Baby #2: Weeks 12 - 14

13 weeks

Dates: December 24, 2013 - January 13, 2014

Highlights: We've made it through the end of the first trimester! Week 12 kicked off with Christmas at home with my family, which is always a highlight. Once I hit 13 weeks, I finally shared the news at work, which was a huge relief. Everyone was very excited and supportive. I am loving finally being able to flaunt my belly and give all of my big scarves and baggy sweaters a break. The biggest highlight of all was finding out baby's gender toward the end of week 14... I'll share the details tomorrow! We are extremely thankful that baby appears to be healthy and that we are finally entering the promised land of the second trimester. It's been so much fun to share the news with everyone!

Symptoms: I had a pretty good week while I was home in Portland during Christmas, but I backtracked a little bit with the nausea once we returned home to Austin. Week 13 was rough. It's definitely worse later in the day and in the evenings, and I'm still experiencing a lot of food aversions. Red meat really sounds terrible, and not much food is appealing. However, over New Year's one of my good friends dropped off her enormous U-shaped body pillow for me to use throughout the duration of the pregnancy, and I am loving my sleep with that thing! (Jason puts up with it taking up well over half the bed, and I've even caught him cozied up in it and reading a book before I've come to bed. I think he's a little jealous!)

14 weeks

What's Different: With Nicholas, I felt noticeably better at 10 weeks and my nausea was completely gone at 12 weeks. This time, it's definitely lingering longer. I've also noticed that I'm growing more in areas that were generally unaffected last time around (cough, my rear end, cough.) I commented on this fact one evening and Jason sheepishly admitted that he's noticed as well. Awesome. To add insult to injury, as of 14 weeks, I've gained 8 pounds-- twice as much as I gained with Nicholas during the same time period. But, I'm trying to just make healthy choices daily and not worry about it too much.

What's the Same: Still tired, still enjoying a variety of other tummy troubles.

What I Miss: I missed a nice glass of red wine at Christmas dinner and a champagne toast at New Year's.

What I'm Looking Forward To: Now that we know the gender, it's time to start planning the nursery! I didn't have many ideas in mind before finding out, so I'm looking forward to browsing some of my favorite websites and stores to get inspiration. And, a new nursery means it's also time to start planning a big boy room! Lots of fun stuff ahead.