I made it! We made it! You and me, tiny, lime-sized baby! We got to 12 weeks!

12 weeks is one of my favorite milestones. We’re out of the scariest miscarriage window, which is such a relief. I know, with my nagging fears constantly reminding me, that passing 12 weeks doesn’t guarantee that everything will be OK, but it definitely means that the odds are now in our favor. And that feels great.

Hitting 12 weeks has also meant that my nausea is almost gone. I haven’t worn the sea bands since Friday, and I have only had a few gaggy moments without them. The belly continues to grow, and I continue to pee 4-5 times a night (!!!), but I’m feeling pretty good. And one of my favorite parts of pregnancy has arrived: the “ridiculous, unnecessary crying” phase! YAY! Hilarity ensues!

Yesterday I wept during the performance of “America the Beautiful” at the super bowl, simply because they added the word “sisterhood” (plus they sounded so good). I also cried during an episode of a cooking show because the chef’s daughter came to visit and said she was proud of her mom. Today I cried because a celebrity posted a response to haters for leaving the superbowl early by saying his son wasn’t feeling well, and his family came first (awwwww). Looking forward to many more silly crying events in my future!

One less-fun thing that I’m hoping goes away soon (but it probably won’t) is a problem with my joints. I’ve been having shoulder pain, knee pain and hip pain, all on the right side of my body. I’m pretty sure the shoulder pain is from sleeping on my right side, which I don’t normally do. But stomach sleeping is almost out of the picture now, so I’ve ended up on my side more, and my body isn’t loving that. The knee pain is strange – it only happens when I keep my knees bent for too long. But the hip pain is the worst of the bunch – every time I pivot or rotate on my right leg, I have acute pain in my hip and feel like my leg is going to cease to be attached to my body. I’ve always had bad hips, but this is a new sensation. I’m guessing it is related to the “relaxin” hormone, but it is on the list to check out with the doc next week.

I have been contemplating getting a massage to potentially help with the joint pain, and to definitely help with the tension headache and knots in my back. Not sure where to go, or if I can justify the expense at this juncture… but it is mighty tempting!

Another unexpected pregnancy development is a small aversion. I have stopped having my Coke Zero in the morning. I used to drink one every morning to get some caffeine, because I don’t drink coffee (but I’m so tired). I never made a conscious decision to stop drinking it, so this isn’t a special thing I’m doing “for the baby”… but the baby doesn’t want it, I guess. (S)he would rather have grape juice cut with sparkling water in the mornings. Who am I to argue?!

Now that I’m mostly feeling better and the less-fun things are sporadic and only mildly inconvenient, I’d say we’re safely into the part of pregnancy that I just love. This is the good stuff. The happy parts. The part where I feel so stinking lucky it is terrifying (and wonderful). The part where I’m so happy that even the ailments are amusing. Here we go!