In my first pregnancy, I published a brief blog post for each week of gestation, and I’m very glad to have that experience documented, particularly as I navigate this subsequent pregnancy. I’d like to do the same this time, but I’m not sure I’ll have the time to compose such frequent updates. I contemplated monthly posts, but it seems like so much can change within the the span of a single month of pregnancy. So, for now, I’m trying out the biweekly model. Without further ado, here’s how weeks 14 and 15 treated me:

Week 14: I’m continuing to feel more like my normal self–I even went on a run this morning for the first time in a few weeks. It was hot (because, Alabama, duh), but getting my blood pumping like that again was kind of exhilarating. Runner’s high is real, y’all. One night this week I had a short bout of round ligament pain. It seems early for such things, particularly because I didn’t experience this until about 17 weeks last time around. My belly could be 3 weeks ahead of where it was with Caleb though, ha!

In other news, I took inventory of all the maternity clothes in my house. I have quite a few pieces to choose from because both of my sisters happily handed over their maternity wardrobes. The only thing I think I’ll need is a few pairs of jeans. I basically lived in the same pair of dark-wash jeans for the last few months of my first pregnancy, and I just never got around to buying a few more pairs to put into rotation. However, jeans shopping at the height of summer sounds like pretty much the worst thing ever, so maybe I’ll wait until the fall…

Week 15: People always seem to want to know what a pregnant woman is craving, and up until this week I didn’t really have a good answer (“um, cheese? oh wait, that’s every day of my life”). Then, starting on Friday of last week, I’ve been having an insatiable desire for oranges. It all started when the “What to Expect” app said that Baby C is the size of a navel orange this week. I read that, and then couldn’t stop thinking about eating a juicy orange. So I bought a 5-pound bag of oranges and have been thoroughly enjoying them on the daily. I’ve also been relishing a nightly cup of Tazo Passion tea (which coincidentally has orange peel in it).

I also had a check-up with the doctor this week, and we discussed some blood work results. The first part of my “integrated prenatal screening” indicated low risk for chromosomal abnormalities, which is reassuring (but I know, not a guarantee). They collected blood again for the second part of the screening to get a more complete picture of the overall risk; I’ll get those results at my next appointment if not earlier. We also did the usual listening to the baby’s heartbeat–it was as strong as ever, ranging from 153 to 157 bpm.

—————————————————————————————

I can’t complain too much about very occasional belly pain and a citrus obsession…so I’d say I’m doing well! I hope the trend continues for weeks 16 & 17.