Dear Baby Pacheco,

This week marks a huge milestone for you! We have officially made it though the 1st trimester and stepped into the more comfortable world of 2nd trimester. A trimester = approximately 13 weeks and 3 days, or 1/3 of the typical 40 week pregnancy. The great thing about 2nd trimester is that hormone levels tend to even out, which leads to many of the stereotypical pregnancy symptoms going away. For example, I haven’t felt any nausea in over a week. Woohoo! I’m also starting to get some of my energy back. 2nd trimester also marks the beginnings of more substantial growth (whereas 1st trimester is focused on getting all your little body parts formed & in place). With that in mind, here is my 14 week “bump” photo (you are the size of a lemon at this point):

Unfortunately this photo was taken in kind of a rush; I had just gotten out of the shower & we were about to head out the door to run some errands when Dad goes “wait, aren’t you supposed to take your picture today?!”… wet hair + no makeup + unfortunate choice of shirt = terrible picture! Oh well. I’ll try to be better about preparing a little more for these pictures, since they’ll probably end up in a scrapbook someday. Anywho, this week I could feel the last few pairs of regular-size pants I’ve been wearing start to get a little snug. In fact, this weekend I bought a whole wardrobe’s worth of maternity clothes off of Craigslist, and this was my first time rocking some maternity pants (they were a little loose by the end of the day but SOOO comfy, let me tell you!). The picture makes me look substantially bigger (thanks floral print shirt!), but still I don’t think the growth is noticeable to anyone but me & Dad.

Watching the tummy expand is very bitter-sweet… it makes me so happy to know that you’re growing in there, but at the same time I’ve always been someone who’s really struggled with my weight/size & therefore watching the expanding stomach can be kind of frustrating. Dad keeps saying “relax, you’re pregnant– it’s okay!” 😉 But it’s just a very hard mindset to get into. I had actually just lost about 20 lbs. before you came along, and even though I look bigger I’ve actually lost 2 more lbs. as of last my check-up 4 weeks ago, which my doctor said is totally normal for that point in the pregnancy (thanks morning sickness!). I’m trying not to obsess over my weight too much. Instead, I just try to eat as healthy as possible, exercise as much as I can & only pay attention to what the scale says at my monthly check-ups. Speaking of which, my next check-up is this Tuesday! I can’t wait!

Another great thing about 2nd trimester is that we are at the point where we can start to more actively prepare for your arrival. We made our first big purchase for you this week– a crib! It came in today actually, and as soon as we got it home Dad was chomping at the bit to get it set up. 🙂 So we spent a chunk of the afternoon transforming one of our guest rooms into the beginnings of a nursery. Right now it’s pretty bare-bones, just the crib:

But still we are really excited to finally be taking steps like this! We won’t do any specific decorations until we find out whether you’re a boy or girl in late August/early September, but in the meantime we’re focusing on the larger aspects like this crib. We also have Nana on the hunt for a nice dresser & nightstand for you, and Grandma is bringing me her great-grandmother’s rocking chair that was part of my nursery when I was a baby. I love the idea of incorporating some family history into your nursery. 🙂 The only other purchase I’ve made for you recently is this (which I’m also pretty excited about, haha):

Dad & I are HUGE baseball fans, and we hope that you will be too! One of our favorite things about moving to the DC area has been the close proximity to a major league team. We have been ardent Washington Nationals fans since we moved up here, so when I saw these onesies at Target a couple weeks ago I just couldn’t resist! We can’t wait to take you to your first game next year.

Well, this post is getting kind of long & honestly I feel I’ve been rambling through most of it… so I’ll wrap things up! I wish I had more interesting things to write about, but at this point pregnancy is just about watching the belly grow & using my new found energy to prepare for your arrival. I will quickly add that these two things make all of this feel so much more “real” to me & dad. One day this week Dad & I were feeling the changes in my belly and said to him “wow, there’s actually a baby in there!” 😉 Haha. Anyway, next week I’ll write about how Tuesday’s check-up goes. Until then, keep growing little one!

All my love,
Mom