40 divided by 3 is 13.333333333333333, not 12.

Hey, I never claimed to be any good at math so this may seem obvious to you, it was news to me....

Here was I celebrating my initiation into the wonderful world of 2nd trimester-hood and then my sister-in-law (SIL) pops my balloon this past weekend. SIL says that 2nd trimester does not begin until week 14 because it's 12 weeks from conception not your 12th week (which is based upon the first day of your last period) and/or 40 divided by 3 (which, again, is 13.3 recurring).

God, pregnancy counting is complex. Someone seriously needs to simply this for us non math brains.

Although this would explain why I have not begun to feel miraculously better, I was extremely disheartened. As Hubby said, it's like being asked to hold your breath for 30 seconds then, after 28 seconds, told you need to hang on for another 10.

So, as one does these days when one is seeking reliable, fact-based, information, I set about Googling 2nd trimester dates. According to http://www.baby2see.org/, which has a handy trimester calculator, my 2nd trimester did in fact begin on September 24th based upon DEVELOPMENT. Based upon GESTATION, my 2nd trimester wouldn't begin until October 4th, which is this coming Saturday. Yet another date is based upon CONCEPTION, where 2nd trimester would begin on October 13th. (That's it, I'm going to bed... wake me up in mid October.)

For those of you, like me, that are thoroughly confused, here are the definitions of the different types of stages of judging pregnancy timing (or something -- I don't know! Crap, I sound like Sarah Palin trying to describe my foreign policy experience):

Development:This uses actual developmental stages to divide up a pregnancy. From LMP to 12 weeks the embryo develops all the major organs and becomes a fetus. From 12 weeks to 27 weeks the fetus continues developing and reaches viability. From 27 weeks on the fetus finishes development and prepares for delivery. Here the second trimester begins at 12w 0d and the third at 27w 0d.

Gestation:With this method you take the 40 weeks of gestation and divide by three. Here the second trimester begins at 13w 3d and the third at 26w 6d.

Conception:This method is where you take the 38 weeks of post conception development, divide by three, and add two weeks. Here the second trimester begins at 14w 5d and the third at 27w 3d.

According to said same site, it's really a practitioner preference as to which type of date you should use to judge your 2nd trimester. I quote: "Your health care provider might prefer to use the Development method, while another Midwife or Doctor may use the Gestation method. I am sure they do that just to confuse pregnant women."

NO, REALLY, IT'S CRYSTAL CLEAR TO ME.

The site then goes on to say that "trimesters", while used ceaselessly by us Moms-to-be as a measure of how far along we are (probably because 9+ months sounds like an eternity) are actually a pretty worthless yard-stick because of the different methods of judging "day one". Plus the word "trimester", strictly speaking, is supposed to mean 3 months and 3 times 3 months is 9 months or about 39 weeks - leaving you about 1 week short. Pregnancies should, therefore, be judged by weeks.

Great, we went from 3 stages, to 9 (ish) months, to 40 weeks. I feel better already. Not.

More Googling only resulted in further confusion. Just look at the wild variety of definitions for a "trimester" http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7DMUS&defl=en&q=define:Trimester&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title - anything from 12 to 16 weeks, depending on the source and unit being measured.

The good news is that most reports of improved health occur between weeks 12 and 16, so 2nd trimester or not, I'm now in a zone where I can at least live in hope of a better tomorrow.

IN OTHER NEWS...

Step 1 of nursery beautification began yeterday. Dad and Hubby rolled up their sleeves and re-painted the nursery-to-be. Since we don't plan to find out the sex of the baby until birth, we've gone with neutral tones - a soothing, spa-like, grey-ish green on the bottom, and a greenish, yellowish, off-white (called Baked Brie) on top. In the middle, dividing the two, will be a white chair rail (an opportunity for Hubby to test his carpentry skills). When it's complete, I'll post a pic.

So, that's it from maybe-2nd-trimester-land for now.