat!)
• I did not have as much energy

The third trimester begins tomorrow (eek!) so we'll see what happens there. My predictions? I achieve the same grunty too-big-to-be-comfortable-EVER status that I had last time. Good times, eh?

Weekly re-cap of pregnancy #2: Week 25

Week 25 
(Jan. 14 through Jan. 20) 

Symptoms: Difficulty sleeping! I made it this far without really having an issue sleeping, and now I fear it's here to stay. My legs and back ache really badly, and I'm always tossing and turning. Oh, and heartburn so bad I think the acid is going to burn through the skin of my throat. Awesome.

Body changes: I am maintaining my position that I am SMALLER this time around. Yes, my stomach continues to jut way out (hard to tell exactly how much it changes each week), but everywhere else? Not nearly as fat as I was during my last pregnancy. Woohoo!

Belly button: It looks really ... round. And close to the surface.

Baby movement: A LOT more kicking this week. She must be a night owl, because I don't notice too much during the day. But when I wake up in the middle of the night, she's going crazy in there.

Cravings: Rice Krispies with milk. I bought a family-sized box two weeks ago, and it's almost gone (and I'm the only one who's been eating it). I can't get enough of it!

Aversions: Chicken, but only sometimes.

High point: Having an awesome playdate with lovely friend J and her baby boy, J. We went to playgroup and then out for lunch afterwards. The toddler behaved! I got to socialize! I was out of the house! That is basically the trifecta of awesome.

Low point: Experiencing a lot more tiredness than usual. Not sure if I'm fighting a cold or just ... tired. But it's rough sometimes. I'm finding it almost impossible to do any freelance work at night after the toddler is in bed, which means I have more work to cram into his naptime.

How does this week compare to Week 25 during pregnancy #1? Looks like the leg pain is starting right on schedule. I must admit, other than feeling sicker this time during the first trimester, and feeling noticeably slimmer (I can still wear regular underwear, unlike last time), these pregnancies have been pretty similar.

Baby preparation: Painted the chair-rail in the nursery (it's gorgeous), hung the curtains, made a bunch of STUNNING tissue paper poms and hung them in a cluster, and harassed Darling Husband into painting the hand-me-down dresser we got from his big sis.

Wordless Wednesday: Nursery sneak peek

Weekly re-cap of pregnancy #2: Week 24

Week 24 
(Jan. 7 through Jan. 13) 

Symptoms: Combatting the worst pregnancy symptom ever with bran muffins and lots of water. Pregnancy is so glamorous, isn't it? Shortness of breath is hot, too. And tiredness. And snoring.

Body changes: Darling Husband told me I look BIGGER this pregnancy than I did in my last. Um, WHAT? No, I am smaller. I think. Well, I thought. Until he said that. Asshole.

Belly button: Almost at the surface.

Baby movement: Some serious wallops this week from Baby Girl! I was impressed. She has been quite the gentle delicate flower so far, so it was nice to see -- well, feel -- some hefty jabs.

Cravings: Hamburgers with onions and pickles. I am a pregnancy cliche.

Aversions: Ate a particularly gross piece of cheese at the in-laws. I *thought* it was harmless old cheddar. Turns out it was something weird and wacky. I shall never trust their cheese-and-cracker offerings again.

High point: Having our do-over ultrasound and finding out that everything looks fine. Even though Baby Girl didn't cooperate during the first one, she did (eventually) this time, and they got all the heart photos they needed. Huge relief.

Low point: Slightly out-of-whack emotions, made worse by tiredness. I seem to be more tired suddenly, even though I go to bed at 10:30 p.m. every night and the Toddler of Terror doesn't usually wake me until 7:30 a.m. What gives???

How does this week compare to Week 24 during pregnancy #1? Apparently I had the startings of swelling at this point last time. Haha, Former Me! I haven't had any yet! ... Wait, I just jinxed myself, didn't I?

Baby preparation: Painted a super-gorgeous (if I do say so myself) mural-type-thing on the nursery wall, sewed the curtains and cribskirt, and successfully nagged Darling Husband into painting the bottom half of the nursery walls (wainscoting). It's really coming together!

Not Me Monday: Nesting lunacy edition

• Yesterday, I did not go absolutely bonkers with nesting craziness -- yes, even worse than a few weeks ago.
• I certainly didn't shut myself in the nursery and manically paint the chair-rail -- a delicious shade of pink called Candy Stripe -- with two coats in quick succession. Who has time for paint to dry? NOT ME OMG MUST FINISH!
• I did not let the fact that we were out of painter's tape deter me from painting. Who has time to run to the store? NOT ME OMG MUST FINISH! PAINT ANYWAY! Will fix sloppiness do touch-ups later!
• I was not unreasonably annoyed when Darling Husband popped his head into the room to ask what he should make the toddler for lunch.
• After he was banished left the room, I certainly didn't mutter things like, "I never ask YOU what I should feed OUR child for lunch ... Goddamn grilled cheese ... Not rocket science ... Rawrrrrr."
• When Darling Husband went off to work, I didn't continue to throw myself into the nursery chaos -- despite being exhausted.
• When my mom arrived for dinner, I, er, made dinner. I didn't just toss her the toddler and rush back to the nursery to start pulling up dropcloths and removing paint cans.
• I was not unreasonably upset when I realized Darling Husband had left the vacuum on some weird stair-only sucky-hose setting that I couldn't reverse. No, I just decided to patiently wait until he's home on Tuesday to help me with it. I would never go batshit crazy and then vacuum the whole room on my hands and knees with only a small sucky-hose tube thing.
• I did not cry when I realized I couldn't hang the curtain rod -- thus displaying my beautiful, handsewn, freshly-ironed curtains -- until he is home on Tuesday. Hot, angry, frustrated tears. No, not me.

Mommy Confession: My toddler embarrasses me in public

I mentioned in my last weekly re-cap that I've been having some rough times with the toddler. And, wow, yeah, I have. It sucks.

I don't know if it's an early onset of the Terrible Twos, or if he's cranky because he's not feeling well, or if I'm just overreacting, but I feel like it's so hard to control him in public lately. And I don't know how to handle the situation when he does act up -- if we leave, he wins! Arggggh!

Let me back up a little. He's great at playgroup -- where he can run like mad for the whole 90 minutes -- and he's good at other people's houses -- providing he can run around and explore. But taking him to a place where he really needs to behave -- like a restaurant or the library or a store -- and it can be baaaaaad.

All he wants to do, really, is run around. Lightning-fast, on his little sneakered or booted feet. When he stops running, he wants to touch things. And when he's not allowed to do one of those two things, he squawks. Lately he's been hating bibs, so he protests (loudly) when you try to put one on him. If he doesn't want to be in the shopping cart, he kicks his feet and fusses.

And I'm e-m-b-a-r-r-a-s-s-e-d.

I don't know how much is beyond his abilities, and how much I can realistically expect from him. He turned 19 months one week ago (on January 6), and I'm not sure what kind of behaviour he "should" be exhibiting in public. We only ever see other kids at playgroup, really -- when they're all turned loose -- and when we do see other kids out (like at the mall or in a restaurant), I see lots of meltdowns.

When it's MY child that is being fussy, I'm really embarrassed. I don't want people to think he's out of control, or that I'm a bad parent.

But when it's someone else's child, I don't mind. I don't even think those things! I just feel sympathetic. So why do I assume people are thinking that about me? I have no idea. I just ... do. I want to have a child who people consider well-behaved (in public, at least).

When he kicks his feet in the shopping cart so hard that his boots come off, and I'm squatting down to pick them up off the floor of the department store -- all big and pregnant-like -- and he's crying because he wants out of the cart, and I still have a list of things to pick up, and people are turning to stare, it's kind of awful and I just DO NOT want to be there.

Over the last few weeks, I feel like it's been worse. I have said to Darling Husband on more than one occassion that I feel like it's too hard to take him anywhere by myself.

I'm getting pregnant-er by the day, and it's HARD to pick him up mid-tantrum because he wants to try on a pair of mens' sneakers in the shoe department. It's HARD to hustle through a store carrying a 26-pound toddler, just so that he doesn't cry in ther cart. It's HARD to chase him through the library -- with "No Running" signs everywhere -- and keep him off the computers.

It's tiring to take him places lately.
And often embarrassing.
And I don't know if it's him or me who is to blame.

Astrology fun

So the new baby will be a Taurus -- a lovely, um, bull.

I did a little research, and it turns out that if astrology plays a part, the new baby is only highly-compatible with Darling Husband (a Scorpio).

Me (Leo) and the Toddler (Gemini)? "Low compatibilty."

On the plus side, the toddler and I have "high compatibility" with each other. And that really seems true. We are super-close and he is definitely a Mama's Boy.

Maybe Darling Husband really is going to get a Daddy's Girl? It could be written in the stars!

P.S. After looking up our childrens' charts, I looked up mine and Darling Husband's. Apparently Leos and Scorpios are NOT compatible. Astrology is crap!

Wordless Wednesday: Obsessing over ruffles!

*All photos from my Pinterest account. Follow me @hfxheather*