When I was pregnant with Sophia, I did a series of weekly pregnancy posts to document the experience. It has been so fun to look back on those now that we're expecting baby #2! There's so much that I forgot and I'm thankful that I took the time to document. This time around, I have a little less free time on my hands but I wanted to still document some of the milestone weeks, starting with our mid-way point. Let's start with the belly pic (how I wish I had started these earlier to compare!)...
At 20 weeks, 6 days, Easter Sunday
Someone insisted she be included, too!
How Far Along: 21 Weeks. I can’t believe I waited until halfway through this pregnancy to document the details that I’ll soon forget once little man is in my arms. I’ll kick myself for that one someday. But here we are…more than halfway through this pregnancy! I have to admit, I hope this one slows down just a little. It’s much easier to enjoy it the second time around! Plus, I have a wild sweet toddler I’d like to soak up as many precious only-child moments with before the chaotic life with two littles begins.
Pregnancy Symptoms: Looking back, this pregnancy has been pretty comparable to Sophia’s. Right now, my symptoms include some mild nausea (it came back right around 19 weeks like it did with Sophia), insomnia (but hey, I’m used to not sleeping, right?), and a lack of energy (chasing a toddler while pregnant is like doing cardio all day long!). Early on in the pregnancy, I had awful nausea and the vomiting lasted a few more weeks than it did with Sophia. The one thing that’s been different with this pregnancy was the migraines I experienced towards the end of the first trimester and up until week 17. Thankfully, they’ve gone away now but everyone was convinced we were having a boy for that reason.
Food Cravings: Bagels, blueberry muffins, chocolate milk, and ice cream. I’m having more food aversions than cravings really at this point. During the first trimester, I ate whatever I could keep in me and whatever made my stomach feel better – mostly bland carbs like bagels, crackers, and ginger ale. I haven’t been a fan of meats this time around, especially ground meats like turkey or beef. I’m also finding the taste and texture of plain milk to be weird and rather gross. This one always makes people laugh because apparently milk doesn’t have a texture but there’s just something about it that I can’t get past. Hence the chocolate milk…it’s much smoother and well, delicious (probably because it has no nutritional value, right?).
The Belly: Oh the belly…it’s growing much faster the second time around! Dave looks at me daily and asks if my belly doubled in size overnight (not the nicest thing to say to your pregnant wife, Dave!). With Sophia, I didn’t put on maternity pants until just about halfway through and even then, they were always too big. With this pregnancy, I slapped on those elastic-banded jeans at 12 weeks and felt instant satisfaction. My doctor told me not to worry, that by the third baby you put on maternity pants as soon as the little pee stick says positive. Joy! I’m looking forward to wearing some fun spring/summer maternity clothes this time around. Since Sophia’s pregnancy fell in the middle of winter, it was all pants and sweaters. This time I’ll get to wear all those cute dresses and skirts. Remind me that I was excited about cute summer clothes when I’m complaining how hot and huge I am when the weather gets all humid and sticky.
Best Pregnancy Moment of the Week: Last week we found out that we are having a baby boy!! Dave and I had a feeling it was a boy from early on but we certainly didn’t have our hearts set on it. When we had our ultrasound, it was incredibly obvious what was hiding between baby’s legs and we are thrilled! It’s absolutely wonderful having a little girl but I’m looking forward to learning about raising little boys. From what I hear, it can be quite different and it’ll be fun to experience both. Sophia was convinced she was having a baby sister but is finally coming around to the idea of a baby brother. We have the room all painted with her old nursery furniture in it and she loves going in his room saying, “Baby brother…where are you?” She loves telling people that there’s a baby in mommy’s belly and insists they take a look. She’s going to be such a great big sister. It’s so much fun having her be a part of our preparations and getting her ready for her big, important role.
There were so many cute ideas on Pinterest for a gender reveal but having an energetic toddler to incorporate, I wanted to keep it simple. I whipped up a little banner and blew up some balloons and Sophia was in heaven. She actually smiled! Here's how we shared the news of what we were expecting:
