Following on from my last pregnancy update (click here to read more) I am back and sharing more about my second trimester. 

Farmboy and I just got back from a magical 3 week holiday in Italy (cleverly disguised as our babymoon!) and I have to say, traveling while being 6 months pregnant was far more manageable than I expected. Plus, everyone loves a preggy lady, and there are loads of travel perks to being pregnant (skipping the que at the airport, being offered seats on buses and trains...and being allowed to use the bathroom for free!!!). That last one may sound a bit odd, but considering the public bathrooms in Italy cost a small fortune (especially in the bigger cities) and considering HOW OFTEN a pregnant women needs to go to the bathroom, a free bathroom became a luxury. And one I didn't take for granted!

Here are a few phone snaps of our trip to the land of pizza, pasta and gelato:

I'm going to be doing more posts on traveling while pregnant, as well as sharing travel guides on our trip (click here to see past travel guides I've written on Vietnam, Bali, India, Philippines, Cambodia & Borneo) so stay tuned for those!

HOW FAR ALONG:

25 weeks (or just over 6 months for my friends who have yet to live by the whole 'weeks and days' counting method that pregnant women rule their lives by). 

SIZE/FOOD COMPARISON:

Rutabaga (Swede or Yellow Turnip for my South African friends) and she (yup! We are having a little girl) weighs about 1.5kg's.

WEIGHT GAIN:

12kg's (eeeeeek!)

Considering my little one only weighs 1.5kg's...the other 10.5 kg's is supposedly made up of my ever expanding uterus & placenta (and possibly a few of those gelatos and pizzas we ate while in Italy).

BABY BUMP:

My little bump is no longer little! I've gone through a rather large 'popping' phase and now look decidedly pregnant. I have been told that my tummy is very 'neat' and that I'm carrying very well. If you look at my from the back you wouldn't say I was pregnant. I don't know though, I feel HUGE...but I guess I'm in for a shock then as I can't imagine being any bigger than I am now.

MOVEMENT:

This little one has been kicking up a storm! It took till about 23 weeks for me to be absolutely sure that I was feeling kicks (and that it wasn't just normal gaseous exchange going on haha). Her kicks are very gently, and happen throughout the day. I was told that lying on my left hand side after drinking a glass of orange juice/eating a chocolate would intensify the kicks, as I was starting to get worried that I hadn't felt anything by 22 weeks. Turns out she was just taking her time to start prodding me.

EXERCISE:

While in Italy we walked between 10 & 14km a day (totalling 150km!) over a period of 3 weeks...how insane is that!

Because of this, I am happy to report that my weight gain has seemed to only be baby related, and a number of family members have commented that I looked like I had actually lost weight...score!

Walking is one of the best forms of exercise for pregnant women. Now I just need to keep it up and not get lazy again.

I am REALLY looking forward to getting back into Pilates! It's been so long I don't even know if my body will let me do any of the poses any more. Will keep you updated.

SLEEP:

I slept REALLY well in Italy. Although the beds were pretty hard and I would wake up with a few aches and pains from the mattresses, I don't recall ever waking up in the middle of the night. Not to go to the loo, and not even to roll over. This really goes to show just how much good exercise does the body.

I'm hoping this pattern of sleep is going to stay now that we are home because it's SO cold here on the farm and I just can't bare the thought of going to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

CLOTHING:

I spent the past 3 weeks in dresses (luckily my pre-preggy dresses still fit!), two pairs of flowy & linen pants, as well as my favourite pair of CherryMelon shorts and tops.

Now that I'm back into Winter, I have been given a number of long sleeve shirts and tops from the H&M Mamma range and will pair them with my H&M leggings as well as my favourite CherryMelon leggings. Luckily most days on the farm I can get away with wearing big baggy tracksuit pants and Farmboy's hoodies. The cows and chickens don't mind my lack of dress sense.

HOW I’M FEELING:

I'm still feeling pretty great! I've been very lucky and had a very easy pregnancy so far. No morning sickness...teeny tiny moments of nausea, and only a bit of fatigue in the first trimester.

I'm also really happy that my eczema has cleared up. I have no idea if it was a symptom of pregnancy or the dry, winter weather, but being overseas in the sun and warm weather seemed to clear it up. Will have to see what happens now that we are back in the full force of Winter.

I've been rather emotional the past few days (poor Farmboy) and have found my patience levels nearing zero. I am increasingly irritable, which leads me to feeling even more emotional as I feel bad for getting so annoyed with people so easily. 

I am happy to report that (at least it's been my experience so far) that the second trimester has been as wonderful as everyone said it would be. Loads of energy, enthusiasm and general happiness. Let's hope this lasts!

CRAVINGS/AVERSIONS:

There hasn't been too much that I've been craving/feeling averse to lately. We ate A LOT of carbs this holiday, and so we did come back craving anything and everything green but I think that had more to do with the Italian diet being pretty starchy in nature, and not to do with pregnancy.

WHAT I MISS:

• Lying on my tummy. I like to sleep on my side with my one leg pulled up, but my poor tummy just gets squashed and it's sooo uncomfortable.
• Sitting up in the bath/sitting up in bed/getting out of bath without assistance.
• Sitting in a chair...comfortably. My belly just seems to get in the way leaving my feeling restricted and uncomfortable.

NURSERY:

We were very spoilt while in Joburg (we spent a few days before and after our trip to Italy with my family in the City of Gold) and returned home with all sorts of lovely things for the nursery.

My mom also threw me a lovely baby shower for my Joburg friends and family (blog post to come soon!) and my little girl was really spoilt.

A few other baby related additions, courtesy of my Dad and Step-Mom...a Thule pram/stroller & bassinet as well as an awesome burgundy coloured Maxi Cosi carseat which were from the MamaMagic Baby Expo. There were a lot of great deals on all sorts of baby related things at the expo, if you are brave enough to face the crowds.

PURCHASES:

We bought two things for our little girl while in Italy. Once of them is the sweetest little mouse doll from Zara Home, and the other is a compactum storage set from IKEA. Yup, I was THAT person that managed to convince Farmboy to take me to an Ikea while in Italy. We don't have IKEA here in South Africa, and that store literally BLEW MY MIND! 

HUBBY:

Farmboy has been getting more and more excited about the prospect of being a Dad. Yesterday he even modelled the baby carrier and walked around the house looking decidedly chuffed with himself.

He's going to make the most wonderful dad.

BEST PART OF THE WEEK:

Meeting our new Gynae (I mentioned in my last post that we had decided to switch to a more affordable Gynaecologist) and I have found the sweetest gentleman doctor. He is very pro-natural, and is even very pro having a Doula as part of the birthing team.

Farmboy and I have been talking a lot lately about the idea of having a Doula for the birth, and are planning on meeting with a few ladies in the next few weeks. I was sceptical at first (it all sounded a bit airy fairy to me) but have since heard wonderful things about them from friends who have had them. Someone also pointed out to me that they are there as much for your husband/partners support as for yours, and I really like the idea of having a calming presence on hand to support us both (especially with this being our first baby). I'll keep you updated on how the search goes. If you're in South Africa and would like to know more about Doulas and what their roles are during childbirth, then click here. 

CAN’T WAIT FOR:

I'm actually really trying to savour the next few days/weeks/months. I realised yesterday evening, while taking a really long, hot bath, that I'm not going to have that luxury in a few months time. I'm trying to really enjoy the quiet days of being in the house, sorting/cleaning/organising things on my own schedule, and I just know thats ALL going to change soon.

Until the next update!

Lots of love

x