Second Trimester Pregnancy Update And Some Tips!

I've had a lot of ladies ask how I'm doing in this pregnancy, so I thought it was time for an update!

Currently I'm in my second trimester, and finally have started seeing a glimpse of the second trimester energy that normally comes. A very small glimpse, but I'm thankful for anything!

The sickness and vomiting is gone, though I've started experiencing some nausea again at times. I lost 10 pounds from being so sick in the first trimester, and so far I've gained 13 pounds, so I'm only 3 pounds over my starting weight. Not the best, but at least I gained back what I lost and I am gaining some over now.

The good news is the baby is very active, and I get lots of kicks, punches, and movement to let me know that it is in there! My round ligament pains have started, so rolling over in bed with ligament pains while being kicked inside by the baby is always a fun experience. :) I wouldn't trade it for anything though, I'm so excited to hold this little one!

                     

What causes me the most pain is my varicose veins. My right leg is what is covered with veins, and my ankle especially has been pretty swollen this time. Driving and sewing can get painful as the blood seems to pull up in my ankle when I'm sitting.

I've found two things to help. One is a tip that a lady from church told my mother in law, who then told me! When my ankle is really swollen, I lay in my bed on my back and put my leg straight up in the air for a  few minutes. It's absolutely amazing how much that seems to help. You can almost feel the swelling going down, and it's much better after doing that for a few minutes. It's just a temporary fix but I'm grateful for it!

The other thing I've started doing to help my varicose veins is to exercise! Yes I know, it's the dreaded word we don't like to hear. :) When I'm not pregnancy I like doing T- Tapp videos, but since I've been dizzy this pregnancy I wasn't up for the bending over movements in the workout. So I've gone back to doing Leslie Sansone's "Walk Away The Pounds" workout. My favorite is the "Walk Away The Pound Express - 1 mile easy walk 2 miles brisk walk."  It is easy to do, and goes by really fast. When I do the workout in the morning, my swelling does not come until later in the day.

I'm still anemic so I'm faithfully taking iron still, trying to get it raised to a home birth level. Yes, we plan to do another home birth with a midwife I just love. :) She has been at three of my four children's birth, and she feels more like a friend than a midwife to me. My goal is to have a water birth again. My first three children were water births, but due to set up issues our last was not born in the water. I found out I much prefer water of dry land births. :)

I'm due January 9th, and the way the days keep flying by it will be here before we know!