If my sporadic blog posts haven’t already given away, we’re expecting Baby #2 this September! Just like my pregnancy with Monica, we’re excited and a little nervous about what a new baby means for our family. Right now, I’m 18 weeks along and the baby is the size of a bell pepper.
For the sake of remembering (“baby brain” is real!) and to answer a few common questions:
Does Monica know?
This might sound kind of crazy, but she seemed to know I was pregnant before me! Right around the time I was expecting to get my period, she started to act really clingy. Her teachers at daycare have mentioned that kids seem to know and act differently around pregnant moms so I thought there was sometime to this dramatic shift in her behavior. One evening I asked her if there was a baby in my belly and she said, “yes.” Seeing as I was a few days late, I ran to Target to buy a pregnancy test (in addition to a bunch of random things….cough…ice cream) after she went to bed. Less than one minute after taking the test, we found out I was pregnant!
Looking back, there were a few dead giveaways that I had shrugged off. I took a 2.5 hour nap one weekend, my lower back was hurting, my gums were bothering me (perhaps pregnancy gingivitis?), among other symptoms. I was also feeling a little bloaty-er than usual and once I knew I was pregnant, I was convinced people would spot my baby bump a mile away. I’m pretty sure I felt as pregnant as I looked in my pregnancy annoucement with Monica.
Back to Monica, I’m not sure how much she really understands. She will occassionally say “hi” to the baby or kiss my belly. We also brought her to one of the ultrasound appointments and told her the image on the screen is the baby in Mommy’s belly. As the appointment continued, she would point to the screen and say “baby.”
We know things will be different for all of us, so we’ve purchased the books I’m a Big Sister (I’m a Big Brother is also available) and Waiting for Baby for Monica and Siblings Without Rivalry for us. Monica also has a few baby dolls she practices giving a bottle to. There will be all sorts of other transitions with moving to a big bed, changing rooms, potty training, etc. that we’re trying to spread out between now and the Fall.
Is this pregnancy any different? How is it being pregnant a second time? Is it easier?
In a way, I’d say this pregnancy is pretty similar to being pregnant with Monica. It was fairly easy with her and so far it’s shaping up to be the same. I only had a handful of days of morning sickness and low-level nausea during the first trimester was usually cured with a snack. I had a few days of bad headaches near the end of the first trimester and my doctor said that usually goes away around week 18 (a little caffiene and Tylenol also helps). I was also tiiiiired after dinner and on the weekends. Now that I’m in the second trimester, I’ve almost dropped my weekend naps. I’m sure they’ll be back in the third trimester ;)
As for being pregnant a second time (third when you count my miscarriage before Monica), I sort of knew what to expect going into it. I knew I would be tired. Recently, we’ve been going to bed earlier so that seems to have mitigated some of my fatigue. I knew I would get a little heartburn and would try to remember to eat smaller portions of food more slowly. I also knew snacks would take care of my unsettled stomach, leading to a bit more weight gain in the first trimester than the pregnancy websites predict.
That being said, I think my baby bump popped waaaaay earlier than has last time! Things are already stretched out and my body has already been through the drill. Naomi said it best in this post on Love Taza:
the human body is a funny one. at least mine is. it’s like, “oh you wanna have a baby in here again? no problem, i’ll upgrade this baby bump from a 1 bedroom to a 3 bedroom mansion this time around for the little one. you’ll look like you’re already far into your third trimester, but it’s cool. it’s cool. i got this.”
Finally, I have a better idea of what to expect with labor and delivery and can plan accordingly. I ended up having a C section with Monica since she was facing the wrong direction and labor wasn’t progressing. As of now, the doctors think a VBAC is a valid option. Once it gets closer to my due date, we’ll be able to prepare for the delivery and possibly have a set birth date if I need to schedule a C section.
Do you know if you’re having a boy or girl? Are you going to find out?
Ahhh, this one is always such a debate. Right now, it’s too early to know whether we’re having a boy or girl. And we decided to wait and be surprised this time! We found out with Monica, so we want to experience being surprised. And logistically we have the boy/girl stuff covered. We have Monica’s clothes if it’s a girl and can borrow boy things if it’s a boy.
Now that the big annoucement is blogosphere official, it’s kind of crazy to share that it’s my 31st birthday! Little did I know while celebrating my 21st birthday with my friends and John that I would married to him (we weren’t even officially dating then), already be a mom, and have Baby #2 on the way 10 years later. Which means there won’t be any shots or late-night parties this year. If Kendi has posted this dress a week or two earlier, I’m pretty sure I would be wearing it to our birthday/date night dinner. I haven’t pulled the trigger yet, but it’s tempting! Does anybody have experience with Chicwish and their sizing?
And just for fun, The Penny Hoarder shares a gigantic list of birthday freebies. I think a free drink at Starbucks might be in order this morning.
In other news: This is my new favorite salad. Was there any doubt, seeing as how one of the first ingredients is avocado? Mix in a few jalepenos, corn, and or black beans for a Cinco de Mayo twist!
Hope you have a fantastic weekend!