Measuring life in 3-month increments

For many of us, we tend to live life with some awareness of the passage of time, and increments of time in particular. Weeks until vacation, years married, work deadlines, and happy occasions. But for me, pregnancy has certainly tapped into that natural inclination in a new way. This week I said good-bye to the first trimester and welcomed in the second. Three months down, six to go. And I've got to say, I will not miss the first trimester. All-day "morning" sickness, sheer exhaustion, growing out of my regular jeans but not yet looking visibly pregnant, and of course the anxiety of wondering if something will go wrong in that tenuous period of pregnancy. I've heard that the second trimester is the most blissful of the trimesters, and I'm looking forward to the experience.

Already, I've bid adieu to the morning sickness and overwhelming need to sleep, and the difference is remarkable. Food tastes good again--maybe even better than before--which is a huge relief to someone who enjoys cooking and eating as much as I do. One of the memories from mid-first-trimester that B and I will likely carry with us is the moment when I stared (or maybe glared) across the dinner table at him with a look of utter disgust. He asked what was going on, and I couldn't help but respond honestly: "Watching you eat that piece of chicken makes me want to throw up." I was never revolted by B himself, but it's probably hard not to take that sort of thing personally when it comes from your wife. Needless to say, B's been unbelievably helpful and supportive through the ups and downs of those first three months. I feel incredibly thankful for this, and sometimes feel like I'll need to make it up to him at another point. But then I remember what the labor and delivery process will be like. And the feedings every two hours after g-unit arrives. And I think, "then again, maybe it all evens out in the end."

In the meantime, bring on the second-trimester bliss!