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!
I just wanted to say that I’ve been following your blog for years. I just love the baby updates :) My son is now 7 months old and we plan on raising him on a plant based diet. My husband enjoys meat but definietly doesn’t miss it at home since I’m always making yummy food from your blog, cookbook and app!
Our baby spending his first month at Sick Kids and we were unable to learn how to breastfeed. I pumped for him from day one. Once we were at home, I would attempt to breastfeed, then he would take breastmilk from a bottle, I would pump again, repeat! It became too much for me, so I decided to exclusively pump. There are days when I’m annoyed by it and wish I had more support in learning how to breastfeed him but we can only go forward. I plan on providing him breastmilk until he’s a year old.
I’m wondering what milk you tried to give Adrianna. I want to find something with good fat content that isn’t animal based. Any suggestions are appreciated! Good luck with this pregnancy and congratulations to you and your family.
Emily
Hey Emily, Thanks for the lovely note! Major props to you for exclusively pumping. (It can be so tough – I didn’t have a great experience with pumping.) I was just telling Eric this morning that one of my goals is to master it next time! Hah. I guess there’s always some kind of challenge. Sounds like you’re doing awesome even in spite of the challenges. As for milk, after the age of 1, we tried everything from all kinds of fortified plant milks to organic/local goat’s milk and more. She’s as strong willed as they come (never took a bottle to this day and went straight to sippy cup) so I wasn’t the least bit surprised when she rejected them all over and over. ;) I also tried homemade hemp milk (which I can now sneak into smoothies anyway!) Good luck!
*spent
Congratulations! I’m so excited to see you’re posting about your pregnancy! I’ve been checking this page frequently hoping for updates!
I’m from Alberta and both my midwives were trained in Ontario. The care I received was amazing and though I don’t have any other experiences to compare, I’m so glad I went with a midwife. I expect your experience will be amazing as well as midwives are better funded with more privileges in Ontario.
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with pregnancy and motherhood along with your delicious recipes! Best of luck with the rest of your pregnancy, your cookbook, and everything else. :)
Thank you Amanda! I’m so happy to hear you enjoy the updates (and also that you had such a great experiences with your midwives). I was super pumped to learn about the home care following birth!!
Yay for the baby blog! :) Thank you for this beautiful update. I still remember reading the first series and it seems like yesterday doesn’t it? In the meantime I had a baby too, he is now 2.5 months old and the love of my life; I enjoy re-reading the old posts and relate even more. I’ll cross my fingers for you to get some sleep! And, since all your symptoms are the same so far, I’m guessing another girl ;)
One question, in your newsletter you mentioned you had a strong feeling it was a certain sex; were you right? (I remember being conviced I was going to have a girl and being shocked to find out it was a boy haha!)
Congrats on your baby boy Monique. :) I’m not able to say whether my instinct was right yet because I think we might have slipped the gut feeling to a couple family or friends in the first trimester (and they are sneaky and would put it together for sure!), but will definitely talk about this after baby is here! ;) My mom texted me after I found out and was like “So, was your gut feeling right?” and I said, “You wouldn’t be trying to find out the sex would you?” hahah.
Haha no worries, I understand! That must be torture for your mom! Even though it truly doesn’t matter what sex the baby is, people always get so excited. I envy new moms who have the patience to wait until birth to find out. I’m glad you know, the rest of us will wait ;)
Totally cried when I read about your last breastfeeding session with A. My son is 14 months and a breastfed baby and I’ve been getting somewhat frustrated with it lately. After reading your story, it’s made me realize just how much I’ll miss it..
I love your updates Angela! Congrats on the pregnancy, app, and everything else! :)
Aww, I definitely did too. Even now for me it’s super emotional. These passing stages in motherhood are so hard at times. We had our ups and downs too….so many times! It gets challenging when they are toddlers because they can be so physical (at least A was). I hope things get a bit better for you!
Hi Angela! Just wanted to say thank you for sharing this update and I’m really glad you’ve decided to let us all come with you on the journey for baby #2!
Thanks Erika! So happy you enjoy them :)
Yay baby update! I was wondering how you were doing :) My little guy is 4 months and I’ve been re-reading your previous posts to get an idea of what to expect and what might be normal :p Yeah I don’t think I’ve slept well in over a year.
Re: tandem feeding I have a friend whose toddler told her to have another baby so the toddler could teach the baby how to nurse. I think someone missed nursing too!
Congrats on your little boy! My uncle told me some great advice the other week, and your comment made me think of it. He said with a big smile on his face, “One thing I’ve learned (with three girls) is that pretty much EVERYTHING is normal.” (I had mentioned how we were worried about certain behavioural issues, and he reassured me that everything was totally normal. hah.) Sometimes it’s nice to hear from parents who’ve been there before!
My daughter weaned right around halfway through my second pregnancy as well. When the new baby came a few months later, the older one tried to nurse again but was unable to get that suction quite right. Evidently they quickly lose the ability to latch on correctly. But let her try, so she doesn’t feel left out. :)
Congrats on the new baby. Having two kiddos is a wonderful thing, especially now that mine are older and closer to playing with each other (19 months and 4 years).
Thanks for your congrats! I plan on letting her guide the way, although part of me does think that tandem feeding sounds quite exhausting. I also doubt her ability to sit in one spot for longer than 30 seconds, hah. I hadn’t thought of them losing the latch technique, but can totally see that as a possibility.
Congrats on your pregnancy! Seeing your pregnancy updates makes me yearn for a second baby. My daughter is only 6.5 months old so I’ll wait a little bit, lol. I went with a midwife and it was fantastic. I have three friends who went with midwives after I told them of my experience and they absolutely love it.
My friends have raved about their midwives too. I tried to get in with one for my 1st pregnancy, but my application was too late and they couldn’t fit me in. Congrats on your daughter, too. I can relate to the feelings of wanting another very soon after. Around 6 months I was already thinking about it, however my body was definitely not ready seeing as my first postpartum period didn’t return until 14 or 15 months! lol. (Of course, you can get pregnant without one.)
A great recap! Getting ready to start trying for a first and looking for ALL the info!
RE: night terrors. I don’t have any personal experience, but Katie Bower at bowerpowerblog.com went through a really significant bout with her son and might have some insight. http://www.bowerpowerblog.com/2015/09/dream-believer/
Thanks Diana! (Also, for the tip about Katie’s blog post.) I’ll have to check it out. And have fun trying for that little one. ;)
Hi Angela,
So glad you posted this update. I’m 11 weeks pregnant and enjoyed reading about your first trimester and what you’re going through now.
I also randomly craved hot dogs since becoming pregnant. My husband thinks it’s really funny. Glad I can tell him I’m not the only one! :)
Congrats Laura! Yes, Eric thinks it’s quite hilarious too. :)
Hi Angela,
Congratulations! When you dropped off the blog for a while, my sister, mom and I all had a hunch there might be another baby on the way. I’m nearly 16 weeks myself, so just a few behind you with our long-awaited first and I hear ya on the exhaustion! It’s CRAZY and unlike any other kind of “I’m tired” feelings I’ve ever had. I’ve just started to pull out of it this week and I feel like a whole new person.
Now. Preggo to Preggo – where are you finding maternity dresses? I’m anticipating lots of dress wearing to get me through those hot summer months too – and since I’m a few weeks behind you I’ve been good with regular clothes so far, but I know that POP is coming… and any recommendations you have on maternity stores, physical or online – I’m all ears!
Congrats again!
Yes please share where you got those cute dresses and any other maternity clothing ideas!! :-)
Congrats Meaghan! So happy you are feeling a bit better now that you’ve hit 16 weeks. That was a turning point for me too. I tend to find dresses online at ASOS (random, I know!), but they have quite a big selection as far as maternity stuff is concerned. The only pain in the butt with online ordering of course is not knowing which size to order. The floral dress I am wearing in the far right picture is their UK maternity size 8 I believe if that gives you a reference. I usually go with the 6 or 8 from that store. I also have a lot of casual stuff from Old Navy’s maternity department – it wears quickly though so none of my clothes lasted beyond the first pregnancy. I need to get some more! I love their maternity tees and t-shirt dresses. Hope this helps!
I’m so thrilled you’re doing pregnancy updates again! Even though I have no children (and probably won’t for several more years), I absolutely love reading about your journey. And I love the side-by-side picture comparing your two pregnancies; it’s fun to see the similarities (and/or differences)! You are going to LOVE your midwife. My best friend’s mother just completed her midwifery program (after decades of being an L&D nurse), and I can tell you it takes a special kind of person to do it; she is by far the nicest and warmest person I have ever met and would do anything for her patients. I’m so excited for you! Midwives are the best!
I’m so happy you enjoy the updates! =) And yes, my experience so far with my midwives has been awesome. I tried to go with one for my 1st, but they were booked up so I’m happy to have this time around!!
Hi Angela,
Just curious but where do you get your maternity dresses? They are so cute!
Thanks, Caitlin
Congratulations on baby #2! I just wanted to let you know that you made such a difference in our household after our baby #2! My 2nd tested positive to allergies to eggs, dairy and soy at just 4 months old. As I was nursing her and did not want to give that up, I went free from all allergens until I stopped nursing her at 14 months. I don’t know how I would have done it without you! Your recipes are so lovely and everyone in the family so enjoys them! My little one has now outgrown the dairy and soy allergies, but I continue to use your cookbook and follow your website. Thank you, thank you and enjoy every minute of your pregnancy and your toddler!
S
Thank you again, Stefanie
Aww Stefanie I’m so happy to hear that my recipes helped! Thanks for your kind note!
Hi Angela. I find your recipes and insights so inspiring. I have a 12 month old and thinking ahead to future pregnancies, I wanted to pick your brain a little. I had terrible morning sickness with my son. Now that you’ve gone through the first trimester for two pregnancies, any advice for foods/ recipes that helped you through the morning sickness phase?
Thanks and congrats! :)
Hey Meg, I didn’t find any specific foods that worked for me unfortunately (ginger didn’t help), but what I did find in both experiences is that not eating made the nausea worse. Even though sometimes the last thing I wanted to do was eat something, after it settled in my stomach it usually helped the nausea dissipate. So I guess my advice would be to not let yourself get too famished!
Congratulations! For night terrors for kids try increasing protein especially at dinner time and a high protein snack. As a certified naturopath I’ve helped tons of moms sleep as when they make this simple change their children sleep soundly through the night. Let me know how it goes!
That’s really interesting! Thanks for the tip :)
So fun! Thanks for the updates! Love the Barre3! I’ve been doing it for a few years and through this pregnancy (now 29 weeks) and love all the modifications as my body changes and keeping a strong core for labor. I’m sure you’ll find the same to be true!
Hey Stacy, That’s awesome you’ve done the Barre3 for so long. I love it! I did it in my 1st pregnancy too, but I didn’t stick with it the entire pregnancy. So this time I really want to keep it up til the end!!
Hi Angela ! What plant milk would you recommend for a one year old who is finished breastfeeding ? Also, what barre videos would you recommend ?? You are glowing !!! :)
Hey Melissa, 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 fav video for Barre3 online is the 60 minute no prop “Studio to Go” video. I break it up into manageable 15 to 20 minutes sessions. It’s a super leg workout!!
and FATS! Babies need fat too for proper brain development. the registered dietitian I talked to was more concerned with getting enough fats than with calcium.
You’ve got me all choked up, reading about your last breast feeding session. I’m not a mom (just not ready yet) but as I lean into the idea I find that blogs like yours make me feel ok with the emotional ups and downs. One of my bottled fears is that I will somehow be lost in the momentum of all the feelings, as a naturally very sensitive and feeling person, and something about your words and the way you seem to accept things as they come is very reassuring. You are so open and refreshing to read and get to “know” and I so appreciate you putting yourself and your family out for us to see!
Well now you have me all choked up Meli! Heh. What a lovely thing to say. I’m so flattered you enjoy them so much. I’m a very sensitive person so I can totally relate.