Fall 2019 Pregnancy Update + Life Update
Hey friends! I’m excited about today’s post because I feel like we just get to sit down and chat! 🙂 Although it would’ve been nice to maintain a regular pregnancy bumpdate posting schedule…life has been busy and it just didn’t happen. #secondchildproblems (Sorry, little guy! We still love you so much!!)
So, I’m taking the time today to update you on all things baby and otherwise! I know I enjoy reading other bloggers’ (and non-bloggers’) life updates – I genuinely care about what’s going on in your life! – so I hope you like reading today’s post and catching up with us a bit.
In one fell swoop, here’s the all-encompassing pregnancy AND life update for fall 2019 so far! It’s going to be long! 🙂
Pregnancy Update:
We’re well into the third trimester at this point! I’m 35 weeks pregnant this week – can you believe it?
Physically: Sometimes, I hardly feel pregnant. I have the greatest amount of energy in the mornings, so that’s when I love bustling around to our various commitments, running errands, doing fun outings with Sophie, tidying the house or doing other home projects… but then by the naptime and ESPECIALLY by the end of the day, I’m usually worn out! I’m not pushing myself way too hard, but I’ve been keeping much more busy and active this pregnancy than when I was pregnant with Sophie. I mean, there’s not really an opportunity for me to lay around or get lovely amounts of “me time” or “resting time.” And, I’ve learned, that’s generally okay! It was really daunting during the first trimester, though, when I tend to feel super sick – and it stressed me out chasing after Sophie so much while being so nauseous.
RELATED READING: First Trimester Recap (with our second baby!)
By the end of the day, I typically feel rather huge and achy. And then I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and I’m like, Whoa, Han, you are QUITE pregnant! Haha. I think it’s normal for any person to be tired at the end of a busy day. But it’s just accentuated that much more when you’re pregnant! I also think I’m bigger being pregnant with baby boy than I was with Sophie.
During my second trimester, I struggled with a bit of dizziness but that’s because your body in pregnancy needs a few weeks to catch up with the amount of extra blood volume going on! I was also waiting for the second trimester burst of energy, and I was worried I’d never get it! But it’s like I got it in the latter part of the second trimester, and I’ve been doing so well this past month or so! I’m just starting to slow down a bit more now. 🙂 The nausea went away after the first trimester (or at around 16 weeks or so), so I’m really grateful for that. I loathe feeling sick to my stomach! (Apparently that’s a common enneagram 4 thing, haha.)
Mentally: I’ve been doing weird things again (insert eye roll here..). Pregnancy brain is a real thing and back when I was pregnant with Sophie, I forgot random things in the third trimester, and my sister-in-law even found my truck keys in the deep freezer! This time around, there’s nothing too huge that I’ve done (besides try to pay for Sophie’s dance class twice and try to pay for her early childhood class twice, haha), but I’m definitely worried I’ll do something really dumb one of these days! 🙂 I’ve been quite clumsy as well. I’ve never been a big “butterfingers,” for lack of a better term, but it’s like half the objects I pick up these days just slip right out of my fingers and fall on the floor! Ridiculous!
It’s also hard for me to bend over (which is a task I’ve realized you do a TON when you have a toddler who needs to be scooped up, and toys in the house!). Oh well.. It’s all worth it, of course! Sophie has seen me attempt to pick up enough things with my feet that she mimics me and tries to do that, too! I’m still able to crouch down and play on the floor with Sophie, run around (a little bit), paint my nails, etc., so I can’t really complain.
I know I talked about anxiety in my first trimester recap, and I’m SO happy to report that I’m (still) doing so well anxiety-wise! I think it’s a combo of my hormones being a bit more sorted out (since anxiety really reared its head for me when I was weaning Sophie at 14 months old), plus I do weigh a lot more than I did last fall and winter…if that’s applicable. I’ve always been a more lightweight person, due to no “trying” to be that way on my own…but it seems I do feel a lot better when I weigh more. We’ll see how breastfeeding goes this time around and if I can maintain a bit of a higher weight. Speaking of weight, I have now at almost 35 weeks surpassed what my final weight was back when I was expecting Sophie! 🙂 And I’m still going, ha!
Baby boy himself: Baby boy has been doing so very well. I’m so thankful! He is even more active than Sophie was, and a strong kicker, too! My stomach literally jumps around when he’s really active and awake! He seems to take some good naps on and off, though. 🙂 A funny little thing to note, while I’m at it: when Sophie would get hiccups in the womb, she’d stretch and kick around a lot as if they bothered her! But this little guy doesn’t act the same way. He doesn’t seem “bothered” by them at all! It’s amazing to think about the differences in their personalities already.
Our anatomy ultrasound went smoothly, and his heart rate at each appointment has been normal. He definitely loves hearing our singing and laughing and goofy moments during the day. He’s so busy that I honestly have to wait for him to fall asleep at night before I can fall asleep – isn’t that funny? And if I accidentally move too much at night, it wakes him up and I have to prepare myself for some good strong kicking and dancing from him before he resettles and rests again. Oh, it’s tiring, but it’s also so fun to imagine what our little guy will be like! I’ve been sleeping well myself. I went through some weird pregnancy insomnia during the second trimester, and sometimes it’s hard for me to fall asleep if I happen to wake up during the night, but overall, I’m sleeping deeply. Sometimes I do get up to use the bathroom. I’m sure I will more as time goes on. I go to bed quite hydrated but I think it’s just that my body wants that deep sleep – so I don’t wake up too much. Weird dreams, though!
How Sophie’s processing it: Sophie loves “baby brudder” and talks about him a lot. She’s felt him kick a couple times but she’s usually quite busy and doesn’t want to sit and try to feel for him for too long. 🙂 She’s excited to tell people it’s a baby boy. And she already has a lot of expectations for him when he comes, haha! We’ve been working on telling her that he won’t be quite ready for all of these things at first, but it’s darling to hear her excitement. The conversation usually goes like this: “Baby brudder come, rock baby brudder! Hug Sophie, play Sophie, tickle, cuddle, cuddle Mama Daddy Sophie! Baby brudder run, eat, read…” You get the picture. 😉 But seriously, Sophie is already such a good helper with a thoughtful nature, and I know that once the dust settles with this big transition, she’ll be so enthralled with him and will help out so much! Bjorn is a second-born boy with an older sister, just like our kids’ birth order will be, and it’s so fun to imagine our littles’ special relationship as they grow up together!
His name: We’ve been referring to him by his name for a LONG time now. I have to catch myself so I don’t spill the beans! We LOVE his name, and it’s what Sophie’s name would’ve been had she been a boy…so that made our baby name decision super easy! But we’ll be waiting to share it until after he arrives. (People have way too many opinions, haha! And we’re set on this one.) <3 Can’t wait to share it with you, though!
Nesting: It’s funny, but besides a lot of baby boy clothes (that are all washed and ready!), I have only just recently started to prepare the “bigger” things for baby boy – like his crib, a dresser for the kids to share, etc. Back when we were expecting Sophie, her nursery was totally ready 3 months out from her birth! And now we’re down to 5-6 weeks before baby boy arrives! Ahh! With this little guy, we plan on having him in our room initially, and then hopefully he and Sophie will be able to share a room later on. So, since we have a lot of the essentials ready to go, I haven’t felt such a crazy push to prepare a perfect nursery for him. And that’s okay. 🙂 As far as more nesting goes, I’m going to prepare some good meals to keep in our deep freeze, but fewer crockpot meals this time. We didn’t totally love all the crockpot meals we made while expecting Sophie. I want more “take and bake” kinds of meals, like an aluminum foil pan I pop into the oven. I also want to totally reorganize our pantry and our pots & pans storage!
Cravings: I haven’t ever really subscribed to the idea that I have actual pregnancy cravings, maybe because we live in a small town/rural area and I can’t exactly “crave” Applebee’s or Starbucks or something and then “send” my husband on an hour drive to get it! Haha. If I were to crave anything unique, I’d mostly just have to deal with it. But there are things that I’ve really been enjoying! I’ve loved sweets this pregnancy (things like pumpkin cinnamon chip cookies and candy corn and peppermint Lifesavers). And I guess the closest thing to a craving that I’ve had has been honeycrisp apples. They’re my favorite so I’ve always loved them, but Sophie and I have been eating one almost every day!
Another quick note: ever since last winter, I’ve been working hard on staying much more hydrated. By now, it’s a habit for me to drink more water, and although I’m sure there’s always room for improvement, I would say that I am so much more hydrated this pregnancy than I was when I was expecting Sophie! I’m pretty pleased about that. I just plain feel better when I drink a lot of water each day, and I know it’s good for my body/baby, too.
Birth: So…it’s really really hard to predict, let alone plan, your birth story! With Sophie, I was induced at 41 weeks. My body responded SUPER quickly to the pitocin, leading to a very intense and not that lengthy birth experience, including a last-minute epidural (that kicked in at the verrry end) and an episiotomy. Being on pitocin and going from 4 cm to 9.5 cm in 30-45 minutes without any meds in my system was not fun. I’m glad other women can do that just fine, and now I realize I probably could’ve done it without the epidural, but for this next birth, our hope is to get the epidural much earlier. (Side note: I’ve talked with multiple women about pitocin and the general consensus I’ve heard is that pitocin does intensify things more than naturally-started labor.) Everything technically went just fine with Sophie’s birth, but knowing myself, I think an earlier epidural could help make this birth experience a bit more…relaxed, if I can even use that word to describe childbirth! 🙂 Either way, it’ll work out and I want to have open hands about the whole thing. I do feel a bit more confident. I’m honestly looking forward to it in some ways – the new medical team surrounding me, the new location..all things that the other local moms have highly recommended!
In my hospital bag the second time: I honestly haven’t thought about it too much! 🙂 The first time, I had tried to be super prepared – with things like snacks for Bjorn (and he wasn’t all that hungry), and little essential oils for me. In the moment during Sophie’s birth, we realized I had put the essential oils into the wrong bag anyway, so we never ended up finding/using them. I’ll still pack some snacks this time around, but maybe not a ton. 🙂 I will still pack a robe for myself, makeup (because I’ve learned I feel more like myself when I can get makeup on), and a coming-home outfit for baby boy, but I’m going to keep it really simple. With Sophie, she really didn’t like the coming home outfit (that I had ordered on Etsy!) so those photos were mostly of her crying! So I probably won’t place too much emphasis this time around on the perfect outfit for him. I’d also like to bring my own pillow from home, my own water bottle, and my “good camera” so I can get some shots of him if I get the chance. Oh! And dry shampoo. Such a life-saver. I will also be leaving the 3-page typed birth plan idea out this time around. Ha!
I’m actually asking you seasoned moms over on Instagram today what was in YOUR hospital bag! I’d love to hear! Hop on over to my Instagram Stories or feel free to message me or comment on this post!
Preparing for postpartum: I’m going to go into it with an even better attitude. I think when you’re a first time mom, sometimes you’re a bit shellshocked from all that just happened, and that’s okay. I didn’t know what to expect, not only for childbirth, but also for the whole postpartum season! But I feel like I’m entering this postpartum season with eyes wide open and also with that second-time-around confidence that I didn’t have with Sophie. I mean, I’ve had a newborn before!! It’s a blessing to already have some tricks up my sleeve, and knowing how to do various tasks (like carry a baby around the house while breastfeeding, haha!). I do plan to breastfeed again. I weaned Sophie when she was about 14 months old. Of course, every child is so different, and you never quite know how it’ll go, but I’m definitely going into the postpartum season knowing it’s a hard season but also a short lived one. Newborns really do turn into infants SO quickly, who then turn into crawlers, and walkers, and then really chatty 2-year-olds. 😉 Having a good perspective on the hard newborn season will help me during those long nights. I also know that I CAN survive on much less sleep, haha! I can do it! Additionally, I will be more watchful this time around when it comes to my hormones, self-care, and anxiety. Like one of my favorite YouTube moms says, “I care for my kids best when I am taking good care of myself.” It’s not selfish to remember that you need things like food/water/sleep/rest/support. It’s HUGELY important for moms to care for themselves and their health (physical/mental/emotional/spiritual) so that they have the energy, capacity, and ability to be there for their kids. That being said, I know things happen and that’s why I’m grateful to have a thoughtful team of professionals who I can turn to if I’m feeling like I’m struggling again. If anxiety does try to surface this time around, I will be ready!
Whew! How’s that for a pregnancy update?! Long, I know, but I’ve done so little updating this pregnancy so I tried to cover as much as I could think of in the moment, plus the questions you guys asked me on Instagram.
Life Update:
Here are some random life updates! I may be missing something, but this is what I can think of at the moment:
- I officially resigned from my elementary teaching position. The school district had given me two years (that I asked for on two separate school years) as childcare leave, but the school board didn’t grant me another year. Although I have stepped down from teaching to be home with Sophie and her brother, I AM keeping my teaching license up-to-date. Bjorn and I recently renewed our licenses for another 5 years. It’s a valuable thing to keep current, we believe! It’s a bittersweet feeling to be officially done at the elementary school, since it’s the only place I taught at after college (got hired there after graduation, and then taught there for 4 years). But I know that at least for this season of life, we’ve made the right decision for our family and I’m so grateful that we can financially swing it for me to be at home with our kids! <3
- Sophie and I have had a much busier schedule this school year already! We try not to be sitting in the house for more than a day or two; I’ve learned the hard way that even we homebodies need to get out sometimes! It’s nice to have outings/commitments/plans to look forward to. Even Hy-Vee’s online grocery order pickup is a great reason to get out and about! I try to know the various events in the area, usually local library events. We got season passes to a local apple orchard, and two of Sophie’s very favorite things are there: apples and pony rides! (So she’s ridden a horse about 6 times now, at least?! She’s so calm around them but quietly so in love with horses!)
- Sophie has been attending ECFE (Early Childhood & Family Education) with me. We get to do activities together and then there’s a “gradual separation” time where the kids get to play with the teachers in the classroom while the parents leave to have a casual discussion group.
- We do MOPS, too! Such a great program – too bad ours meets only once a month! If you’re a mom, definitely go look up your local MOPS group!!
- Sophie is in a toddler “Mommy & Me” dance class (hence all the videos/photos you see of it over on Instagram), which she loves SO much! At home she’ll randomly balance on one leg and show off various positions, shouting “arabesque!” or “pique!” And it warms my heart because I did ballet and I love seeing her get joy from dance, too!
- In addition to dance class, Sophie and I are in a Bible study called CBS (Community Bible Study) and it is amazing! If you’ve heard of BSF, it’s similar. It’s an interdenominational Bible study involving a combination each week of discussion groups (you’re with the same group all year), a lecture (SO SO valuable), and homework and Bible readings to do at home. It’s not a casual book study; it’s an in-depth study of the Bible. We started the year off with the book of Job, which I’ve never really studied before. Next, we’re moving into 1 & 2 Peter. I DEFINITELY recommend checking out a CBS near you, because you can’t help but grow in your understanding of God and the Bible, no matter your “starting point” or familiarity with it all. I also have to mention: Sophie gets an actual class time in the children’s program, too! This is incredibly valuable and important to me. She gets snack time, music time, playtime, etc., but there is an actual curriculum that the teachers follow for the little ones in the children’s program, and so while I am busy discussing/learning about God upstairs, Sophie and the other kids are busy learning truths about God downstairs, too! Just today I was putting her down for her nap and she started saying a verse about how God is her helper (I realized later that it’s a Bible verse on the take-home sheet explaining what the kids learned this week!), and then later she launched into singing “Praise Him, praise Him, all ye little children…” She is learning more about God every week and honestly, the thoughtful children’s program is a huge reason why I wanted us in CBS this school year. (CBS has some visitor days during the year so you can look into that, too!)
- Sophie turned 2! We had a little party with family for her a while back, because we knew the crazy busy harvest season would be here soon! (She was born in the middle of harvest time so that’s just how life goes!) It’s unbelievable to think that Bjorn and I now have a 2-year-old! She is a busy girl but the sweetest. I’d love to do a 2-year update for her on the blog if I can get to it! 🙂
- Bjorn was the best man in our friends’ wedding in late August. It was a blast, because Bjorn and I have been friends with the groom since college, back when he was always our third-wheel when we were dating. 🙂 And Bjorn knew the bride from college, too! She’s the sweetest! It was a really special wedding (and Bjorn gave such a great toast!) and a fun time of celebration! Now we four get to double-date! 🙂
- My dear friend Jordan threw a baby “sprinkle” (a second-child baby shower) for me at the end of September! It was so thoughtful and sweet of her, and I’m so grateful to those who were able to come! I’m touched to have some new items to prepare us for baby boy, too!
- I stopped selling Rodan + Fields skincare. I just felt it was time for me to move on, and time for me to focus on other things right now!
- I recently scored a collaboration for this blog that made me want to cry, I was so excited! I believe it’s my biggest one yet. I’m grateful for the ways that blogging has allowed me to provide various things for our family. When I share sponsored posts/products, I always share only what we truly use and love, and I’m so excited about this one. You’ll see it soon. 😉
- I kind of mentioned this before, but we’re in the thick of harvest season now. December is usually a much quieter month when it comes to farming; I’ll just put it that way. 🙂 Keep the farmers in your prayers! (Also, try not to get annoyed with them when you pass them on the road! These are husbands/fathers/friends pulling long days and late nights to provide for their families/provide food for our country!) <3
That’s about it for now – or at least what I can think of! It’s time to get this blog post published! Obviously, a lot has been going on around here! I know this whole post was basically just all about me and what I’ve been up to, but it’s been so long since I’ve done an update, so I hope you enjoyed getting caught up a bit!
As always, you can stay way more up-to-date by following along with me on Instagram! I post on my Instagram Stories a lot. Make sure you’ve liked Just Bee on Facebook, as well! Thanks for reading, friends! <3