Second Trimester Highlights
The second trimester is from week 13 to week 27.
During the early onset of second trimester, Piya's in-laws visited them for a very short period and luckily that was the time frame when Piya's appetite was building up and her mother-in-law's help and cooking was quite a savior. But, everytime she got that hot breakfast from her MIL, she only wondered "Oh well, may be just for two more weeks :( ". Oh, Piya also seemed to have an affinity towards sweets around this time..
The family also planned on a short trip to somewhere and Piya couldn't join for health reasons and Jill (ofcourse, she is still the baby of the household). But, that's when she felt all the hormones surging in. She missed her hubby so much those two nights. Jay comforted Piya his best though. When he was back home, Piya's joy knew no bounds and she said "I can't be separated any more!" and Jay sparkled his magic smile immediately.
Being the second trimester, friends and relatives were also now informed of the news. But, every time someone was informed of the news, Piya only felt a tad bit nervous and was just hoping it all goes well. Her in-laws soon left and the couple drove to Chicago to drop them off at the airport along with Jill. Jay took Piya to all her favorite restaurants in Chicago's Little India -- yummy Pani Puris street-style, Phulkas, sugarcane juice, vegetable biryani, Idlis.. yum yum.
Both Piya and Jill preferred eating at home, but Piya was tired at times and that's when the cranky behavior kicked in. Luckily, it wasn't too bad..not yet. But, she couldn't really understand why people told her "Second trimester is the best, you gain all your energy back..blah blah". She did not feel so.
In fact, trying to sleep on side (as recommended) caused discomforts in her thigh area, but longer walks sometimes helped her. Also, to avoid "varicose veins" onset, she started keeping her feet on a raised area, e.g just lay a couple of pillows for your legs to rest while working or napping.
It was almost 20 weeks and the couple went for the most awaited ultrasound scans. Until the last minute, the debate went on as to whether they wanted to know the sex of the baby or not. Jay, from the first wanted it to be a surprise and Piya thought it was a nice idea and also wanted to see for herself the expression on Jay's face and herself when the baby was born. Did they have a preference? -- What's the point? :) Some days, Piya thought a girl would be so nice to have, she can spend time dressing her up all day and enroll her in Indian music and dance lessons. If it were a girl, she thought daddy would bond with the daughter and it would be so nice to see that (Oh the assumption is that, daughters are closer to daddy and sons are closer to mommy..that's how the data points looked like thus far). Well, but the other days she thought a boy baby would protect mommy no matter what (Not saying, girls don't protect their parents. Piya herself was very protective of her parents) and the boy would be enrolled in sports activities and what a wonderful sight it would be to see the son bond with daddy, especially when it comes to learning about "cars" -- Jay's favorite in the whole world. Jay and Piya had a Corvette and they decided they would keep the Corvette if it were a boy; or trade it in for something else otherwise. Jay also quoted "We already have Jill, so a boy would be great. But, ofcourse if it's a girl and as affectionate as Jill, what more do I need?" -- So, in summary, Piya and Jay were sure to fall in love with this baby no matter what and decided that the ultrasound should really be to make sure the baby looks healthy thus far! And, that's what they did -- "No, we don't want to know the sex of the baby. We plan to keep it a surprise" , they said to the ultrasound technician.
Of course, the family was very much into knowing the sex of the baby and her in-laws, mom/dad kind of hoped for a boy, whereas her sister and most friends just predicted it's gonna be a girl. Piya took a note of the guesses made by everyone!
So, the ultrasound went great and the couple stood truly amazed in checking out the different organs being formed and that cute little face! The baby kept his or her hands kind of behind the head -or- supporting the head with great poise. That resembled Jay and Piya's dad and they were so thrilled to see that. Later they saw the baby's blood flow, heart pumping, spinal cord, etc etc -- A miracle indeed. Few minutes later, the baby "yawned" -- "omg, I can't believe that", said Piya. And, then he/she started kicking pretty hard. And, Jay asked "Piya, do you feel the kicks..our little one is kick boxing". "Not really.. but can't wait to feel those first kicks", said Piya. The technician commented that the baby had beautiful lips and that the baby seemed super active and is going to keep me up as the trimester progresses. We also noticed the baby's hiccups and also for a few seconds.. the baby was sucking his/her thumb already! - wow, what a beautiful moment! Piya took that as a little hint to denote that the neurological senses were getting lined up, which was great.
Every day Piya and Jay would talk about what kind of old wives tales were around and what people told her about the sex of the baby..to play the guessing game. The guessing game continued for a long time. Also, Jay thought the ultrasound technician kind of let out a hint involuntarily :) Oh well, we never know! Let's save that for the end of the story, shall we?
First kick--
Mid-to-late August, Piya started feeling tiny kicks (people refer to it as feeling bubbles ..or popcorns). One of the first kicks were when Piya was listening to "M.S Subbulaksmi's Annamacharya Kritis". "Feeling kicks.. truly amazing and simply a reassurance that the baby is doing okay", she said to Jay. Jay was longing to feel those kicks himself and finally he was able to feel a kick on Piya's tummy..a moment forever!
The daily walks continued with Jay and Jill, Her neighbors started asking if she was pregnant.
Piya's sister visited in Summer with her daughter, Ri.. about 7 years old. Ri and Piya were pretty close and Ri was a dog lover, just like Piya. Piya's sister cooked yummy food while she was with them for a weekend. Later, Ri stayed for a longer time and it was a fun summer for her with Jill, myself and Jay. Piya loved the company of Ri. After a couple of weeks, Piya had to head to work in another state. Ri accompanied Piya and headed back home as well.
Piya, sometimes felt pretty exhausted while in the middle of work from home. Other times, she was quite normal trying to wrap up as much stuff as she could while she can. She was never fond of leaving Jay and Jill,while traveling for work. But, it is what it is..and her niece was the only thing she looked forward to while traveling for work. And, she always strived to make the travel a success. She always wanted to give her best at work, for which the work travel was indispensable. Piya's work travel went fine and since Piya was definitely starting to show, most of her colleagues were then informed of the great news. Although Piya felt a little tired during long meetings, the baby's kick served to cheer her up or even giggle to herself sometimes in the meeting room :)
It was the last week of her second trimester and Piya was about +16 pounds the pre-pregnancy weight. But, she started off pretty slim, so it all seemed good. Piya had to attend a 2-day meeting on the west coast and since it was sort of closer to the third trimester and given the fact that there was no direct flight to the destination from her place, it was for sure going to be a one-day travel with mulitple conenctions. She knew she wouldn't be up for it, unless Jay accompanied her. Jay readily agreed to join her to be of help and needless to say Piya was happy-happy and considering it to be the last trip with just the two of them! The trip was great work-wise; and spending time with hubby wise. They got to take a long stroll in Piya's favorite parts of the city, took short bus rides to commute and they also met an old friend and his mom's cooking was sort of the highlight of the trip. Jay was super wonderful to Piya those few days and took great care of her and never once complained that he had to be alone in the hotel room most of the day. He kept himself occupied with his work and school stuff; and he also got to relax a bit..which was pretty essential for he was swamped with work lately. What a wonderful trip!
Of course..with long flights come the side-effects of leg pain and fatigue. Piya dealt with it, but she was glad she did not fall sick.
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| Mutter Paneer |
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| Sooji Kesari |
The family also planned on a short trip to somewhere and Piya couldn't join for health reasons and Jill (ofcourse, she is still the baby of the household). But, that's when she felt all the hormones surging in. She missed her hubby so much those two nights. Jay comforted Piya his best though. When he was back home, Piya's joy knew no bounds and she said "I can't be separated any more!" and Jay sparkled his magic smile immediately.
Being the second trimester, friends and relatives were also now informed of the news. But, every time someone was informed of the news, Piya only felt a tad bit nervous and was just hoping it all goes well. Her in-laws soon left and the couple drove to Chicago to drop them off at the airport along with Jill. Jay took Piya to all her favorite restaurants in Chicago's Little India -- yummy Pani Puris street-style, Phulkas, sugarcane juice, vegetable biryani, Idlis.. yum yum.
Both Piya and Jill preferred eating at home, but Piya was tired at times and that's when the cranky behavior kicked in. Luckily, it wasn't too bad..not yet. But, she couldn't really understand why people told her "Second trimester is the best, you gain all your energy back..blah blah". She did not feel so.
In fact, trying to sleep on side (as recommended) caused discomforts in her thigh area, but longer walks sometimes helped her. Also, to avoid "varicose veins" onset, she started keeping her feet on a raised area, e.g just lay a couple of pillows for your legs to rest while working or napping.
Girl -or- Boy?
It was almost 20 weeks and the couple went for the most awaited ultrasound scans. Until the last minute, the debate went on as to whether they wanted to know the sex of the baby or not. Jay, from the first wanted it to be a surprise and Piya thought it was a nice idea and also wanted to see for herself the expression on Jay's face and herself when the baby was born. Did they have a preference? -- What's the point? :) Some days, Piya thought a girl would be so nice to have, she can spend time dressing her up all day and enroll her in Indian music and dance lessons. If it were a girl, she thought daddy would bond with the daughter and it would be so nice to see that (Oh the assumption is that, daughters are closer to daddy and sons are closer to mommy..that's how the data points looked like thus far). Well, but the other days she thought a boy baby would protect mommy no matter what (Not saying, girls don't protect their parents. Piya herself was very protective of her parents) and the boy would be enrolled in sports activities and what a wonderful sight it would be to see the son bond with daddy, especially when it comes to learning about "cars" -- Jay's favorite in the whole world. Jay and Piya had a Corvette and they decided they would keep the Corvette if it were a boy; or trade it in for something else otherwise. Jay also quoted "We already have Jill, so a boy would be great. But, ofcourse if it's a girl and as affectionate as Jill, what more do I need?" -- So, in summary, Piya and Jay were sure to fall in love with this baby no matter what and decided that the ultrasound should really be to make sure the baby looks healthy thus far! And, that's what they did -- "No, we don't want to know the sex of the baby. We plan to keep it a surprise" , they said to the ultrasound technician.
Of course, the family was very much into knowing the sex of the baby and her in-laws, mom/dad kind of hoped for a boy, whereas her sister and most friends just predicted it's gonna be a girl. Piya took a note of the guesses made by everyone!
So, the ultrasound went great and the couple stood truly amazed in checking out the different organs being formed and that cute little face! The baby kept his or her hands kind of behind the head -or- supporting the head with great poise. That resembled Jay and Piya's dad and they were so thrilled to see that. Later they saw the baby's blood flow, heart pumping, spinal cord, etc etc -- A miracle indeed. Few minutes later, the baby "yawned" -- "omg, I can't believe that", said Piya. And, then he/she started kicking pretty hard. And, Jay asked "Piya, do you feel the kicks..our little one is kick boxing". "Not really.. but can't wait to feel those first kicks", said Piya. The technician commented that the baby had beautiful lips and that the baby seemed super active and is going to keep me up as the trimester progresses. We also noticed the baby's hiccups and also for a few seconds.. the baby was sucking his/her thumb already! - wow, what a beautiful moment! Piya took that as a little hint to denote that the neurological senses were getting lined up, which was great.
Every day Piya and Jay would talk about what kind of old wives tales were around and what people told her about the sex of the baby..to play the guessing game. The guessing game continued for a long time. Also, Jay thought the ultrasound technician kind of let out a hint involuntarily :) Oh well, we never know! Let's save that for the end of the story, shall we?
First kick--
Mid-to-late August, Piya started feeling tiny kicks (people refer to it as feeling bubbles ..or popcorns). One of the first kicks were when Piya was listening to "M.S Subbulaksmi's Annamacharya Kritis". "Feeling kicks.. truly amazing and simply a reassurance that the baby is doing okay", she said to Jay. Jay was longing to feel those kicks himself and finally he was able to feel a kick on Piya's tummy..a moment forever!
Summer, work and travel
The daily walks continued with Jay and Jill, Her neighbors started asking if she was pregnant.
Piya's sister visited in Summer with her daughter, Ri.. about 7 years old. Ri and Piya were pretty close and Ri was a dog lover, just like Piya. Piya's sister cooked yummy food while she was with them for a weekend. Later, Ri stayed for a longer time and it was a fun summer for her with Jill, myself and Jay. Piya loved the company of Ri. After a couple of weeks, Piya had to head to work in another state. Ri accompanied Piya and headed back home as well.
Piya, sometimes felt pretty exhausted while in the middle of work from home. Other times, she was quite normal trying to wrap up as much stuff as she could while she can. She was never fond of leaving Jay and Jill,while traveling for work. But, it is what it is..and her niece was the only thing she looked forward to while traveling for work. And, she always strived to make the travel a success. She always wanted to give her best at work, for which the work travel was indispensable. Piya's work travel went fine and since Piya was definitely starting to show, most of her colleagues were then informed of the great news. Although Piya felt a little tired during long meetings, the baby's kick served to cheer her up or even giggle to herself sometimes in the meeting room :)
It was the last week of her second trimester and Piya was about +16 pounds the pre-pregnancy weight. But, she started off pretty slim, so it all seemed good. Piya had to attend a 2-day meeting on the west coast and since it was sort of closer to the third trimester and given the fact that there was no direct flight to the destination from her place, it was for sure going to be a one-day travel with mulitple conenctions. She knew she wouldn't be up for it, unless Jay accompanied her. Jay readily agreed to join her to be of help and needless to say Piya was happy-happy and considering it to be the last trip with just the two of them! The trip was great work-wise; and spending time with hubby wise. They got to take a long stroll in Piya's favorite parts of the city, took short bus rides to commute and they also met an old friend and his mom's cooking was sort of the highlight of the trip. Jay was super wonderful to Piya those few days and took great care of her and never once complained that he had to be alone in the hotel room most of the day. He kept himself occupied with his work and school stuff; and he also got to relax a bit..which was pretty essential for he was swamped with work lately. What a wonderful trip!
Of course..with long flights come the side-effects of leg pain and fatigue. Piya dealt with it, but she was glad she did not fall sick.
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