Your Pregnancy: Week 13 for Mom
By: ePregnancy
From Pollywog to Shellback
In the 19th century, navies all over the world celebrated a sailor’s first Equator crossing with a crossing of the line ceremony, which included such festivities as locking the Pollywog (the uninitiated sailor) in a pillory and pelting him with rotten fruit or forcing him to crawl through tubs of rotting garbage. Fortunately, crossing the line into your second trimester bears no resemblance to the trials endured on the path to becoming a tried and true Shellback.
Quite the contrary: you are entering the honeymoon phase, where your energy will return, your morning sickness disappears and believe it or not, your sex drive comes back! Even better, now that you have made it to the second trimester, your chances of miscarriage are pretty slim, which means it’s safe to start telling your friends and family. Plan an evening with your co-conspirator to decide how you’ll break the news.
You may notice that instead of all symptoms disappearing, some are merely replaced by others. Heartburn sometimes takes over for nausea, leaving you scrambling for the Tums. Check with your doctor before taking any sort of heartburn relief, even something that seems as harmless as antacid tablets. Try other remedies as well: drinking milk is an old home remedy, and propping yourself up with a pillow at night may also help.
Spilling the Beans
Looking for a creative way to share your pregnancy news? Here are a few ideas:
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Buy a bundle of onesies and letter them according to the person you are giving them to: "I Love Grandpa Joe" or "I Love Aunt Angela."
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Send a DVD of your first ultrasound out to loved ones -- unlabeled, so it's a surprise when they pop it in the player!
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Email an MP3 of the heartbeat to tech-savvy friends and family with instructions on playing.
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Send out your holiday wish-list a bit early. Only include items like diapers, booties and pacifiers.
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Invite your friends over for a rousing game of charades. Only include topics that have anything to do with baby.