Week 19

Hello, second trimester. You’re very boring, you know that? You are just the long stretch between the roller coaster ride that is early pregnancy and the busy preparation of the last few months. Yawn.

There really is nothing new to report. I feel great! I’m just twiddling my thumbs over here. It’s too soon to start really making plans, such as a freezer cooking list or early labor To-Do list. We don’t really need any new things for the baby, so a registry is unnecessary. We co-sleep, so there’s no nursery to decorate. This really is just an in-between time, and it’s kind of driving me NUTS. I am definitely a planner, and I thrive on having a project to work on. I simply cannot just, well, be. I need to be organizing and figuring out and researching or else I feel empty and useless. It does help that we are working on putting our house on the market soon, but there’s only so much cleaning and packing a girl can do. I don’t want to look for houses until ours is at least officially listed, and I don’t want to get too crazy about moving (packing materials, moving trucks, etc) in case everything falls through. Sooooo, here I am.

I will take this time to tell you about my Birth/Pregnancy/Breastfeeding Pinterest board. In addition to Recipes and Homesteading, it’s my most updated board. I am what my midwife calls a ‘birth groupie.’ The whole process, from pregnancy to post-partum, absolutely fascinates me and I can’t get enough of it. I love reading birth stories and hearing about other women’s experiences, I love learning through modern research and traditional techniques. I think giving birth is just about the most important and powerful thing a woman can do, and that experience is life-altering. The way a woman handles labor says a lot about her, and I guess that’s what makes birth stories so interesting to me. It’s like reading someone’s personal journal, a glimpse into who they really are. I understand that some women are all about pain relief and getting the whole ordeal over with, but I am not one of them. Those women probably think people like me are twisted, finding a strange joy in the pain. It’s difficult to describe, but I have seen it equated to climbing a mountain or running a marathon. It is a triumph, a feat of extraordinary strength and determination that I believe can shape the way a woman feels about both herself and the world around her. Okay, I’m sounding a little crazy now, so I shall say goodnight.


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The Grumpy McWhinypants Corner 

 My main gripe is nursing. IT HURTS LIKE A SON OF A GUN. That is all.    

 

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Supplements

My blood work came back great except that my vitamin D is really low. I hadn't been taking my fermented cod liver oil regularly, so I am just making sure I take 2 teaspoons every single day. It's the absolute best source of natural vitamin D you can get (apart from the sun, of course). However, the sun's position over our part of the world during winter simply cannot give adequate vitamin D, no matter how long you stay outside. Perhaps that's why cod liver oil has been a vital food in the northern hemisphere for centuries!

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Pre-pregnancy Weight: 110 lbs

Current Weight:  125 lbs
Total Gain: 15 lbs