Last week, I FINALLY announced that we’re adding a little bundle to our family this December! Check out my announcement post here if you missed it!
And I’m going to be real, per usual…this pregnancy has been tougher than my first. I’m more tired, more nauseous, more hormonal, more intense cravings, and just experiencing more symptoms in general for much longer into my pregnancy than I did with Mason. I also found out I was pregnant the day after Mason was in the ER for a stomach bug, and a little over a month later, we were back in the ER for respiratory issues, followed by a week-long hospital stay…which was then immediately followed by my husband being underway for a month (#navywifelife). I had a lot of guilt over not being as excited to start out with as I was with Mason because we were just SO. BUSY. And the mom guilt of not getting a cute announcement together like I did with Mason was super real too. With Mason, I had a whole photo shoot with a professional photographer done well in advance of when we wanted to make the announcement (around 12 weeks). This time, the photographer was me and my iPhone, in a rush one morning before getting Mason to daycare. #secondkidproblems
BUT…while, this pregnancy so far hasn’t been the easiest, there ARE some things I’m REALLY excited about that make the tough stuff worth it:
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BREASTFEEDING: I LOVED the bond of nursing Mason and being his person for both nourishment + comfort. BUT, there are a LOT of things I learned with Mason that I am excited to do differently this time around that I think will make my journey much better and last much longer. Plus, I can’t wait to wear my own line of nursing apparel from the start!
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SIBLING LOVE: I can’t wait to watch Mason become a big brother. He points at my tummy and says “baby,” which just makes my little mama heart melt. He also lifts up my shirt when he does this, though, so hopefully he doesn’t start doing it in public or anything haha.
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BABY MOVEMENTS: I’ve already begun feeling some baby movements here and there, which apparently can be noticed much earlier during a second pregnancy than during the first. But I just LOVED that about being pregnant the first time. I actually really missed it after Mason was born!
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THE BIRTH: Okay…you might think I’m crazy on this one, but hear me out. There is a lot that scares me about childbirth and so much we can’t always control, which is the part I am NOT looking forward to. BUT there is something incredibly empowering about labor + delivery. It is absolutely amazing what our bodies can do and endure in order to bring our babies into the world. And meeting them for the very first time is such a wild ride!
- PREPAREDNESS: No matter what, parenthood is going to throw stuff at us that we’re not prepared for, right? But, with Mason, he came very unexpectedly 4 weeks early. I hadn’t even finished my birthing classes yet – I still had one class to go! There was a lot I had planned to do in the 4 weeks before my due date while on the first part of my maternity leave that I obviously didn’t do. I also learned a lot about what I need during labor + delivery, postpartum recovery in the hospital, and postpartum recovery + the newborn period at home. There are a lot of things I plan on doing differently this time to help me be more prepared (and more in advance in case Mason’s sibling follows in his early birth footsteps).
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