Here We Go Again..

Surprise! We’ve been hiding a little secret for the past couple of months…WE’RE EXPECTING BABY NUMBER TWO!!!!

I’m beyond thrilled to finally share our exciting news! These past few months I’ve been SO guilt ridden about not being able to share our little secret.. I have so many stories of exhaustion and nausea to share with you all, you don’t even know… 🤣🤣 As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve been a lot less active on Instagram and on the Blog for the past couple of months; now you know the reason why! It’s been hard keeping up with the blog as I normally write the posts at night after work, once Chickie has gone down but I’ve been feeling SO exhausted at the end of the day that once Chickie goes down I pretty much do too. I’ve also been feeling pretty nauseous- MUCH MORE than my first time around… Preggie Pops have been by BFFs these past couple of months.

 

Getting Real About Trying

Getting pregnant this time around was MUCH harder than with Chickie. With Chick, we started casually trying for baby around April of 2015, half-way through our second year of marriage. I say casually because we didn’t really have a plan in mind. We had decided the idea of a baby wasn’t SO SO scary at some point that spring and around April we just started getting busy more frequently than was normal for us. In late May of that same year I took a pregnancy test after my period was late a couple of days (I’m suuuuper regular) and to my surprise, IT WAS POSITIVE! We were over the moon excited (and very very very scared)! Were we really ready for a kid? We REALLY weren’t sure.. Turns out, we had more time than we thought to figure out what we really wanted. Two days after the positive pregnancy test I got my period. We were so disappointed that it made us realize we really DID want this. Was it a miscarriage? I don’t know.. A false positive maybe? Whatever it was, it gave us a jolt and let us know we were ready to start trying for real.

That summer, I kept track of my periods using this free app and by August- after a very boozy European trip 🙃- we were pregnant! As soon as we got the positive at-home test I called my OB-GYN and asked for a blood test to confirm, given our “scare” the last time around. The blood test confirmed it and at 5 weeks we told our families! Fast forward 42 weeks (🤰🏽!!!) and 22 months later and here we are, with Chickie running around the house terrorizing poor Peter. It was definitely a rocky start but once we got through that first hiccup, getting pregnant with Chickie was fast and relatively mindless- no ovulation kits, no complicated math; just getting busy when the app had a green dot on it!

This time around, it was a whole ‘nother ballgame. We started thinking about baby number two right around Chickie’s first birthday In May of last year (2017). By June/July we were casually trying again in the same way we were in the Spring of 2015- looking at the app and generally getting busy during the 10 days span it said I was most fertile. Each month that went by with no change in my cycle I got more and more stressed out- I am 7 and 9 years younger than my siblings so by the time I came around their baby days were over; I wanted my babies to be babies together SO bad that I was putting an enormous amount of pressure on myself.

By November, when we had been trying for about 5 months, I started REALLY getting nervous something might be wrong fertility-wise. I had been tracking my fertile days on the app and really being purposeful about getting busy on the
“right” days for about two months at that point and nothing was happening! I felt like I needed to do more. That’s when I started using ovulation tests. I’d heard about them from some of my friends and after reading a little bit, I went on Amazon and ordered a pack. If you don’t know much about ovulation tests I’ll give you the basics: they look the same as pregnancy test (same pee on a stick kind of thang) and you’re supposed to take one every day at the same time (most people say in the AM) during your 10-14 most fertile days. The idea is that if all is well with your cycle you’ll get a positive result that will then give you a 48 hour time frame where you’re the most likely to get pregnant so that rather than trying for 10-14 days, you have a shorter, more specific time frame to get busy and raise your chances to make babies. We used ovulation tests in November and December but despite getting a positive ovulation marker, we didn’t get pregnant.

In January, after about 7-8 months of trying,  I made an appointment with my OB-GYN to discuss. Under most standards, you’re not considered to be “struggling to conceive” until after you’ve been trying for one whole year but I figured making an appointment and asking some questions wouldn’t be a bad idea. My doctor was super supportive and fully understood my fears, she reassured me that 8 months of trying wasn’t out of the ordinary but offered to have some blood tests done on day 3 of my next period to test my hormone levels- my biggest fear (thanks to Web MD and my tendency to research the ISH out of things) was that I somehow wasn’t ovulating, the blood test and hormone levels taken from it would give us some insight as to whether that was really an issue.  I was REALLY watching my next period like a HAWK because of the blood test scheduled for day 3- I even had it on my phone calendar, outside the app,  something I had never done before. Guess what? That period never came.. I took a pregnancy test on what should’ve been day two of my period and sure enough, it was positive. Given our first experience I double checked with a blood test and here we are today- having been to the doctor (and listened to the heartbeat) twice! I think having a set plan to tackle my perceived fertility issues did the trick for my anxious, control-freak self.

 

Sooo, When’s Baby Number Two Coming?

All through out the months we were trying, I CRINGED when people asked me when Soph would be getting a sibling. As if us families have any control over that! As if we would tell people when we start trying so they put us on a fertility clock and check in every month! I meaaaaan……

In my experience, nothing good ever comes as a result of this question. Before you’re ready to have another baby the question just provokes unnecessary pressure and anxiety- it made me feel guilty for not wanting another kiddo yet. Once you’ve decided to try for another baby the question STILL produces anxiety and unnecessary pressure just in an different way- it reminds you of your struggle. If you already are pregnant and not ready to tell people yet, it just makes you feel terrible for having to lie! What’s my point? PLEASE STOP ASKING THIS QUESTION! It is never, ever OK..

End of rant.

Deets on Baby R Numero Dos

I am currently 11 weeks pregnant with Numero Dos! Our due date is October 10th, 2018. As of now, I a am considering trying for a natural birth after c-section (VBAC) but have not made a final decision- the idea of having a scheduled C-Section is definitely appealing, especially with my family having to fly in from Panama but the thought of having two babies at home with minimal help while recovering from abdominal surgery makes me CRINGE! We’ll see.. one day at a time. I honestly think a lot of it will hinge on how big Numero Dos is measuring..Chickie was enormous so, we’ll see!

We will definitely be finding out the gender and will let you all know when we do! I am super excited to share this pregnancy with all of you in the most honest way that I can 💕 Please hang in there with me on the slow Blog/Instagram activity.. I promise as soon as that second trimester energy boost kicks in, we will be back up to regular content schedule! All my love to you all! Let’s do this…