My husband and I were ready and looking forward to getting pregnant with baby #2. I have PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) and was told by my doctor a long time ago to always plan on it being very difficult to get pregnant. When we got pregnant with Ryder I was taking ovulation tests daily so I knew when it was prime time. We were very, very lucky and got pregnant within two months! My doctor was shocked and told me not to expect this when trying for baby number two. So when we decided we were ready to go for it, we knew we just needed to relax and take it month by month. Surprisingly, we got pregnant right away! Once again, so lucky and so grateful for this blessing!
I wasn’t expecting to get pregnant so quickly and wasn’t taking pregnancy tests because we weren’t really calculating and I wasn’t taking ovulation tests daily yet. One day I was rocking Ryder before nap-time and the rocking chair made me queasy. I thought , “What?! Maybe I should take a test? Ugh, but I’m gonna get my hopes up and it’s gonna be negative.” But I took one anyway. I kinda of forgot about it. I was busy doing my “mom chores” during nap-time when I remembered I had taken it and looked over to see “1-2 weeks pregnant”! I was in SHOCK! My heart started racing. Of course I took another test to make sure. I was overwhelmed with emotion and so excited!
How did you tell Tooth you were pregnant?
I waited to tell Tooth because I wanted to surprise him. I knew he wouldn’t be expecting it because we hadn’t been “trying” like last time. It was the day before Thanksgiving and we went on a date night out to get sushi and to a movie. I had wrapped up the positive pregnancy test and put it in a mini stocking as an early Christmas gift for him.
While we were waiting for our sushi I told him I had an early Christmas gift for him. He wasn’t expecting it and guessed that it was an ornament. LOL (We have a tradition of getting one new ornament a year for our family Christmas tree with the kids.) When he opened it, it took a minute for him to register what it was. His jaw dropped and he was silent! I just laughed and he said “NO WAY!!!! Seriously?!” ☺
I knew he would be surprised but his reaction was priceless and I wish I had videoed it! We spent the rest of the night talking about how blessed we were by our babies and I sipped on water and ate California rolls while he had a cocktail and sashimi. LOL Ahhh … the joys of pregnancy. We were both in shock but also so excited. We had a great night celebrating and day dreaming of whether or not it was a boy or girl. I’ll never forget the look on his face!
Best part of pregnancy?
Feeling/seeing her move is one of my favorite things! Watching my bump get bigger is fun because you can SEE her move and kick in there. Pregnancy is so strange because it’s such a roller coaster of ups and downs. I was just telling my hubby yesterday that I really want to soak up these last few days because as miserable as it can be, I know I’ll miss it when it’s over. I remember missing feeling Ryder move around in my belly after he was born. It’s the strangest thing… being so connected to your baby before you’ve even met. It’s amazing. And impossible to explain!
Worst Part of pregnancy?
Ugh, where to begin? LOL Nausea, headaches, back aches, trouble sleeping, peeing every 10 minutes, bending over – well, really just moving at all. HA! I have had really bad leg spasms with both pregnancies. At the end of the day my legs go crazy kicking all over the place! I have been overheating a lot this summer. Ryder is all dude and the poor kid just wants to play outside, but the heat gets me every time. Carrying Ryder while also carrying around a massive bump has been challenging. I can’t wait to hold Ryder close again! He gets frustrated that my belly is in the way when I rock him to sleep. I have also been sick a lot this pregnancy. When I was pregnant with Ryder I think I got one minor cold. NBD. This time I had flu and/or cold 5 times!!! So difficult. Especially when a toddler is involved. Those weeks were really rough!!!
Have your pregnancies been different?
YES! So different. Which is what led me to believe it was a girl – but I tried not to get my hopes up because I know some people who have had very different pregnancies and they have same sex children. I had a very smooth pregnancy with Ryder. I felt pregnant and not 100% myself, but overall, the pregnancy was pretty easy until the last 6 weeks – which were pretty miserable. This pregnancy was harder. I felt nausea all the time. I also felt SOOOO TIRED. Like, I can’t move because I’m so tired. The overwhelming exhaustion has been killer this time. I kept thinking I would have more energy later on … but it never happened. The nausea got better, but the exhaustion was intense and still is.
I’ve just been more uncomfortable in general this pregnancy but all the other stuff is kind of similar (headaches, back aches, leg spasms, etc) it’s just MUCH harder to be pregnant while also taking care of a toddler who is still so little and doesn’t understand what pregnancy is. Strangely, this pregnancy has been easiest in my third trimester. I obviously have a lot of physical pains and challenges, but I’ve had a little more energy and haven’t been overly miserable like I was the last 6 weeks with Ryder! I have days where I just want it to END! But overall, the third trimester hasn’t been too shabby this time. And… I’ve been much more emotional this pregnancy for whatever reason?
Cravings?
My cravings have been all over the place. In the beginning, I felt so sick! I ate a lot of bagels and breads. It was the only thing that didn’t make me sick! I still crave my mini bagels and split one with Ryder almost every morning ☺
There was a phase where all I wanted was chips and salsa. Then it switched to being obsessed with Cadbury eggs! I had one a day for over a month. OMG… Yikes! LOL I have craved comfort food the entire pregnancy. Mac and cheese, pizza, etc. I normally love fruit but couldn’t eat it at the beginning of the pregnancy, which was so strange! But I love it again. I have also craved ice cream, which is unusual for me. I’m usually a slurpee, sour straw, laffy taffy kind of gal ;)
How did you find out the gender?
We did a gender reveal for both pregnancies (check out my Gender Reveal blog post!) and I’m so glad we did. Both were amazing moments and memories and I’m so glad we captured it!
Here are a couple pictures from our maternity photo shoot we did when I was 30 weeks pregnant. I love these pictures and I am getting SO EXCITED to meet this baby girl! :) We love her so much already!!
Photos by Newell Jones Photography
