Second Trimester Update

Hard to believe that I'm almost done with the second trimester! I'm sorry I haven't been posting more--after 5 years of consciously keeping personal stuff off my main blog, it's turning out to be a hard habit to break.

Gavin and I are both doing fine. I'm gaining weight slowly but steadily. I took a weekend trip to California (just got back last night), and that will be my last big trip for a while. Traveling was still pretty easy, although my back has been aching more recently, even in situations that used to be comfortable. (No surprise there!) Getting up and walking around has cured the problem every time so far. I'm still sleeping fine, and haven't much needed wedge or body pillows (yet). I'm also still wearing my hiking boots, although I'll need to find some comfy slip-on shoes/sandals soon--my feet aren't swelling, but bending over to tie my laces is getting less comfortable.

I've got another OB appointment tomorrow, including tests for anemia and gestational diabetes. Not expecting any problems there, although I won't be surprised if they put me on extra iron supplements. When I would go to donate blood before, I was usually about 50/50 for being turned down because of slightly low hemoglobin levels. I'd be surprised if pregnancy made that sort of thing better!

Curtis and I passed a big milestone last week when we started in on the 6-week delivery/parenting class offered by the hospital. After just one session we've already found it very useful--we're both the sort of people who feel calmer when we have more information. Just the revelation about what it is that contractions are actually doing (early contractions are modifying the birth canal, not pushing the baby out yet) will help me be more calm and rational about the whole thing. We're also learning about what the hospital offers in the delivery rooms, and what to expect in terms of doctor and nurse care. It's all very reassuring for us, and we're looking forward to the other sessions.

So everything is moving forward! We haven't made a big push to acquire all the stuff we'll need yet. I think we'll spend June learning more about just what we'll need, and then we'll start seriously acquiring in July. We are starting to move things around to get the nursery cleared out--so far we've moved two of the seven bookcases out!