Believe it or not, I am well into my third trimester with baby #2! This post was initially just a second trimester recap, but I’m only a few weeks away from full term… so I think it’s about time to wrap this all up and have a baby! Momma is ready to GO!
I often heard that your second pregnancy flies by because you’re preoccupied with your first child… isn’t that the truth! As excited as I am to soon meet this sweet baby of mine, I can’t help but feel a bit of heart ache too. My time with only Connor is coming closer and closer to the end. I know that our love will double within the very first second of laying eyes on our baby, but it’s bittersweet in these last few weeks. I find myself tearing up while rocking him to bed, feeling like he was just a newborn in my arms in the middle of the night. Our mid-morning grocery store runs, afternoons beings silly in the basement, and evening cartoons before bedtime will soon change. It’s all a wonderful change, but just like anything else, change is hard. I pray Connor knows that he will always be my baby. He was the one that made me a momma, and got to see me when I was learning most. I also know, he is going to LOVE having a sibling. He thrives around other kids, and is so gentle with his baby cousins. If baby #2 is a boy, he’ll be guaranteed a built in best friend. If baby #2 is a girl; a very spoiled “momma’s boy” will stick around a little bit longer.
Now on to my symptoms…
Overall I think this pregnancy has been pretty similar to when I was carrying Connor. I most definitely popped sooner, and feel a whole lot bigger this go-around. (My uterus is totally like “I’ve been here, done that”). Sadly once again, I’m not having any fun food cravings. At the beginning of my second trimester I was eating a lot of pickles, because the salt was just too good to resist. Now I am loving mostly fruit; blueberries and oranges being my favorite (EXACTLY like I was with Con!) Other than feeling big and being out of breath the majority of the time, my worst symptom of all is definitely my painful varicose veins in my legs. I had them during my first pregnancy, but nothing like I have them now. I’m sporting some super sexy compression socks and actually had to see a specialist earlier in December, confirming that I was clot-free. Wish me luck that I find relief once postpartum.
Exercise wise, I’m continuing to move my body 5-6 times a week. But let’s be honest here… I’m not nearly as intense as I was with my first pregnancy. With Connor I was in the spin studio five days a-week and kicking serious butt. These days I am working out in my basement for 30 minutes or so, and trying to sneak over to the studio once a week. This time around I’m giving myself more grace. I know my body will lose the baby weight, and will go back to being strong and heathy postpartum; working out now is simply for giving me the confidence and endurance I need going into labor.
Although we will be in our Cleveland house for a few months after baby is born, we won’t be creating any type of nursery. Jake’s home office is currently squeezed into our guest room, and truly, the baby doesn’t need much anyways. We’ll keep baby #2 in a bassinet in our room, and share Connor’s closet, changing table, etc. Once we move in the spring, I’ll be able to focus on designing a beautiful nursery space!
Lastly, I am still team boy! (Jake is convinced it’s a girl.) We have settled on a name for each gender, but won’t be sharing until the birth of course. We love the surprise and anticipation …and having absolutely no regrets waiting to find out! If you ever get the chance… WAIT!!
Carrying, growing, and nourishing my children to Earth side is the greatest privilege I’ve ever had. Watching my body change, and knowing a person is becoming all who they are meant to be is a feeling only one would understand if they have also done it. The biggest honor of my life. Baby #2, we’re just about ready for you… soon, my littlest love. Soon.
A big thank you to my younger brother for taking just 10 minutes and capturing these candid shots in our home. A formal maternity shoot just didn’t feel right this time around. I’ll cherish these intimate moments forever though.
