2nd Trimester! (And a belly pic)

(Ignore my dirty bathroom mirror.)

((I had to skip hair AND makeup today to take this picture and upload it onto my ancient laptop before work. You're welcome.))

(((Yes, that is a hair band wrapped around my pants.)))

One trimester down, two more to go. Let's pause for a moment and reflect on the highs and lows of the last 3 months:

- never threw up (high)

- exhaustion (low)

- did I mention EXHAUSTION?!?

- Unisom got rid of nausea (high)

- disappearing from life for about 4 weeks because I was tired, sick, and depressed (low)

- ONLY GAINING TWO POUNDS!

That's right! I ended the 1st trimester with a total 2 lbs weight gain. Don't ask me how I did it (considering I pounded down bean burritos and Sheetz breakfast sandwiches) but I am thankful. I was scared to death that I was going to gain way too much.

Before anyone slams me for worrying about weight while preggers: Get real. We ALL worry about our weight! Every single pregnancy book, magazine, and internet site jams the "appropriate" weight gain down our throats. If I don't gain enough, I'm a selfish pregorexic. If I gain too much, I'm a giant McFatty.

I'm still wearing my normal clothes--with the help of a Bella Band or a hair band. The Bella Band is irritating me because it refuses to stay put. It's always sliding up and rolling into a ball around my waist, and by the end of the day I want to rip it off and throw it across the room. Right now, the $0.25 hair band is working better than the $25 Bella Band.

As you can see in the picture, my stomach is puffy and generally inflamed with anger towards that uppity thing called a uterus. It bloats up into a horrific mess at night, and then it shrinks back down. One of these days, it's going to bloat and stay that way--and I'll have to move into the maternity pants. (Right now I only use them on really bad days.)

My energy is back, the nausea is gone, and I'm feeling great! I'm going to ride this out for as long as it lasts.