Second Trimester!

I can't believe how quickly the first trimester went by. I'm not even sure how that happened?! I swear I just posted about seeing the heartbeat the other day, and here I am now... 14 weeks 3 days. Life has been SO busy lately that I've really neglected posting about this pregnancy. Some highlights:

• Graduated from the RE's office around 8.5 weeks.
• Went on a week-long road trip with just me and the hubby.
• Had first OB appointment around 10.5 weeks; had a wretched time with the blood draw as usual, but got a bonus ultrasound when the doctor tried - and failed - to pick up a heartbeat on the doppler (it was a bit early to hear it but I think she could tell she'd freaked me out when we didn't get it, so sent me for u/s).
• Told close friends/co-workers and immediate family about Baby #2.
• Told N about his new baby sibling over Halloween weekend (and enlisted his help in telling my in-laws). He's very excited but also extremely practical in how he thinks about it (i.e. "but if the baby gets scared, it should come sleep in my bed and I'll keep it safe"). Super sweet.
• Had 12-week nuchal-translucency scan showing very active little human. Also did fancy new genetic screening test that includes gender. We have the results as of last week, so will post about that after we reveal it to family during Thanksgiving.
• Had next OB appointment today. No blood required (woohoo!) and got to hear the heartbeat finally. Baby was bouncing around in there creating a lot of static!

In terms of pregnancy symptoms (particularly this one vs. with N):

• Boobs still extremely sore. Like DO NOT TOUCH. Ever.
• Occasional bouts of nausea, but nothing severe (maybe even less than last time?) and usually cured by eating whatever is nearby.
• Decreased appetite in the sense that very few things sound appetizing. No hard-core aversions, but have a bit of a hard time with some meats. Meat that basically falls apart or is ground I can handle; meat that has to be bitten or cut with a knife (i.e. chicken, steak) sort of makes me gag. It's more of a texture issue than taste I think...
• Cravings-wise, the one thing that consistently sounds good is Ramen noodles. Seriously. I've eaten that for lunch or dinner at least 1-2 times per week. Otherwise, the only other thing that might count as a craving is Mexican food. 
• Sleep has been hit or miss. Like last time, I'm starting to have some nighttime discomfort (slight heartburn/reflux, hip and neck pain), so that's definitely a contributing factor.
• And speaking of pain, I'm definitely "feeling" pregnant lately. The second-trimester round ligament pain has arrived, and it's not pleasant. I should probably try to actually do yoga semi-regularly, as I recall this helped alleviate some of that last time? 
• The new symptom I'm having this time around is bloating. Like insane, really severe, feels like I'm going to burst into little pieces bloating. I had some early on, but that was as I was still weaning off the FET hormones. It went away thankfully, and then it came back last week. With a vengeance. Yesterday I was in so much discomfort between the round ligament pain and the bloating, I almost cried at work. I did eventually confirm that OTC stuff like Gas-X is okay to use, so used some of that yesterday afternoon/evening and it did help. Let's hope this was just a passing fluke and isn't going to be an on-going issue, because HOLY MOLY.

What else? The bump is there, and what they say about it popping out sooner rather than later with subsequent pregnancies is very true. I honestly think I've been raising suspicions at work for about a month now, but definitely as of last week I'm no longer able to "suck it in" and disguise it.

So there... a bit of an update. Long overdue and certainly incomplete, but I'm hoping to get back to posting more frequently now that September and October (two of our busiest months of the year) are over. Next up for me to mull over in this space: OB vs. midwife and with or without doula...