The last week of the 2nd trimester – just a few days to go and I’ll well and truly be in the ‘huffnpuff’ stage. The second trimester is my favourite part of pregnancy. Usually, I am not too big and not too sick, and have more energy to do stuff. The last few weeks, however, have been a bit more difficult, with morning sickness returning, headaches and insomnia annoying me, and my blood pressure rising a bit. I feel very tired and quite crappy, but I am not going to complain, because I also feel *really* blessed by the little baby growing in me. I am even getting excited, and we are starting to get baby’s room ready!

I don’t know what my antibodies are doing because I’m not having regular blood tests, but I am having fortnightly ultrasounds to check bubs for anaemia. So far, everything looks good and lately the baby’s growth has consistently measured with an EDD of October 20th (Georgia’s birthday!). Baby is moving around a lot. Sometimes it’s rather uncomfortable. Hiccups feel very weird! I can often feel a boney little foot, about 5-6cm long, pressing up around my belly button. This fascinates the children and they poke and prod a bit as if playing with their new sibling already.

Baby likes Beethoven more than Mozart and baths more than showers. Fair enough. Baby moves around a lot when its older siblings talk and sing to it. Baby is very well behaved, letting me sleep at night. It wakes me up just before 6am each morning with a little kicking and prodding. It makes me smile (or whince, if it is hard kicking!). Baby weighs just over 1kg.

People, mostly women, are very curious about the sex of my baby and they give me all sorts of theories on how to work out what I am having. Here are some (totally unscientific and inaccurate) theories. You can easily tell that I am having a child of both sexes! You are having a boy if: baby’s heart rate is below 140; your tummy is low and narrow; you look better than usual; you did not have morning sickness; your age and month of conception adds to an odd number; you crave salty foods etc . You are having a girl if: your hair is redder; you look worse than usual; your tummy is high and wide; baby’s heart rate is above 140; you have bad morning sickness; you crave sweet things.  Of course, the Chinese gender calendar is most useful; it takes your age and month of conception to determine the child’s sex (boy). People ask me what my gut feeling is and I don’t tell them because I’ve only ever been ‘right’ 50% of the time (go figure!). It’s a bit of fun trying to guess baby’s sex, but I much prefer knowing in advance!

All in all, things are going well with baby and we are excited! I am knitting little things for my baby, which is very relaxing, but also mandatory, as I’ve been resting for a week in an attempt to get my bp right (it’s up a bit, but not badly). We’re arguing over middle names, but we’ve mostly agreed on first names.

Very hormonally waddlingly happy.