Fat Armpits, "Just The Tip", and other Second Trimester Things

"This pregnancy is flying by!" I said, after the first trimester.  Well...not so much, now.  Other people keep telling me how fast it's gone, but it doesn't feel that way to me!  My Naturopath told me that if I didn't feel AMAZING in the second semester, something was wrong.  Well, then something was wrong!

Morning sickness was behind me, but I was still otherwise sick ALL THE TIME.  I swear, I was healthy for maybe 2 weeks total out of the first 7 months of  my pregnancy.  Cold after cold, a bout of some sort of gastro-intestinal virus, Pink Eye, a wicked sinus infection - I had it all!  The only two ailments I did NOT have were a yeast infection and a UTI - but due to some questionable medical advice (my midwife suspected a yeast infection at my pap smear, so had me do a disgusting 7-day treatment "just in case", only to have the test results come back negative...my Naturopath said leukocyte levels in my urine indicated a UTI, so had me drink shots of poison (okay, it tasted like poison and contained Cat's Claw - that constitutes a witch's brew, doesn't it?), only to be contradicted by an actual screening and my midwife, who pointed out that higher leukocyte levels are normal in pregnancy, and my urine actually showed zero bacteria), I experienced psychosomatic symptoms anyway!  I was so sick and tired of feeling sick and tired!  I couldn't remember the last time I actually felt good, and desperation was setting in.

But Accidental Supermommi isn't super for nothing (self-proclaimed super, but who cares?), and did not give in.  I had heard about Intravenous Vitamin Therapy before, but the cost kept me from looking into it any further at that time.  Well, I was getting so desperate, I decided I didn't care about the cost, and wanted to try it.  My Naturopath recommended it, but didn't actually perform the treatment herself, so I looked up another one who did.  I also had this course of treatment approved by my midwife, but submitting a formula of the particular composition I would be given to her.  IV Vitamin Therapy is essentially having huge amounts of vitamins injected directly into your blood stream.  One treatment, and I was hooked.  I felt like a heroin addict, both because of the track marks on my arms (okay, I didn't get track marks - just little dots at the injection site), and because of the euphoria I'd experience shortly after the I got my fix (fine, fine - it wasn't so much euphoria as it was an energy boost, but that sounds way more boring).  The needle hurt.  And I couldn't watch it going in without feeling light headed.  But that was only for a minute at the beginning.  The doctor (ND) quickly adjusted the flow to the most efficient yet still comfortable speed, and added sodium carbo...something or other to combat the burning sensation high acidity levels created.  Then I'd just sit there and read or text or whatever for an hour, while I got fuelled up with 20 times the amount of vitamin C and various B-vitamins (and other stuff, but those two, mostly) a person is capable of absorbing through the digestive tract.  I did this once a week for 4 weeks.  After the very first treatment, I felt increased energy and decreased nasal congestion.  But the best thing I felt was hope - hope that this might actually work, that I might actually feel good again.!  I still got sick - twice, in fact - while undergoing treatment.  But I got 2 regular viruses that ran their courses like they would in a normal person, as opposed to the seriously immuno-compromised person I had become.  And I've been just fine every since!  I look back and kick myself for not trying IV Vitamin Therapy 7 months earlier, and actually enjoying more of my pregnancy!  It was like my body just got so run down, it was unable to recover, and this treatment helped me kick that bad stuff and get my immune system back to a normal functioning level again.  I highly recommend it to anyone who's been suffering chronic illness, fatigue, mood disorders, etcetera - not just pregnant women - and new mommis, too.  A trained Naturopathic Doctor can create a composition that is safe for pregnant and breastfeeding women, and I can definitely see it helping with postpartum symptoms, like fatigue or depression.

Moving on, in my first trimester, I was concerned about the size of my belly (and ass), because I started to show much earlier than I had with my first pregnancy.  But I'm not bigger - in fact, possibly a little smaller - than I was at this point in my first pregnancy now.  I guess I kind of expanded rapidly, but then plateaued, and stayed the same size for a while.  I'm still getting compliments on how I'm "all baby", and not much larger anywhere else (except for from this one lady at work - who's never had children, might I add - who told me I "really looked pregnant, all of a sudden", and when I suggested it might just be the top I was wearing that day, clarified, "no - you can really see it in your face!" - okay, seriously, lady?  No one wants to be told their FACE looks pregnant - that's not where we carry our babies!  Ugh.).  However...I'm not confident I'm safe just yet.  I believe I stayed reasonably un-fat for most of my first pregnancy, too, but photos taken at my baby shower, which was in the last month, I think, indicate a definite ballooning effect :s  I did plump up in my face, my arms, my FEET...towards the end, so that still might be just around the corner for me this time. :(

Skin-wise, I'm getting off much easier this time around.  I haven't used anything for acne since the first month to so, and my skin might not be airbrushed perfection, but it's pretty good!  I'm not sure if my "mask" is darkening or not.  It never completely went away, so it's unclear as to whether what I'm seeing is just the same old pigmentation or something new.  It's in check, though ;)  And I'm crazy-diligent about sunscreen, especially now that the weather is getting nicer.  I have the tiniest linea nigra - MUCH less than the first time around, which I'm pleased about.  And no stretch marks yet :D  I've taken a mirror and looked under my belly.  I didn't notice any the first time around until afterwards, and then found a few little ones that are really quite thin and silvery - down low on the belly and on my hips - not a big deal.

Emotionally, I've been pretty stable, I think.  I don't remember being a mess the first time either.

I pee all the time, and it affects my sleep.  The baby feels much lower much sooner this time, and sometimes I will have just peed, but the baby will suddenly shift and swiftly attack my bladder, making me have to go urgently again.  He often positions himself so that eating and breathing are hard work, too :s  And I've had difficulty finding pants that are comfortable - the maternity jeans I wore right until the end of my first pregnancy, when I know I was bigger than I am this point, are painful down low, and make me worry I'm squishing the baby's head with them.  So, I pretty much live in leggings.

Everything hurts more than I remember it.  My belly is very tender to the touch, which my midwife says is common with second pregnancies, because your muscles and tissue have kind of given up and don't protect you like they did the first time around :(  The only thing I've found better this time (physically) is that, since he seems to be lower inside me, he doesn't kick me inside the ribcage as often.  Like my first, though, this one is shy, and will be putting on the biggest kick boxing demonstration, but will freeze and retreat the moment he hears me tell anyone else to look.

Oh, the purple polkadots...  Yeah, they're back :s  In fact, I have three new ones.  I mentioned them to my midwife and she told me what I already knew: they're sort of like varicose veins, and I should consider myself lucky to just have little dots, because she's had patients who have them so bad they look like FINGERS sticking out down there!!!  (Feel free to barf now :s)  But I haven't noticed any worsening of spider veins or anything like that.

Here's something else I'm apparently lucky about...a few months ago, my armpits were really irritated, and I noticed a deep crease forming in them.  I had fat armpits!  Which, I suppose if you're going to get fat anywhere, it may as well be your armpits.  Waxing rather than shaving helped reduce the irritation.  But when I mentioned that to my midwife, she said it's also common to get fat armpits, because the milk ducts reach back that far, and that some women actually LACTATE from their pits!!!  OMG, thank the Lord I'm not doing that.

We had a final ultrasound at 28 weeks, which is later than usual, but it was because, at my 20 week ultrasound, I had a low-lying placenta.  That means that it was situated closer to the cervix than is ideal.  This was why we were put on "just the tip" restriction. What is that, you ask?  Just The Tip is a game my friends and I liked to play when we were young and reckless...it's when you don't fully have sex; you just - wait, this is not that kind of blog!  Use your imaginations!  But anyhow, I'm trying to be serious here...  Because of the position of my placenta, we were advised to avoid sex for the 8 weeks before the confirming ultrasound - or at least "not engage in vigorous or deep penetration" :s  Where's the fun in that???  Imagine Justin's reaction when we got that news :P  It first, it was bad news for me, too, but several of my other mommi friends were jealous, having reached the point in their pregnancies where sex was uncomfortable and therefore undesirable anyway, and I wasn't far behind them :(  But moving on, we had the 28-week ultrasound and all was well - my placenta had moved upwards and nicely out of the way of my cervix.  Just The Tip restriction lifted!  (updated reaction: "Greeeat" :()  It was kind of cool, but freaky to see the baby that far along.  At one point, he looked right at the "camera" and opened his eyes, and we could see the iris and pupil and everything.  He was sucking his thumb and yawning, behaving very much like a real live person!  I am anti-3D Ultrasound, so that is as close as I'll get to seeing this guy before he makes his debit in the world.

I'm 33 weeks pregnant as I write this, and I'm starting to infringe on third trimester material, so I think I'll quit here and save that for another day.  There you have it: second trimester in a nutshell.  Questions, anyone?