Pregnancy

We didn't start this blog until Josh was born, so I've never "blogged" about being pregnant. A few people have asked for bump pictures, so I thought I might as well post here. I'm now 31 weeks (32 tomorrow!) and in my 3rd trimester, but I thought I would comment on my whole pregnancy.

First trimester.... I was more sick this time around, and certainly more tired. However, I had a lot less fear and anxiety over the pregnancy because I had been through it before. I am seeing a group of Midwives this time around, and couldn't get an appointment until almost 11 weeks. I also started my new job at about 9 weeks, so we tried to keep the pregnancy a little more on the DL because I wanted to wait as long as possible to tell my job. It was certainly harder to be pregnant and caring for an active toddler. I took a lot of naps during Josh's nap time to be able to have the energy to care for him. I ended up not gaining any weight the first trimester, which was good for hiding my pregnancy at work :-)  I've always heard you start showing faster your second pregnancy--so I had been concerned that I wouldn't be able to hide it very long.

Second trimester.... Overall I enjoyed my second trimester much more than I did with my pregnancy with Josh. The weight gain my first time was much more mentally difficult for me, but this time I knew what to expect. Once the nausea from the first trimester ended, I mostly was feeling pretty good. I waited until about 16 weeks to tell my boss, and when I did she took it better than I expected. I'm still not sure if I will be going back to this job after this baby is born, but I will have been there for 7 months by the time this baby is due (I signed a 6 month commitment there). Towards the end of the second trimester, it started getting hard to carry Josh around. He went through a phase where when he saw a baby being carried, he wanted to be carried, which made this a bit more difficult. Fortunately he has gotten more independent, so usually I only need to carry him when he is really upset or refuses to do something. I also still need to lift him in and out of the car, into bed, or onto the changing table. 

Third trimester.... This is where this pregnancy has really been much harder than my last. It has been getting more and more difficult to play with Josh and lift him as I'm getting bigger. Unfortunately my 3rd trimester also coincides with cold and flu season. I've caught everything that Josh has come home with, which sadly has been a lot. It is MUCH harder to be sick while pregnant. I was not prepared for just how much it takes out of you to grow a person and fight illness. On top of the illnesses, I was carrying something down to the basement and slipped on our steps. I pretty badly injured my tailbone, and have been even more physically limited. I had to take tylenol around the clock for a week after the fall just to manage the pain. I'm finally starting to recover, but I know that I won't be 100% for a while yet. We just set up a changing table downstairs so that I won't have to bring him upstairs when watching him. In a few weeks he will be moving downstairs into a big boy bed which will help too. It has been getting harder to reach into his crib since I now have a giant belly in the way. I've been very lucky the past few weeks that Julian has been able to work from home on days that I'm home with Josh (if he is sick or daycare is closed for snow), because he can lift and carry Josh when needed.

The cool thing about the second pregnancy, is I know how fun it is to meet your baby. I'm very excited to get to know this little guy, and see if he has Julian's hair or not :-)  We spent a lot of time focusing on the birth my last pregnancy, and have not done that this time. I will be delivering at Shady Grove Hospital this time, so it will be a much shorter drive. We are thinking to hire a doula this time around, in part so that there is someone to be with me if Julian needs to do anything with Josh. I'm getting a bit late in the game though, so I will have to find one fast if we want one. 

We have been talking with Josh about his baby brother, and trying to get him prepared for it. If you ask him about his brother now he will tell you, "No pushing baby brother", which we think he learned at daycare. If anyone has any book suggestions for him (or us!) on how to make the transition that would be great! Any other tips would be appreciated too :)

30 weeks!