17 Weeks

They say every pregnancy is different. That was certainly true for my first trimester and it looks like the second is going to be no exception. Here's what's going on with my wacky body now:

- NAILS: My sisters and I are all three blessed with very strong nails that grow very long. Back in my un-childed days I spent a lot of time on my nails. I had a vast array of colored polish and gave myself manicures on a regular basis. Pregnancy makes your nails even harder. So whereas before they would get to certain length (start to curl) and they would start breaking off- at this point there is no breaking in sight and my talons are starting to make it difficult to do things. Not to mention it is kind of gross. If only I had the energy and memory to get out the clippers when they are accessible!

- GAG REFLEX: For some reason I have been having a terrible time trying to swallow my pregnancy vitamins. With my first pregnancy I took two giant horse pills a day with no problems. This time around the pills are only slightly larger than your average Tylenol and I can't seem to choke it down. My doctor confirmed that sometimes with pregnancy you can get an overactive gag reflex (usually manifesting in the 1st trimester when you gag on your toothbrush, etc.) I always take pills with water and what seems to happen is that all the water goes down and then the pill lodges in my throat. I have felt like I was going to choke on both my vitamin and DHA supplement (actually hung upside down gagging till they fell out of my throat) so that now I am afraid to take them. The vitamin I was able to cut in half which was helping for a while. I read on the internets that you can also eat two Flintstones complete vitamins with a folic acid supplement and call it a day. I tried that this morning and you know what? They are not as yummy as I remembered. I have no idea why Miss D likes them so much. The DHA supplement is a gel, which I pierced and sucked out the juice yesterday and it didn't taste nearly as bad as I thought it might.

BACK: I am already experiencing some discomfort sleeping- which seems really early to me, althoug a friend of mine pregnant with her third child said that seemed about right. At this point, I am not supposed to lie on my back anymore. (Side only please. Left side if you want your baby to be the bestest it can be. True! Google it.) when I lie on my side the top leg tends to get numb/sore. If I put a pillow between my knees then my back starts to hurt. So here I am at 17 weeks already sandwiched between two pillows and poor Husband can't get anywhere near me.

FEET: I actually have no idea if this has anything to do with pregnancy- but a couple of weeks ago I experienced my first ever foot cramp. AAAAAGGGHHHHH! I don't know if you've ever had one but it feels like your foot is trying to suck into itself and is incredibly painful. Then yesterday I went to belly dance class for the first time in like 6 weeks and got another one during the cool-down. I really hope this isn't going to be something I suffer from for life now.

Taking belly dance class was really fun - and really weird. It felt really good to be being active. But my body has changed so much already that everything felt really different. My hips are not where they normally are. And one move in particular made me feel like I was slamming the baby right into my bladder. Oof! Miss D was definitely a rocker baby. This baby has been exposed to the rock as well (not as much) but will be a belly dance baby. I'm dying to see if it will have a preference for those vibrating chairs when it comes out.