Medford - congrats on getting a due date and glad you are further along than 6 weeks like they originally thought!

Nausea - Sorry to Medford and Chiclet about the nausea.  Mine is actually much better this week, and I am about a week ahead of both of you, so maybe you will feel better next week.  :)

Bloating - Chiclet I am right there with you on the bloating and clothes feeling tight.  According to my scale, I have only gained 1 lb., but it feels like more than that.  And I agree that some days are worse than others.  I actually felt much slimmer yesterday, which was great.

Telling people - At this point we have told our families, and I plan to wait to tell friends, etc. until after the next ultrasound at 12 weeks.  I know some people suspect that I am pregnant, and another month seems like it is far away, but that is the timing we did with DD.  And, my sister-in-law just had a miscarriage at 7 weeks, so that freaked me out and I would like to get another check-in on the baby before we really spread the news.  But, many people handle things in many different ways.  I have a close friend that spread the word to everyone around 9 weeks, and another that waited until 14 weeks.

AFM, I broke out my pregnancy pillow from my first pregnancy and used it last night, and I slept much better!  I forgot how much I loved that pillow.  :)

Memes - glad to hear you're feeling better!  And I am also looking forward to the pregnancy pillow, my friend snoogle.  Maybe soon!  I was actually thinking of getting one of those ergonomic regular pillows just in general.  I keep waking up with sore shoulders.

I am doing pretty well.  I actually ate normal people food for two days and thought I was doing a bit better on account of eating a bit more, but this AM tried to brush my teeth not long after breakfast.  Well, that didn't go well!  So now I'm back to trying to choke down crackers to restart the feeling better process.

I had to laugh because when my mom showed up last week to watch DD, she asked me if I had lost weight!  And then when I went to the doctor the next day, it turned out I actually had.  (Although it could have been over the course of the last 3 months, since the last time I was there for my annual.)  I definitely had some extra to lose and I'm sure I'll make it up when I feel better!

Super bloated, though.  I feel like I have trapped gas (sorry for the TMI).  Is this normal?  I'm starting to wonder if I am having unrelated GI problems.  Of course, could also be due to the weird eating patterns.

I'm glad you're feeling better Memes! That gives me hope. I've actually felt much better the last few days. It was really bad on Friday but now I feel almost normal.

My SIL put her POAS test on Facebook the day she got her blood test back from the doctor. Anything I do will be too slow compared to her! We've already seen the heartbeat and a steady growth pattern, so I'm less worried. I know we're not out of the woods yet. I'm keeping it out of work, off Facebook and only telling the people who I think will be sensistive in the event we miscarry, at least for now. If they tell other people, I feel like it's on them to "untell" those people. DH's family can't keep a secret but I didn't want to tell my friends who I do trust before I tell them.

I think I have a body pillow at my mom's house that I'm going over to get tonight. I haven't been sleeping at all.

I feel like there are only 3 people on here lately!  Quiet times...

We haven't told anyone yet.  Weird.  I don't know why - I feel more reluctant to tell this time.  Plus I'm having a hard time getting excited since I feel rotten.  I think we'll tell my parents this weekend, although my mom may (or may not) have heard me throw up this morning, so she may not be that surprised!  After that I think we'll just tell close friends as we see them.  I'm hoping I can hold out until 13 weeks at work!

medford, the bloating/gas is totally normal. Both pregnancies that is basically my only symptom. I can't stand it and it is worse at the end of the day.

Just checking in - I'm 14 weeks tomorrow. Had an u/s last week and everything looked great! I'm pretty relaxed about this pregnancy, so much so that i keep forgetting to talk about it to even my mom.

Other news is that I'm moving at the end of October...to Las Vegas, of all places. DH got a job out there, one of those opportunities you can't refuse. So, off we go. Sold the house, and just waiting to close. DH has been out there for 3 weeks already - he'll come back Oct 1, but it is like crazy exhausting to be pregnant, work full time, and care for a toddler alone. It is really amazing that I'm in a good mood most days. ;-)

So I will have to switch doctors (among EVERYTHING else) mid pregnancy which is a little stressful b/c I love my OB. But, like he said it isn't like I need a specialist or any high risk treatment - just someone who's nice to me. haha. I have talked to a few people out there and gotten some recommendation so I feel good that I'll be able to switch easily.

I hope that you don't mind if I keep posting on BDC from Vegas! :-)

Med, like sf said, bloating and distention is totally normal and can happen even before your bfp and persist through the first trimester.  It's totally hormonally driven and is very unlikely due to a separate gi problem especially since you are experiencing other hormonally driven symptoms like ms.  Lucky you. :(

Darn, meant to congratulate your dh on the great job and wish you well for your move to Vegas, sf!  

Silver, congratulations and good luck with the move!  I am impressed that you are doing all you're doing and staying in a good mood, too!

Thanks for the gas info, ladies!  :)  after reading your posts I also looked it up on babycenter and they echoed exactly what Kar said.  Something about progesterone and your smooth muscle fibers.  Kar, you should be a professional researcher, as I've said before!

I found yesterday that getting up and walking around my building for a minute or two helped - I think it kept things shifting around so there wasn't so much trapped and painful at the end of the day.  Again, sorry for the TMI.  :)

Silver, I saw your daycare post and you are in Melrose?  Can I ask who your OB is that you love?  I'm shopping around.

medford, I go to Women's Healthcare at Melrose/Wakefield Hospital, and Dr. Witkowski is my OB. He is SOOOOOOOOOOO wonderful. He also has an office in Wakefield. I highly recommend him.

Dr. Woo in Melrose also delivered my DD, and while I only met her during delivery, I liked her a lot too. She's funny. She is not at Women's Health anymore but she is still in Melrose.

Med, I've had pg friends for 20 years so I've pretty much heard it all.  Speaking of being old, I got carded the other day and was happy to report I'm nearly twice the drinking age...she was shocked!  It's the little things. :)

Oh, yeah, and my own four weeks of pg turned out to be pretty informative, too, since you know the first thing I did was order the Mayo Clinic's pg guide...which I highly recommend.

Thanks, Silver!  I will check them out.

Kar (youthful Kar!), I really like that book, too.  My insurance company actually sent it to me when I was pg before and it's the only pregnancy book I found helpful.

Hi Everyone,

I have posted occasionally in the past with questions but I'm now pregnant with my second child (DS is 20 months) so figured its time to join the conversation since I read these boards just about every day!

I'm about 6.5 weeks along (due on Mother's Day!) and have been having what I'll call moderate cramping since even before I got my BFP. I don't remember having this with my first. Have any second timers experienced this? I know people say you show earlier with your second so perhaps my uterus is just stretching faster? I have no other symptoms but I didnt with my first either. My doctor does an ultrasound at the first appointment at 8 weeks so I'm almost there but just curious about this. Google is not helpful! 

Crackers, hormones of pg effect the same person differently every time.  It's not stretching that's causing the cramping, gas, bloating, etc, it's pregnancy hormones.  As med reminded me, specifically, progesterone.  Congrats on #2!

Hi crackers and cheese (mmm great name)- I have heard that this is very normal.  I'm on the tcoyf.com site and there are a bunch of women there having similar symptoms and they are about as far along as you.   No personal experience but...  If you are feeling anxious about it I would call the dr.  Sometimes they will see you earlier if you are concerned.

On an unrelated note...I am 7 weeks tomorrow and I don't really have any symptoms except for sore bbs.  Maybe something mild here and there like gas or tiredness, but nothing that is so obvious that I can say it's pg related. My first u/s is exactly 2 weeks out.  I know I am having concerns b/c of my m/c in July.  I had the same set of symptoms (none really, just sore bbs) when I found out I had a blighted ovum at 7w1d.  I keep thinking that if this pg is viable I would have more symptoms even though I know this is not logical.

Anyone have minimal symptoms as well in the beginning? This u/s appt can't come fast enough.

Thanks MissWolff. That is reassuring. It's hard because I've read that it's normal but also can be the first sign of miscarriage or eptopic pregnancy. 

As far as having no symptoms, I honestly had zero with my son the entire 9+ months. I had a wonderful, easy pregnancy and labor. I am so excited to do it again. I have heard people say that the worse your symptoms the healthier your pregnancy, but I just chalk that up to trying to make poor, sick pregnant ladies feel better. Similar to a rainy wedding day being lucky! :) Many of my friends have had no symptoms as well and gone on to have happy, healthy babies. 

I had an early mc, and those cramps are (usually) far more painful than regular early pg hormone cramps.  Plus, after a few days or less of those painful ones and you'd have spotting and/or full on mc blood.  If you've had mild cramps since your bfp, chances are very good you're totally fine.

Morning sickness and and other symptoms are, in fact, good evidence that pg is progressing well because it is the pg hormones building up that make the mom-to-be sick. BUT, that's all you can infer from it; reading too much into them (or their absence) is a mistake.  It is neither a guarantee that things are going well nor does the absence of symptoms imply something is likely to be wrong.

MissWolf - I never have any symptoms! Just gas/bloating, and that's it. :-) I'm 14 weeks with #2 and going strong. I have had a few losses myself so I can completely relate to the worry - but the odds are in your favor so be optimistic. :-)

I had ms that persisted a few days after my early mc because apparently I'm very sensitive to the hormones.  In fact, I tested early because of the extreme nature of my symptoms even before my period was late knowing without a doubt I'd get that bfp.  What I didn't know was that I was in the process of miscarrying even then.

ms and other symptoms or their absence inspires a number of pregnancy myths.

Thank you kar, silver and crackers.  I know I'm not being completely logical, but it helps to hear others' experiences.

I always say they made up the 'rainy wedding day is good luck thing' so the bride won't cry. It rained on my wedding day and it was fabulous. Great for some cool pics too!

Oh and silver- good luck on your move!!

Crackers -- I've had cramping the entire time, too. My cramps feel like little pinches in my lower abdomen. I had two m/cs this year, and those cramps were different, like intense and painful period cramps. Since you've been feeling cramps since before your BFP, I bet your cramping is normal.

Silver -- Good luck with your move! Sounds like you have a good attitude. I've heard that outside of the Strip, Vegas is a nice place to live. If you guys are into hiking, you should check out Red Rock Canyon -- very beautiful.

Chiclet, memes, and medford, glad you're all feeling a bit better. By the way, Chiclet, I can't believe your SIL put her POAS on Facebook so early!!  

AFM, I'm 8 weeks today. I'm feeling some reassuring symptoms, i.e., mild nausea/gagging, tiredness, hunger, sore bbs, etc. I'm optimistic that it will stick this time, but not optimistic enough to start telling people yet. When is the first tri officially over? I've seen 12, 13, and 14 weeks. 

jleigh - i think technically the second tri starts at 14 weeks but "they" say that at 12 weeks your risk of m/c goes down dramatically so that's kind of what a lot of people consider the safety zone. If you were to have an u/s at this point though (8wks), and everything was looking good, you could feel pretty safe then too. You're almost there!

Thanks for the well wishes on the move. It was finally announced at my work yesterday so it is a huge relief to be able to talk to people again w/o keeping a HUGE secret. And yes, we'll be living in either Summerlin or Henderson - Summerlin is over by Red Rock. We drove through it in August and it is really nice. It will be a very different lifestyle but I'm excited for the adventure (and the pool in my backyard...that I can use year-round...not that I want to have anything to do with a bathing suit right now). And DD is absolutely forbidden to ever, ever, ever go to the Strip.

The average gestation period is 40 weeks so 40/3 = 13.3 weeks.  However, actual full term gestation time can be anywhere from 38 - 42 weeks, and if you divide those by 3 you get 12.6 - 14 weeks.  You can't know when a 1/3rd of your pregnancy is over if you don't know your full term date (not your due date), and no one can really know that for sure even after the baby is born.  Technically speaking.  

But, also technically speaking, the mc risk isn't really tied to the first trimester, per se, it's tied to statistics by week.  And, as SF says, 12 weeks is when the risk of "early miscarriage" takes a nosedive regardless of what trimester it is or how long your baby will take to become full term.