Our Growing Family: A First Trimester Update

Y’all, it has been over four months since I posted here and I’m not really sure how I feel about that.  Sometimes I miss the consistency of writing and the community I’ve found here and other times I’m grateful for the free time that’s opened up in my schedule when there’s no deadline to meet or other tasks to complete.

But I thought it was about time to pop back in and share one of the main reasons why my free time has mostly been filled with napping and reading the last few months (and it’s not just because I’m lazy!).  Right in the middle of our fun and busy summer, we had what will probably be one of the biggest surprises of our lifetime – we found out that baby #2 will be joining us in March 2018!

I’m going to be completely honest with you here…this pregnancy was quite a surprise for us.  Yes, we know how pregnancy happens. 🙂 Yes, we were hoping to eventually have another little one to give Caleb a brother/sister and experience all the joy that comes with growing your family.  And if you had asked us last spring when that would happen, we would have told you at least not for another year.

It doesn’t mean that we are anything less than overjoyed about the sweet baby growing in my belly right now and we feel so grateful and overwhelmed to so far have another healthy baby and pregnancy.  I know so many amazing men and women who desperately long to grow their families or experience the pain and heartbreak of infertility and pregnancy/infant loss, so I almost feel silly talking about how much of an adjustment this surprise pregnancy has been for us.  But like I’ve said many times before, I believe all feelings are worth exploring to discover what they can teach us about our hearts and about God, and the ways we’ve wrestled with this pregnancy are no different.

These last few months, we’ve been reminded over and over that God’s timing and plan are perfect.  Even when we canceled our plans for a five year, kid-free anniversary trip to Mexico a month before this baby is due, we remembered that there is a season for everything and we now have the chance to find joy and romance together in new ways (like a babymoon to San Francisco in November!).

When we started to get nervous about another few months of the crazy, sleep-deprived newborn stage (and now with a toddler to entertain as well), God used other friends and experienced parents to remind us that He is present even in those hard moments and His love and grace are sufficient for us.  Every time I look at the hilarious, loving, sweet little toddler that I am so proud to call my own, I’m reminded that the hard newborn months pass and those snuggly little baby nuggets become little people with minds and personalities I get to watch blossom.

And when I heard that little heartbeat beating on the ultrasound for the first time in August, I felt waves of love and gratitude wash over me for the honor and privilege it is to feel another little soul growing inside my body.  I cried the whole way home from that appointment because I was so overwhelmed with the joy of carrying another little one next to my heart for another ten months (and many years to come).

God’s timing is good and I am 100% sure that what He’s doing now is the absolute best thing for our family.  We are so grateful for a healthy mama and healthy baby so far and can’t wait to meet this little one in less than six months.

A Quick Pregnancy Update

All of that said, I do want to give a brief update on how these last few months have been! This pregnancy has been SO different than Caleb’s pregnancy, which blows my mind.  I’ve definitely experienced lots of nausea, but not as intensely or frequently as I did with Caleb.  Since I’m not working now (at least not full time), I’m able to take naps when Caleb naps and that midday rest helps me to get through the first trimester exhaustion.

Maybe the weirdest part of this pregnancy is the food aversions.  There are days where absolutely nothing sounds good to eat.  I’ve mostly been in survival mode and even the things I craved in Caleb’s pregnancy (aka anything with cheese) have sounded disgusting to me.  Here’s hoping that changes soon and I can jump back into a more normal and healthy eating routine! At the 16 week mark I’m starting to feel a little more normal again so I’m hoping that pattern continues.

Another difference with this pregnancy is that I have been sleeping so poorly, something I never experienced with Caleb (I slept like a rock with him until the very end when I’d wake up to my hips cramping and aching).  I’ve been tossing and turning all night, waking up with vivid dreams or just randomly waking up at all hours of the night.  It’s so frustrating to be absolutely exhausted and then still not able to sleep at night! I’m definitely hoping that calms down a little bit during the second trimester before I get so big that sleep is uncomfortable again.

And finally, let’s just say that second babies show a whole lot quicker than first ones.  I bought maternity shorts within a week of taking that pregnancy test because first trimester bloat is no joke and I wasn’t trying to be uncomfortable while chasing around a toddler in the summer heat.  Things calmed down a bit after a few weeks of bloating, but now at the fifteen week mark I’ve definitely got a bit of a bump.  I’m excited for it to feel more like a bump and less like a burrito belly, and hopefully that transition will come soon!

Thanks for reading this long update, y’all.  I really do miss sharing life with you all and hope to pop back in to document this pregnancy like I did with our first! So stay tuned for more updates soon, especially as we find out the gender soon.  So much fun to come! 🙂