[20 Weeks]

The First Trimester

The first trimester was admittedly brutal, though not nearly as bad as when I was carrying Kasen (I was so nauseous when I was carrying him, and was taking public transportation to work at the time, so every motion and smell made everything worse). Chewable ginger candies, granola bars, bananas, and saltines saved the day, and I was incredibly tired, all of the time. I didn't want to drink coffee, at all. I was always hungry in the middle of the night so I always needed snacks handy right by the bed. We were also dealing with the move and eventual demolition of our house, so that added stress made things worse. I experienced some slight bleeding, and when I went to our hospital's Maternal Fetal Medicine unit to check on the baby they identified a small hematoma along the uterine lining  - sounds scary, I know - we had to monitor it closely to make sure it did not cause a problem for the baby. While causes for hematomas are unknown, they can cause miscarriages or early pre term labor; or it can continue to exist and just get smaller as the proportion of the fetus grows larger, and become less of a concern as we pass through to the second trimester. To our relief it ended up being the latter, but I did worry every day for my little one. Thank goodness for a fantastic MFM and OB team to help us through it!

The Second Trimester

Now that I finally had my appetite back I was able to start gaining some weight. I gained nothing in the first three months, but began to slowly eat more and gain weight. By 20 weeks - halfway through my pregnancy - I have already gained about 14 lbs! I had random cravings here and there (strawberry ice cream or steak and cheeses or tuna fish sandwiches for one) but for the most part this baby had me eat much more healthily than Kasen did. I tended to crave savory, tangy items, and typically enjoyed eating eggs (boiled, fried, scrambled, in a sandwich, or stir fried with tomatoes), salads, and fruits. Love love love fresh salads and fruits. Blood oranges, cara cara oranges, blood orange juice, apples, strawberries, blackberries, you name it. I had an obsession with peanut butter sandwiches for a while, too. Not liking cow's milk as much but definitely liking the carrageenan-free Almond Milk from Califia Farms for my calcium (it's yummy!). And I still like a big hunk of protein - whether it's chicken or steak or pork, nothing satisfies me more. I'm currently eating a bowl of bolognese with angel hair pasta and broccolini. So. Good. And satisfying.

A few weeks ago since I was going to be 35 when I delivered in May 2016, I was given a genetic counselor and was suggested that I undergo genetic testing since risks of genetic problems increase (according to the doctors) as one gets older. Part of it was that you also find out the gender of the baby - there's no guessing the number of X's and Y's, and is more accurate than determine whether or not it is a "hot dog" (boy) or "hamburger" (girl) (according to my doctor friend Ling this is the lingo that they use:). My genetic counselor called one morning while I was driving to work, and as it hooked up to my bluetooth and she revealed the news I was ecstatic. We were having a GIRL! Ken and I felt like we won the lottery! Now we would have one of each. And I would get to have fun dressing my little girl up while having the pleasure of raising a strong yet feminine girl:) And Ken would have his daddy's little girl :)

A major upside of the frequent MFM visits are the constant peeks at our daughter in the ultrasound, and the keepsake photos that we take with us. She looks like she has Ken's nose and deep eyesockets and forehead, though maybe it's still too early to tell. Would love it if she looked alot like Kasen (and Ken) with the same huge eyes, but hey, I can't be too picky - it's up to chance!