Baby Number 2!

Before having kids, my plan was always to have babies pretty close in age. After having Porter however, I was okay with waiting a little longer. Both to give myself time to get back into shape and to give him the time and attention before we introduced a sibling. Selfishly, I was also REALLY enjoying having Porter all to myself. He grew into his fun, larger than life personality and I just adored any time spent with him. I was finally settled into a new workout routine and was seeing great results, plus we were preparing to move into a new house. All in all things just generally seemed really manageable.

But, life has other plans.

My very first clue came on a Sunday afternoon where I was so exhausted I had to take a nap. This may not seem like a big clue to you but, guys, I never nap. I don’t really know how, it is just not in my wheelhouse. It came fast and sudden and out of nowhere and I think I took an over three hour nap. I brushed it off as a weird anomaly and didn’t think anything of it, even when Chris joked about how I only nap when pregnant. Mind you, I had kind of gotten my period only once since I gave birth to Porter. I was still breastfeeding at the time and it was really only a day of spotting. I attributed this to my change in supply in response to Porter’s increase in solid food intake.

My second clue came was when I started crying, no bawling, at the news. Understandably there have been some pretty upsetting events that have taken place but my reaction was disproportionately worse than any I have had before. I was unable to shake it off and stop crying incessantly for days. Still, I wasn’t exactly concerned about pregnancy but something in the back of my brain was itching. I had plans to go out with a friend the next weekend to a local wine bar and before I accidentally pickled my potential unborn child in red wine I wanted the peace of mind that I wasn’t pregnant . So I got up early one morning and I took a pregnancy test.

And it was positive! WHAT! We were going to have another baby – like right now. I was excited and nervous at the same time. Porter had just turned 10 months old and imagining adding another baby to the mix just seemed crazy. However, after I told Chris the news and saw his excitement and positivity I knew this was how it was meant to be.

As time went on I gave myself a little space to be sad about it not being just Porter and I anymore so that I could make space for the excitement and joy that new life brings. Over time I have learned it’s important to recognize and sit in your emotions instead of pushing them down and brushing them off. Just like cleaning out your closet- you won’t have any place to put new clothes if you haven’t addressed your old clothes and donations pile, right? I couldn’t wait to see he/she on ultrasound, even if they only looked like a gummy bear. Surprisingly, at our first appointment I found out I wasn’t as far along as I had thought, which made sense with not really having a regular cycle beforehand, so I mentally prepared myself for two more weeks of first trimester symptoms. Planned or unplanned, surprise or not – having a baby is such a wonderful gift and I am so lucky to be able to have another soul join our family.

A Few Notes On The First Trimester

The exhaustion this time was real y’all. Maybe because I was also chasing a toddler around and not able to lounge around like I did for my first pregnancy, but it was so hard to peel myself out of bed in the morning. Couple this with the stress of moving to a new house, I was barely a functioning human being. Thankfully Chris took up the slack big time for me.

My workout style didn’t need to change this early in pregnancy but I was preferring heavy lifting to cardio. Your body is actually doing a crazy amount of work in these early weeks with all the rapid cell development so I make it a point to listen to it intuitively and take the rest when I need to. Some days a walk around the block is all I was up for- and that’s okay!

I didn’t really have cravings with my first pregnancy and this one was no different. I always feel so uneventful when I tell this to people. Sometimes I wanted sweets which is out of the norm for me – I am a carbs girl through and through – and my go-to was lemonade or sour patch kids.

The biggest difference in pregnancies so far was my mood. I don’t know if that because I was still breastfeeding my hormones were more elevated, but I was a mess. I woke up so tired and emotional, everything made me cry, and I felt like a teenager going through PMS for the first time. Luckily this symptom went away right around the start of the second trimester, like a cloud was suddenly lifted, but I am remaining vigilant and will take special notice during the postpartum period to keep my mood in check.

I started to show a earlier this time and by 8 weeks I had a little belly you could see in workout attire. I took my maternity clothes out a little sooner than expected and have them on standby. Curious to see if my bump looks the same or if I carry differently this time!

Overall we are settling into the second trimester well (I call it the ‘honeymoon phase of pregnancy’) and I am beyond excited to meet this little babe.