First Trimester Recap (Baby #2)

I won’t bombard you with lengthy monthly posts on every little detail of this pregnancy – I’ll only bombard you once a trimester. 😉 And if you haven’t already – read my preface to pregnancy posts for everyone who has a rough time with pregnancy announcements.

How I’m Feeling: Physically
Morning sickness like crazy. And I don’t mean “a little queasy when I wake up” I mean “throwing up all hours of the day and night”. It hit me a LOT sooner with this pregnancy than with Archer – I was prescribed Diclegis with him and was prescribed Bonjesta with this one (Double dose Diclegis, hollaaa!). I will still say that I think I threw up more with Archer. (PS, If this is you, I have a morning sickness survival guide coming that I hope will help!)

Fatigue – holy sleepiness. Is this because I have a toddler this time around? I have no idea. All I know is that when Archer takes a nap, I crash like I’m in a coma. (This sleep mask has been my personal blackout shade)

Heartburn – I had HORRIBLE heartburn with Archer but not until halfway through. It’s started much earlier this time around. And if the wive’s tales are true (and they were with hairy baby Archer), this little girl will be Rapunzel. (These Chewy Tums are surpisingly Skittle like and delicious and have made the heartburn bearable)

No gluten intolerance!! – This is a weird, positive symptom that happened with Archer and has happened again – none of my typical migraines and heartburn! (different kind of heartburn than pregnancy heartburn, I know it sounds crazy but I can tell)

Skin: I have really bad skin again – same as with Archer. I’ve started using Eminence Organics Eight Greens *affiliate link* skin care line since it’s supposed to help with hormonal acne (targeted more towards the menopausal but ohhh well.)

How I’m Feeling: Mentally
This time around I’m able to stay on my anxiety medication until the 3rd trimester and I’ve been seeing a psychologist regularly which has helped immensely with my anxiety in general. And I can tell a big difference from the fear I had during my pregnancy with Archer.

I’m due December 21st so I think I get pretty overwhelmed about a Christmas baby when I think too much about it.

Wrapping my mind around a GIRL! I really couldn’t imagine anything besides another Archer so I really am a little bit surprised! I’m so excited but feel like this is all new again.

Robert has been on sabbatical this summer and having him around has been so helpful on my really sick days. Overall I’m really trying to savor every moment of this pregnancy because now that I know what motherhood is like, I just want to rush until the baby is here!

What I’m Eating:
Cold, fruity things or really plain things. My default is a baked potato if I can’t seem to handle anything else (thank goodness for the McAlister’s around the corner). Grilled cheese sandwiches have been a staple as well. The hardest part this time around is spending the morning throwing up and having no appetite at all and then looking at Archer and going “Oh shoot, I still have to feed you.” Prepping his food has been pretty hard.

How I’m Sleeping:
Often and hard as a rock. I have had the strangest, most vivid dreams – not really outstanding, just really normal but very detailed dreams. I’m really excited to get a pregnancy pillow this time around because last time I said “Nah, I don’t need that, I’ll just sleep with these 5 pillows.” and I’ve been doing that ever since. This will really consolidate my sleeping space – here’s the pillow I have my eye on ;).

Exercise:
Pretty nonexistent until the very end of the first trimester. I was suuuper careful and cautious with Archer and only did “prenatal” workouts at home and this time around it’s a little harder to me to pace myself (I’m very all or nothing in most aspects of my life – working out is no different). I’m learning to self moderate and modify as needed. It’s harder but I’m enjoying keeping up with the classes I love at the Y (modified) without totally retreating into “prenatal” mode. Since I’ve been working out consistently since Archer was born, I feel like I know my body and my workout habits so much better! (Always check with your OB before working out while pregnant – there are a lot of different factors that affect your ability to exercise and your doctor will have the best wisdom!) I worked out consistently pre pregnancy so with modifications, I am still able to work out to a similar extent while pregnant but everyone is different! (I still love this DVD and this DVD for prenatal workouts at home – I got them my first pregnancy)

Challenges:
Traveling While Sick – Like I mentioned earlier, Robert is on sabbatical so we’ve been traveling a lot as a family and visiting lots of family and it has been SO hard for me to voice my needs. Like when I need to lay down or I can’t eat the dinner they’ve so kindly prepared or if I need to duck to a bathroom due to nausea. Not to mention flying with a lap child who does not want to be a lap child…

Keeping our Pregnancy Private – We told friends and family pretty early on but I really hated telling people out of necessity because I needed to pull over to throw up or I couldn’t make plans because I desperately needed to nap. So waiting until it was a joyful announcement was hard.

What I’m Wearing:
I will say – I am much wider this pregnancy than I was with basketball baby Archer, I’ve been told that’s a baby girl thing. That being said, I have no bump yet but the maternity shorts are already on. I remember with Archer I bought a ruched maternity shirt at 7 weeks and now I’m trying SO hard to wear all my normal clothes as long as possible.

I mainly wanted to go ahead and buy some athletic wear I can grow into this summer and fall – I bought a few non maternity things that will work for maternity and postpartum.

• Lululemon Align Leggings (I wish this was an affiliate link…alas, ’tis not ;))
• Lululemon Run Times Shorts (I sized up 2 sizes so they’re huge right now but that thick waistband will be AMAZING in a few months, they also have a drawstring so they can fit around the waist even now) also – somehow I got the “tall” length so they’re not constantly riding up. Didn’t know this was even an option but I love it!
• I’m still hunting for tank tops that aren’t too short for a growing belly. All my tops still work for now so I’ll keep you posted.
• I also bought these sports bras when I was nursing and they’ve been great for pregnancy also!

Self Care:
I would say making time for naps has really been my priority – I’m just a monster when I’m tired and I’m grumpy and make everyone else around me grumpy. I think stepping away by myself to do things I enjoy that are non pregnancy related has been wonderful for me too – like sitting in this coffee shop writing here while Robert takes Archer for the morning ;).

Baby Prep:
Rearranging the rooms and figuring out where Archer will be and where the new baby will be, going through all of Archer’s baby stuff, etc. We are also starting some construction on a garage in our backyard that will last until November! It will be worth it and so helpful when baby comes but it’s going to be a lot right now. Oh also and buying all the bows for baby girl is obviously top of the list.

What’s Next:
I’m currently in the second trimester and all is going well! We have a few more trips this summer that I’m looking forward to and hopefully the end of morning sickness and the beginning of the magical second trimester energy!

(All Amazon links are affiliate links)