I’ve been debating whether I would do any pregnancy updates this time around; I kept thinking to myself that I’d missed the boat because I’m already well into the second trimester! And then it felt a bit daunting to try and recap the entire first trimester again. In the end, I decided to dive into it, and not feel the need to make it perfectly complete! I really love doing these updates (and especially, hearing from you). They are fun to write, and a nice change from food (although, I will probably talk about that a lot here too…it is ME after all). I would also like to apologize for failing to update this Baby section for so long. I’m not sure how often I’ll be able to update here, but I will try to as frequently as I can.
My first trimester was pretty much identical to my first pregnancy! It was like a carbon copy of similar emotions, cravings, nausea, and tiredness. I went through the same first trimester blues for many weeks. I’m not sure if it’s because I went through both first trimesters during the winter, but wow my hormones really got out of whack and I did not feel like myself for a long time. At least the second time around, I knew that there was light at the end of the tunnel. By around 15 weeks, I noticed a big improvement in my mood, energy, etc. If you want to read all about my first trimester with my first pregnancy, you can find it here. Like I said, virtually identical experiences!
Somehow I’m 19 weeks pregnant already! As always, time is flying and life feels busier than it’s ever been with the growing business and an active toddler. I cannot believe how quickly each week passes.
Cravings: Chocolate anything—especially this pudding (I couldn’t touch it for the first trimester, so it’s fun to have it back!), avocado and marinara sauce on rice cakes, my Maple-Cinnamon Almond Butter, hummus, all the fruit, sautéed mushrooms, and salads. It’s nice to be craving healthy foods again (for the most part). I had a really random craving for a hot dog the other week, and I satisfied it with a delicious Field Roast sausage. They are INCREDIBLE. I hadn’t had one in ages and did it ever hit the spot. One thing is for sure: my “food kicks” change rapidly week to week. This makes creating blog recipes a bit challenging because I often lose interest halfway through the testing process!
Mood: All over the place! I can feel super happy, emotional, irritable, anxious, etc. all in the same hour.
Baby’s sex: As you may have read, we found out the sex this week! It’s so exciting to finally know. And it feels even more real now as we can picture what our family of four will be. We’re keeping it a surprise, so I’ll let you have your guesses!!
Movement: I’ve felt movement for a long time, but just in the last week I’ve felt real-deal kicks. I forgot what a cool feeling it is! This little stinker seems like an active one. I’m not too surprised because it is the year of the Monkey!
Carrying: I’m carrying low just like I did in my first pregnancy. In the opening photo, you’ll see a side-by-side picture of first and second pregnancies. It’s always fun to look back on these pics, and I’ll be doing it often.
Weight gain: I’m up a few pounds compared to this same time last pregnancy. I’m not paying too much attention to the numbers though, as every pregnancy is different and I know that I’m eating well and exercising daily! Baby is right on track for growth according to my anatomy scan.
Nursery: I started a Nursery 2.0 Pinterest board in the first trimester, but I haven’t worked on it in a while. I tried to pin a wide variety of nurseries since we hadn’t found out about the sex. Our guest bedroom is going to be turned into the second nursery. We’re doing home renovations this summer, so I have a feeling the nursery setup might be a last minute thing. Eric likes this idea because he says I’ll have less time to change my mind! He’s probably right. I probably changed my mind a million times with the first nursery. Anyway, we have to move into the guest room temporarily while our master bath gets renovated. Hopefully we’re not in there too long!
Names: We have a small list, but aren’t close to a decision yet! It’s really hard for us to both agree on a name!
Midwife or OB: I went with an OB for my first pregnancy, and this time I’m seeing a midwife. It’ll be interesting to see how the two experiences compare.
Exercise: I took several weeks off of exercise during the first trimester (I could barely get off the couch, let alone work out), but I got back into it around 11 or 12 weeks along. Since then I’ve been really consistent and I look forward to my workout every day! I’m doing a mix of Barre3 online workout videos and fast hill walking on the treadmill. Barre3 is so great because there is little impact, but I see great results. When the weather is nice, I always get out for walks, too.
Aches and pains: I’ve had some stretching-type pains in the stomach/pelvic area here and there. My sciatica pain has also come back in the last week (I had it really bad in my first pregnancy), so I made an appointment with my osteopath immediately because she was the only person who could help me last time. I’ve already felt some improvement after one visit. I’ve also scaled down the incline on the treadmill, and I make a point to stretch the area daily.
Sleep: If you saw my Snapchat last night, you may have seen that we’ve been going through a rough patch with sleep these past couple months! Adriana is teething like crazy, going through the 18-month sleep regression, and also experiencing night terrors occasionally. A triple whammy! I also have pregnancy insomnia now and then (usually if she has a great night of sleep, I will be wide awake! lol). So there’s that. Sleep hasn’t been great since before my first pregnancy so I think my body is just used to it now, and I’m able to carry on with my day. I think you just get used to a new normal somehow.
Currently wearing: empire dresses (obsessed!) or black leggings. I have a feeling I’m going to be all about the dresses this summer!
Breastfeeding: I breastfed Adriana until a month ago (18 months old). She never took to any other kind of milk (she rejected everything we gave her), so she was a breastmilk baby through and through. I wrote this entry to her in my pregnancy journal last month:
We had our last nursing session tonight, I think. Well, my milk has been dried up for a few days now (which is a result of the pregnancy), but you still tried for a bit of comfort feeding. You don’t seem heartbroken like I am…in fact, you seem fine with it which makes me feel relieved that it ended so naturally. Our sessions decreased gradually with time. I cried a bit after I put you down to sleep that night, and felt emotional all week about it ending. I miss our little quiet moments together with you so peaceful in my arms. Still, I’m so grateful that we made it this far and even though it was rocky at times, I will always cherish the experience. I’m a bit curious as to whether you’ll try to tandem feed once you see the new baby nursing in the fall, or if you’ll be past it by then.
PS – You can read my 19 week recap from my first pregnancy here!
Hi Angela! Any suggestions for an alternative to cows milk for a 12 month old?
Hi Jess, We’ve tried every kind of milk going (including homemade versions) after she hit 1 year and unfortunately my diva daughter (lol!) has not taken to any kind of milk yet (just water right now). So we try to get her calcium in other ways. I would speak with your doc about options. I personally tried fortified plant milks, organic goat’s milk from a local farm, homemade hemp milk, etc.
My younger daughter nursed until she was two and a half. I sort of decided to end that relationship because I knew it was strictly for comfort and I was preparing to do a detox program and felt it was safer for her to not nurse while I did it…we had a few tears but overall, she handled it really well. I was definitely sad and do miss it, especially because at the age of 47, she’s likely the last baby. All the milestones can be so bittersweet and it seems every joy of motherhood is coupled with a tiny bit of heartbreak that our babies aren’t really babies anymore. I so love the updates on your pregnancy and wish you all the best. You seem to be very grounded, centered when it comes to your children and it’s inspiring to see how openly you share and how committed you are to really celebrating ever moment as they do fly by much too quickly. However, with every fleeting moment of surprise, laughter, joy and tears, there is always another close on it’s heels and I think that gut knowledge is what keeps us mommies from just sobbing constantly about how fast our kids are growing up. The love you express for your kids is so touching! As for gender, we waited to find out with our younger daughter and it was hard and everyone kept asking if we were hoping for a boy but we truly did not care, safe and healthy was all that mattered! Once she was born, we made everyone come to the hospital to find out she was a she! It was sorta fun torturing them:) Take care and thanks so much for letting so many strangers share your journey!
Hi Milissa, Oh you describe motherhood so eloquently! I couldn’t agree more. Thanks for your lovely words!
Yay, I’m so excited you decided to write these posts again :D. You look great and I’m glad to hear you’ve beaten the ‘first-trimester-blues’. Congrats again and looking forward to reading future updates!
I always wanted to give up breastfeeding from a few months before trying again for #2 (just so my body would be “hormone-free” for a while, I’m still so emotional at times!) but you’ve made me debate that decision and I might continue to feed for the entire first year. Will have to think about it. I do love that special bonding time! :)
Thank you so much Denise! Good luck with making your decision. I’m sure whatever you decide will work out just fine in the end. :)
I’m so glad you’re doing the pregnancy updates for baby #2. I love reading about different pregnancy blogs and pregnancy really, really fascinates me. I know I sound weird, but thanks again for the updates. I cannot WAIT for your next cookbook.
Not weird at all, Tiffany! Haha. Thanks for your kind words!
Awwww! Thanks for sharing, Angela! Those side-by-side pics at the top are SO CUTE! I can’t believe how the same you look!
I just got your newsletter and was like yessssss! I LOVED these updates when I was pregnant and I especially loved the baby ones, and I must have looked at them 100 times when I first had Chloe!
I was nowhere near as consistent as you, but I even managed to do a few posts over at my neck of the woods because I found them so helpful.
Congratulations! Very happy for you. Our baby was an IVF baby, and we’re just about to get back on the bandwagon – oh boy, I am SO clucky!
Aw, I’m so happy that you’ve enjoyed the updates so much Robyn. Good luck with everything!
I love your post! Your heartfelt words brought tears to my eyes and pulled my heart strings! I have a baby your daughter’s age (born Sept 2014) and we still nurse. Your words melted my heart. What a beautiful Mom you are.
Hi Angela,
You mentioned that you were interested in how the OB experience compared to the midwife one. Have you done a post on that topic or a recap? If not, I’d love to know your thoughts. I’m debating between the two at the moment!
Hey Stephanie, I had a great experience with my midwives, and if we have another baby, I will definitely go with them again. I found the care to be a bit less rushed and intimate.
Hi Angela!
I’m 11 weeks pregnant and I felt very accompanied by reading about your first trimesters. Around me all the women seem not to be surprise when I tell them that I only want stay on the couch… I was telling speaking with my mother about that today and she was like: “tired? no, I’m actually feeling pretty energetic these days…” -and I: “mum, you are not pregnant” – and she: “yes, I know, but I’m 62”. It was like a film scene… Thank you for posting your experiences.
Hi Angela, your First Trimester post from baby #1 has gotten me through some grueling weeks of the first trimester! Thank you for sharing that you had the same symptoms with your second pregnancy because I’m 8 weeks pregnant with my second and for some reason I thought I wouldn’t have morning sickness as strong the second time (hah!). I actually feel depressed from feeling so sick and trying to parent my 11 month old at the same time. I was wondering if you could share with me how you got through morning sickness in your second pregnancy while parenting your first child, I could really use some advice!! Thank you, Natalya
Hey Natalya, Congrats on your pregnancy! I’m so sorry that you’re struggling with morning sickness so much. I too thought that my second go around wouldn’t be as bad (especially because people told me having a boy meant less morning sickness…not true in my case!)…it’s really hard going through it while parenting that’s for sure. It helped me to really lean on others during this time…Eric stepped up to the plate in a big way, and don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it. That has always been my biggest challenge. Big hugs to you! I hope your second trimester is much more enjoyable.
Thank you so much for your advice Angela! I have been leaning on my husband a lot which has been very helpful! So I found out this week why I’ve been so sick this time around, I’m having TWINS!!! Crazy!! Anyways, my OB put me on an anti nausea medication so that’s helping but she said that because I’m carrying two babies, my nausea is understandably worse this time. Thanks for all your support and I love reading your blog, (and have for the past 7 years ?).
-Natalya
OMG Natalya, you’re having TWINS!!!!!!!!! Congrats!! How exciting (and shocking, I would imagine) haha. Keep me posted, okay?
Thanks Angela!! Will do :)
Hi everybody! I am 19 weeks pregnant and I have no symptoms of pregnancy at all. My belly is small, I didn’t gain weight, I don’t feel the movements of my child. Please, tell me – is it normal or not? I’ve read a lot of information here http://motherhow.com/19-weeks-pregnant/
Hi Alenamiy, I would recommend speaking with your OB or midwife as s/he will be able to do any tests necessary. Wishing you all the best!