Pregnancy Whoas

I am 23 weeks and 3 days pregnant and life couldn't be better.  People often ask me how I am feeling and I can honestly say "great!"  The second trimester seems way longer than the first but that's probably because you don't even know that you are in your first trimester of pregnancy until the 5th or 6th week, and by then it is halfway through.  I definitely look pregnant now, though I could still easily conceal it under loose clothing if I wanted to.  In the last couple weeks my belly has been itchy and I haven't been sleeping as well.  I've been hungry a lot (I am enjoying a nice glass of milk as I am writing this at 4 am) and seem to be craving chocolate a little more.  The last time my belly felt itchy and stretching was in week 18, when my baby bump first appeared, so I am sure this is just another pregnancy growth spurt.  I had some unpleasant reaction to cocoa butter so I have switched back to Bio Oil and pure shea butter to relieve the discomfort.  I also gave in and finally (after 22 weeks) bought maternity and could-be-used-as-maternity clothes.  Can I just say that maternity pants are the best!  I went to Motherhood Maternity and bought 5 pairs of pants for work.  Another pregnancy favorite is the belly band, which allows me to continue wearing my pre-pregnancy jeans unbuttoned. 

So far, I think this pregnancy looks pretty good on me :) and it has been a positive experience.  I think it really helps to be positive and have a good attitude about life, and I also believe that I am in control of my emotions, not the other way around.  Another thing that has been helpful for me is filtering negative and irrelevant talk.  For example, at our last doctor's appointment where Chris and I found out the baby's sex (which was such an exciting milestone in our lives), I knew that there was a chance that the baby would not cooperate but I didn't let that ruin my excitement.  Why did I even need to worry about that?  If the baby decided to cross his legs and not reveal his genitals then let the doctor tell us that.  I didn't need it in the back of my mind ruining my excitement in the waiting room!  And as much as we were hoping for a boy, OF COURSE we would have been just as happy and blessed had Baby Jake been a girl (by the way, next time around I will not even say out loud if I am hoping for a boy or a girl).  One more thing, I am aware that each pregnancy is different and I will experience that on my own.  The moral of the story is that people will tell you things you probably don't need/want to hear because they care/want to protect you from disappointment/like to feel that they know better than you.  You can't change people, but you can change the way you react to them.

SO FAR, I have not had much of the common pregnancy symptoms and woes-  I never really got morning sickness; I haven't become absent-minded or clumsy; I don't have any swelling (yet?); I don't have mood swings and I am not an emotional wreck.  I was tired a lot in the first trimester so I just took a lot of naps, which I love doing anyway.  I genuinely feel happy and normal, if not even better than I did before I got pregnant!  I know I have one more trimester to go but that doesn't take away the fact that this pregnancy has been a wonderful experience so far.  And no I am not minimizing (if I feel like shit, you will know).  I'm simply keeping it real.