1st Trimester Reflection {Baby #2}

I am 14 weeks pregnant today.  No matter how you slice it, I am officially in my second trimester!  This is absolutely mind blowing to me.  Ayden's pregnancy flew by and I wouldn't think time could pass any quicker than that.  Add mothering a toddler into the mix and I honestly forget that I am pregnant half the time.  Around this time during Ayden's pregnancy, at 13 weeks actually, I wrote a post titled "First Trimester Reflection." I thought it would be fun to do that again this time around.  I'm going to stick with a similar format for comparison purposes:

Fatigue: Just like with Ayden's pregnancy, this has been my main and most consistent symptom.  It started at around 7 weeks and ended yesterday.  It was like a switch flipped.  Holy Moly the exhaustion that I experience during pregnancy is unparalleled, even when compared to sleepless nights.  Growing a placenta and nourishing a little person really takes a toll on a body.  I am SO glad that we got Ayden's sleep down right around the time we found out we were expecting this little one.  The funny part is that I just started getting to enjoy what lots of sleep feels like.  

Morning Sickness: I got lucky again this time around in this department.  From weeks 7-11ish I had to get a little something in my stomach RIGHT when I woke up or I'd feel nauseous.  As long as I did that we were good.   Ayden has a one track mind for nursing right when he wakes up so he wasn't a huge fan of my pitstops in the kitchen but mama's gotta take care of herself before she can take care of anyone else!  A few bites of banana was all I needed and I was good to go until I could eat my actual breakfast. I did toss my cookies one time in the first trimester with Ayden but it was triggered by a sensitive gag reflex while brushing my tongue.  I have not noticed that this time around.

Food Aversions: This has been really interesting to me because this was a pretty big deal during Ayden's entire pregnancy.  Starting at around 7 weeks I could NOT stomach leafy greens and if I saw, smelled or touched rotten greens (even moldy fresh flower stems) I was running to the bathroom.  I have not had this problem at all this time around.  I've eaten salads and taken wilted lettuce to the compost heap without a care in the world.  

Cravings:  Olives, kosher dill pickles (cliche, I know...), salt and vinegar chips (have not indulged this one).  I seemed to be on some sort of quest for tangy things?  My sweet tooth was also missing.  I still enjoy sweets when I eat them but they never called for me from the pantry.  I even went TWO WEEKS without buying our usual dark chocolate bars.  They were just totally off my radar somehow.  If you know me well you know the craziness of that statement.

Worry: There really wasn't any this time around.  At least not pregnancy related.  I've had a few fleeting thoughts like, "Should we have waited another year with all that we have going on?" and "Will Ayden still need me as much as he does now when Baby comes?  Will I be able to be what both babies need?" and things like that.  The good news is that I have been able to reassure myself in all situations.  I have adapted before and will adapt again.  If you wait until the "right time" you'll never do anything.  Also, there are PLENTY of mamas out there who have their kids even closer together than we will (they'll be a little over 2.5 years apart) and they do it.  Why can't I?

Body Changes: Things are a little different this time around.  I started out at the same weight I was when I got pregnant with Ayden.  I had dropped a decent amount below that for a while but with a combination of relaxing our diet a little and Ayden not nursing as much I had gained some back.  I'm pretty sure that my pre-pregnancy weight for both of these pregnancies must be my magical fertile weight which also tells me it is a healthy weight.  I have gained 3.5lbs so far which is about the same place I was at this point in Ayden's pregnancy too (seeing LOTS of similarities here).  The girls are sore, especially when Ayden first latches, and my belly is definitely rounding out. I've even felt a couple of flutters (didn't feel those until around 18 weeks with Ayden.  They say you can feel them up to a month earlier with subsequent pregnancies and I guess "they" are right!)

I am at that awkward stage where my regular clothes are beginning to feel uncomfortable yet I'm not really ready to bust out the maternity wardrobe.  I just feel bloated and frumpy and would prefer to hang out in my PJs all the time.  I'm definitely ready for a full-on baby bump! Even so, I am embracing the beauty of pregnancy and doing my best to enjoy it (even though I feel like I have a gut rather than a baby belly at the moment).  It definitely helps that David is enjoying the changes too!

Headaches: I had the SAME kind of headaches that I had during Ayden's first trimester return and have had 3 I think?  My midwife said they are probably hormonal. They are really intense and sleep does not help (the headaches actually wake me up if I try and sleep while I have them). I didn't take anything for them during Ayden's pregnancy but I have taken Tylenol a couple of times this go around (once was while I had that nasty stomach bug and had a fever) because I had to be functional enough to care for Ayden. I am really uncomfortable with taking any medication while pregnant, even if it is said to be "safe", so I am really hoping that I can avoid taking any more.  It's weird that I had my first case of mommy guilt when the 2nd hasn't even been born yet.  I felt torn, like I had to choose between the two, and from what I've heard I have a lot more of that in my future.

Mood: Not different unless I skipped my naps and was over-tired or had a terrible headache.  Then I was just short fused and grouchy but I don't think that qualifies as being pregnancy related.

Exercise: We joined the gym the DAY before I got my positive pregnancy test...  Excluding the week I was sick and most of the week after that, I've been going 2-3 times a week.  I've been doing a lot of Yoga/Pilates and some jogging.  Now that my energy is back I'm going to step it up a notch.  I'll also need to switch things up as the belly grows (spinning or aquatic classes perhaps?) because the yoga and pilates are not prenatal and do a lot of postures that would not be comfortable with a big baby belly.

The last thing to mention that is obviously different than Ayden's  pregnancy is breastfeeding while pregnant.  My original plan was to nurse Ayden for 1 year.  Once we hit that milestone, and I learned about the benefits of extended breastfeeding, my goal became 2 years.  I'm definitely not producing much milk and Ayden is now down to 1-2 (sometimes 3) short sessions per day but I'm sure it is still taking some of my energy.  We are both still enjoying the relationship, though, and I have no desire to make these last months with just me and my sidekick traumatic in any way so, as usual,  we are going with the flow.  We went to "don't offer, don't refuse" and have now moved on to "don't offer, attempt to distract or redirect when he does request" and I only nurse him if he still really wants to after that.  It seems to be working and our only consistent nursing session at the moment is first thing in the morning. As far as tandem nursing goes, I'm not really interested in doing it but we will see where we are when the time comes.  I will continue to attempt to gently and subtly wean Ayden in the meantime and we shall see where that takes us.

Highlights: The highlights of this pregnancy so far have been:

- Getting to have fun with conceiving.  It took us almost 2 years to become pregnant with Ayden.  This time took us only 2 or 3 months.  Definitely not enough time to stress about a thing.  

- Our 11 week ultrasound pictures.  We had a 6.5 week ultrasound with Ayden (to make sure it wasn't another molar pregnancy) and he was just a little dot on the screen.  It is so fun to see a human-looking baby this time around!  

-And hearing the heart beat for the first time is always amazing.

There you have it!  The longest post ever about my first trimester.  I'm ready for things to slow down now.  I know August (or September) will be here before we know it.

Are you pregnant at the moment?  How far along?

~Sarah

Flashback!

Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Blueberry Monster"

And two years ago today: "Sick Day"

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