Alas! It has been a long, long time coming and I'm excited to finally start blogging away. I think the 'tipping' point is being pregnant for a second time, and wanting to capture all the wonderful (and not so wonderful!) changes that take place during pregnancy. I have yet to spend a ton of time and energy 'designing' this blog and although aesthetics are important to me, tonight I need to unload and unpack the pregnancy thus far. My hope is to share pregnancy highlights by the week all through labor and delivery to be able to encourage others!
Today marks 19 weeks, 1 day-- which puts the "guess date" to April 7th, 2013. So far, this pregnancy has been light and easy, which is a major praise! This week the babe is about the size of an heirloom tomato. Based on how much my tummy has popped out the last few weeks, many have been noticing the baby bump, which is fun to share the exciting news every time someone comments!
The first trimester: The first 12 weeks were not as bad as they were when pregnant with Sophia. I threw up every morning for the first 12 weeks with her- and this time around I had some nausea but nothing to compare to last time. Think I only threw up 2 or 3 times, which is nothing.What got me through was keeping a carbonated Zevia nearby- in the frig at home and work. Gingerale and Lemon-Lime were the most relieving. Coffee was repulsive and couldn't even take the smell of it until recently. I didn't deal with cravings last time around but strangely enough, there were major cravings that took place this time: Chinese food and pizza was what my body wanted. Think we ordered take out 3 times one week and made the family drive all the way to Richfield to a pizza parlor my family used to eat at when I was a little kid! I think we ate out more in those first 12 weeks than we have in the last year! For whatever reason, I was sick of homemade everything- and took a brief hiatus from meal planning and preparation. Which, when you're the mom and the meal preparer, throws everyone into a tizzy about what to eat. I just knew that making meals didn't sound appetizing- I just wanted to go straight to the eating part! With both pregnancies, I have had a couple food cravings from childhood. With all these cravings, self-control kicks in and most of the time it was a craving that eventually passes because I didn't give into it. It's just funny that cravings come out of nowhere- and cost of them always outweigh the benefits! It's important to me to eat more good, clean, nutrient rich foods now more than ever because there is another life inside that is eating everything I eat! I want this little one to be as healthy as possible- and anything and everything I can do, I will! The key in curbing all the cravings this time around was to always keep lots of healthy protein-packed snacks on hand- in the car, purse, at work...
Thankfully the cravings have completely subsided, for the most part, and we're back in the swing of meal planning and making most of our meals at home again. Right now, some favorites snacks are:
- hard-boiled eggs with salt
- cashews+ nuts
- goat cheese + Mary's Gone crackers
- Greek yogurt with berries
- celery + peanut butter
I haven't always loved eating in the morning, but lately making scrambled eggs with cream cheese and Ezekiel whole sprouted Cinnamon raisin toast for breakfast. At lunch I take Vessel Care- which is HUGE- for energy levels. If I don't take it at lunch, then I get tired - exhausted, can no longer think, tired- by 8pm. If I take it twice in a day, I'm good to go until 11pm and can get stuff done or spend time with Paul, work on bible study or read... It's amazing what Vitamin B can do for folic acid AND energy levels! Double bonus! Fish oil, genesis juice, and prenatal pack + Vit D all taken before bed. It's just what works for me to get them all down.
Physically, I feel like myself, just with a baby bump! (Although I've had my share of pregnancy brain moments!) Carrying this little one straight out rather than growing out and around, like I did with Sophia. The maternity clothes are already being worn (and have been since about 14 weeks!)! I probably could get away with doing the Bella Band on most of my jeans and pants, but it's way more comfortable to wear stretchy elastic pants- leggings and jeggings are key right now! Heartbreaker (of all places!) has a lot of basic stretchy solid staples like leggings, long tanks, and tee shirts that have been great to pair with maternity and non-maternity clothes. I just bought the next size up, and since their store is so inexpensive may go back and get another size up as I grow. Paul loves the baby bump and seeing my belly/ baby grow-- and Sophia likes giving baby kisses and hugs!
I feel little flutters or "quickening " movements of the baby when in bed at night which is new within the last 2 weeks- we are going to schedule the ultrasound in the next week... and will find out whether the little babe is a he or she! We've already chatted up names and are praying for our little one's name. Stay tuned...!
I've been able to maintain my exercise regimen thus far- which is burst training (running at 100%, then breaking and resuming) and free weights 1-2x/wk, although bursting puts more pressure on my bladder and I feel like I need to pee while running- I guess you just have to do what you have to do! Towards the end of summer/ fall we did a lot of bike rides, trail walks, and I ran outside whenever I could- but now will have to stick to the gym. It was around 5 months in last time around that I stopped my regular workout routine and strictly did prenatal yoga at Blooma weekly. It's just not going to be realistic to get there as much and I want to stay active all throughout pregnancy so LTF it is, for now. Prenatal yoga for 1st time mom's is especially key because you learn how to get comfortable and find relief in your ever-growing body and connect with baby. I brought much of what was learned in prenatal yoga into the delivery and don't know what I would have done without it!
In addition to studying Genesis this year in BSF, I'm reading The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller, A Mother's Heart by Jean Fleming, and Infant + Child in the Culture of Today- a classic from the 70's that focuses on child development.
We've already started getting out the baby gear and rounding up what was lent out- as well as planning the nursery which will be a work in progress over the next few months. We visited Baby Grand to check out double strollers and attachments- and will phase Soph from her crib to toddler bed in the next couple weeks. There's still so much that we need to do before baby #2 enters our family- with potty training on the top of my list. Now is definitely the time to put these things into high gear! Thankfully, there is still another 5 months or so to go...!
