Hello, Second Tri!

Written August 17, 2013.

Somebody was pretty excited about the Button belly this morning!

I really thought this week would be the post that introduced Button to my lovely, blog-reading public, but it turns out that my much-anticipated lessening of anxiety with the start of second trimester hasn't been as seamless as I hoped. Don't get me wrong--I'm thrilled to be 14 weeks, 2 days today, but I'm no less terrified that something will go wrong.

Actually, that's not entirely true--with 6 ultrasounds behind us (including stellar results from the NT scan that put our risk of three significant trisomy disorders very low) and the confidence of our doctors supporting us, I certainly feel better than I did at 5-7 weeks. But it was still terrifying to tell our families last week, I nearly had a panic attack when Jeff told a close friend and neighbor today, and I've already delayed the plan to tell our church family and close co-workers until at least after our next check-up (at 15 weeks, 1 day). Jeff has started teasing me about how I'll just wait to tell anyone until I show up with a stroller and a newborn--and he just may be getting close to the truth!

All those worries can't stop me from posting round two of bump (or lack-of-bump) photos, though! (It should be noted that the week 12 photos were taken in the morning, meaning the "Button bloat" hadn't set it yet, while the photos from weeks 13 and 14 below were from evening photo sessions--hence the "blump" factor that makes me look much bigger than week 12!)

So, without further ado, here's 13 weeks (taken at my parents' beautiful farm in the northwest corner of Connecticut).

And, not yet a big difference, but here's 14 weeks (at the farm once again).

One of the friends in my online support group referred to this stage of pregnancy as "ninja baby"--and she's exactly right! It's tough to have many symptoms lessening, to go from doctor's appointments every 1-2 weeks to check-ups once a month, and yet not to have a real bump or flutters of movement to reassure me all is well with Button. I'm grateful for the distraction of summer school next week, which will hopefully help the time fly until our appointment next Friday.

And then, maybe--just maybe--Button will be ready to meet the world.