All Kinds of Time: Pregnancy Journal

October 2 - January 14

Baby: Things finally got going in the second trimester in terms of feeling like I actually had a baby in my belly. First, we had our mid-term ultrasound on November 22, just before Thanksgiving and found out we were having a BOY! :) Around the same time, I finally felt like I was "showing" as they say and started sporting maternity pants just in time for Thanksgiving. SO COMFY!
Milestones: The biggest milestone of my pregnancy so far for me has been the first time I felt baby move :) I had been anxiously awaiting the moment, having been told that it would be between 16 and 25 weeks (but later if you had stronger abs, so, you know, I was happy to wait!). For a few days, I mistook an upset stomach for the baby moving. Then, on Decemer 3 at 2:35pm (I have this on record because I was chatting online with my friend Lana at the time!), I felt a distinct "flick" against the front of my belly (into my desk). It was so crazy and also really awesome. It was just a couple days later when Taylor was able to feel him move for the first time, too.
Surprises: Taylor and I decided to surprise our families by sharing the name we had chosen for our little guy as a Christmas "gift". So I bought baby blocks with the letters of his name and we did a little scavenger hunt/word scramble by making them find all the blocks around the house and then unscramble them into his name, Eli David :) It was so fun and we're glad everyone seems to like the name we picked (or they aren't telling us otherwise!)
Ailments: I was super hungry all throughout my second trimester, which I wouldn't call an ailment, but it was sort of unsettling the amount of food I was eating. Around Christmas, I also contracted a cough that would stick with me (spoiler alert) for pretty much the rest of my pregnancy, leading to a variety of other third-trimester ailments I'll tell you all about.
Cravings: Again, I just ate everything in sight in my second trimester, which included the whole of the holidays, so lots of sweet and salty foods were had!
Mood: Great! The second trimester was nice because the baby started to grow, we knew his gender, and people could start to tell I was pregnant. My energy level also went back up and any nausea that I had felt went away, so overall I was happy!
Getting Ready Projects: We finally started getting ready just a little bit in the second trimester :) We ripped up the carpet in my office, which was to become the nursery. We did this with the help of my parents on Christmas Day. I spent most of our babymoon researching baby products and went to Babies R Us with my mom when we got back to register for all the baby goodies!
Activity Level: During my second trimester I took a 6-week tennis clinic on Monday nights and also tried to walk Nashville as much as I could. Sadly, I just didn't have the energy or desire to run and the one time I did try, I couldn't believe how heavy Eli felt on my bladder even though he wasn't even that big! I also started prenatal yoga toward the end of my second trimester, which was a great, low-impact way to at least get some activity in.
Travel: In my belly, Eli did more travelling in the second trimester. He went to:

Binghampton, NY for our friends Morgan and Dan's wedding
New York City - for work, 4 times (!) for a total of 9 days
New Jersey - for Thanksgiving to see Taylor's family
Phoenix - to be with my mom while she recovered from surgery
Sea Island Georgia - for our friend Jessi's wedding
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic - This trip was combined with the trip to Georgia and was our "babymoon." We stayed at an all-inclusive resort and just relaxed and enjoyed some beautiful weather for a few days before heading back for the worst winter EVER in Michigan!

Photos: Full album, including photos with Nashville can be found here.