Round 2

Halfway already?

Goodness, Little Sis is going to be here before any of us know it and all of our worlds are going to be rocked in a big way.

Until then, I thought I would document some of my thoughts about pregnancy the second time around...at least so far.

Overall I feel like this has been a pretty different experience than I had with Stella.

Granted there are a few major differences in the happenings of our daily lives, so I guess that is to be expected somewhat.

We were so blessed to again not have to wait long for this desired blessing in our lives.

It is something we are so grateful for, but that also makes me feel such sympathy for those who must wait longer than they desire to start their families.

And I can only imagine that any wait at all is far too long.

Only a few days after finding out I was pregnant I started feeling sick.

I was so nauseous I could hardly move off the couch than to do more than change a diaper or get a little lunch for Stell, and trust me the lunch part was really hard.

After two weeks of feeling this way I was dreading what lay ahead.

I don't remember ever feeling that sick with Stella, although I did feel a bit off until about week 16 as I distinctly remember actually wanting to eat again after that.

I knew I could barely take care of myself if I kept feeling the way I was, let alone a toddler and a household.

After doing a little research and remembering a few suggestions from friends I decided to try taking something.

I had heard vitamin B6 and the sleep aide Unisom could be used in conjunction to help fight of nausea in pregnancy, so I thought I would give it a shot.

I started feeling better almost immediately.

I took them both every night for at least 5 weeks and then eventually stopped.

Since I started taking them I have felt great and have been able to eat and function almost like a normal person.

I say almost like a normal person, because I am pregnant and that means I am not eating what a normal person should be eating.

How can fast food taste so good?

Luckily I think I have outgrown my cravings for cheeseburgers and french fries for now.

I have also loved apples, soda, Mexican food, and will take a steak over a chicken breast any day.

While morning sickness really hasn't been an issue, I can definitely tell my immune system is not on high alert these days.

My energy is shot most of the time (this could have something to do with chasing a nearly 18 month old around all day, every day), sleeping isn't so great (already), and I have already experienced a horrible cold, sore throats, and a weird neck injury.

Nothing major, though, and nothing that I wouldn't go through again for this little babe.

Although I feel like I started to show a lot earlier with this pregnancy, my weight gain has been pretty slow.

Luckily (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it) I started this pregnancy at the lowest weight I have been in a long time, so hopefully that will help to reduce the extra pounds I have to lose when all is said and done.

However, the fact that I am pretty much not working out at all probably isn't going to help the matter.

Really planning on getting my booty in gear soon...

I am continuing to research the pros and cons to having a VBAC this time around, but I would say I am 95% sure that is the route I would like to go.

I will admit, giving up the aspect of full control in planning her arrival is a little bit hard for someone like me, especially when you live 1800 miles away from family and are trying to plan when the help should arrive.

In the end, however; I feel very strongly about doing what is best both for my baby and my body, and I am even considering going al natural.

Only time will tell how it all plays out, because if I have learned anything about life it never goes as planned no matter how hard you try.

When it comes to names I think we pretty much had one boy and one girl name picked by this point last time.

This time we know we don't have to worry about the boy names (thank goodness!  Way too hard), but we don't yet have our minds made up on what will best fit Little Sis.

We have four that we feel pretty good about, but the winner is still yet to be determined.

I am not one who believes in the need to see baby before naming her, but if we can't decide before she gets here then that might just be what happens this time around.

Overall I am so grateful for the experiences I have had so far during this pregnancy.

 The weather this time around may make it necessary for me to wear a swimming suit (which is no fun for anybody), and I might wear the same jersey knit skirt everyday if I can keep it clean enough, but it feels so good to know that we have another sweet spirit coming to our family soon.

It brings another sense of purpose to the decisions we make each day, to the ways we are raising her big sister, and the prayers we send up as we bow our heads at night.

Lately I have been reminded more than ever before that pregnancies don't always go as planned and sometimes babies are born perfectly imperfect.

No matter what lies ahead for this little girl and our family in the next 20 weeks, 20 months, and 20 years I hope I can always love her unconditionally, serve her selflessly, and be that example of faith and hope that only a mother can be.