Pregnancy - 15 weeks

Big News! We are expecting baby number 2 in November!

Ever since Max turned one, friends and family have started asking about baby number 2. When the question first started coming, the idea felt so far off. We were finally getting used to our routine with Max and he was just starting to get easier, although not easy yet. Then somewhere along the next several months, Aaron and I just started feeling like maybe we are ready for a second one. There wasn’t one moment that changed our minds, but slowly we started commenting more and more often how “Max is so much easier” or “he is so much more independent now”. So we made the decision to get my IUD taken out.

The day I got my IUD taken out, I asked my doctor for a birth control prescription. I explained that I was thinking about changing jobs and didn’t want to get pregnant until I felt more secure in my career. She bluntly told me that no one ever feels ready and her opinion was just to “go for it”. I appreciated her input, but went ahead and filled the prescription anyways. Before I left she warned me that fertility comes back as soon as the IUD comes out. She said that two of her children were conceived within a week or two of her IUD coming out.

A few weeks later I started feeling nauseous. I chalked it up to my body adapting to the change in hormones and did my best to ignore it for a while. We probably would have gone a few more weeks before taking a pregnancy test, but Aaron’s parents were in town and we were planning to send a bunch of baby stuff back with them for Aaron’s sister Ashley, who is due with her first in July. I’m not sure who’s idea it was, but fast forward a few hours and we were holding a positive pregnancy test in hand. If I’m being honest, my first thought was “oh my gosh, the daycare cost”. I quickly calculated $581 a week for two kids and thought this is insane. As always, Aaron managed to calm my anxiety and assured me everything will be okay. After the initial nerves calmed we celebrated the news.

Here is an update of my pregnancy so far: I only have my first pregnancy to compare to, but this one is shaping up to be pretty different. It’s so tempting to speculate that the difference in symptoms means I’m having a girl but I know there is no scientific evidence for that. Although I’d love to know everyone’s personal experience if having different or the same symptoms meant you had two kids of the same or different gender.

Updates

my size:

+16 pounds - I was pretty surprised to find out I had gained 16 pounds at my last doctor’s appointment. Even though 16 pounds isn’t a ton of weight, I can already feel that my pants are tighter around my waist and legs. I’m still wearing some of my regular clothes, but I’ve started adding maternity pants to my weekly line up. The elastic waist band is so much more comfortable. By 13 weeks in my first pregnancy I had only gained 7 pounds and was still comfortably fitting into my regular clothes.

my mood is:

Pretty good (the morning sickness is a drag). As always Aaron has been fantastic. He has taken on full time Max duty so that I can get in regular weekend naps and exercise. I really appreciate the extra effort that he puts in, which is making me emotional just to type (ugh, hormones!).

my fitness level is:

okay, but could be better. I’m making an effort to get 10,000 steps everyday, but that doesn’t always happen. Feeling queasy has made it tough to drag myself out for a run, but I’ve been making regular attempts and have been successful a handful of times. We’ve also started going on bike rides again since the days are longer and the weather is nice. We usually ride to a near by playground so Max can get out and run around.

a few pros:

Similar to my first pregnancy, sleep has been fantastic and extremely restful. I’m also extremely thankful that my face hasn’t broken out the way it did during my first pregnancy. It has a little, but not nearly as bad as the first time.

a few cons:

Morning sickness and food aversions. I’ve been mildly queasy throughout the day, but only actually thrown up a handful of times. I’m also experiencing a major aversion to chicken. I’ve been drinking a lot of ginger ale, and eating smart pop and ramen (random cravings).

looking forward to:

the nausea letting up. I’m also looking forward to finding out the sex in a few weeks!

Pregnancy updates from my first pregnancy here