New year, new post!

I haven't abandoned this blog!  I'm sorry things have been so quiet here.  Part of me struggles with what's share-worthy and the other part is that my pregnancy has been kind of boring to be honest... which is a good thing!  To recap: My first trimester was smooth sailing with no nausea, hurrah!

What you've missed: My second trimester had a tiny bit of drama.  I went to the ER on 2 separate occasions.  The first was for chest pains that ended up being muscle tension, easily remedied with a dose of Tylenol.  (Still not entirely sure what the source of the tension was, but I've since stopped subbing for my MIL's bowling league and have had no recurrences.)  The second was for "pre-term contractions" when I was 18 weeks along.  The doctor attributed it to dehydration (although I wasn't dehydrated enough for the tests to detect), gave me some fluids, and sent me home.  I was told to increase my water intake to "a gallon and a half per day," which I followed for several days, and eventually the contractions went away.  I haven't kept up with the gallon and a half quota since then, but I think I've found a happy medium between being nice to my uterus and being nice to my bladder because there haven't been any further contractions.  Also, Chris and I found out the gender of our baby at our 20-week ultrasound!  We're so excited to know and are planning on revealing the news to everyone at the baby shower in Michigan, which is being planned for February. :)

Recent developments: I'm definitely starting to look and feel more pregnant!  I think I "popped" around 15 weeks and those who know me could tell, but I'm sure I just looked fat/overweight to strangers.  At this point though, I definitely have a belly!  I'm lucky that I can still zip up my down coat during these cold months!  It's probably because of my padded coat that I'm still able to enjoy some anonymity about being pregnant.  So far no strangers have asked me about it or tried to touch my belly.  I'm also starting to feel like my organs are being squished and that my breathing is somewhat compromised at times.  The feeling is strange and slightly uncomfortable, but not unbearable.  I guess I should also mention that I'm feeling the bean move more frequently.  I can't tell you when I first felt the baby move because I'm not entirely sure.  I felt "fluttering" early on, so I'm not sure when the movements progressed to the "jabs" I feel now.  Chris has had the good fortune of feeling the baby kick twice now!  The first time was on December 19, 2010 and the second time was on New Year's Day, January 1, 2011.

Now that it's officially 2011, I'm starting to feel the pressure to get everything ready for the baby's arrival!  With the token weight-loss-resolution definitely not feasible for this pregnant lady (ha-ha), I hope to be better about posting to this blog instead!