round two

well, you may have heard this from every other girl who has more than one child, but it still caught me by surprise. Pregnancy #2 has been absolutely different in every way than with Graham. It's really hard to believe! I guess that could mean that - no brainer - this one is a girl...but Andrew & I are still up in the air about that. We both keep getting the same "feeling", however, it sometimes changes back & forth. odd. At first all we were really sure was that it wasn't a boy. But then, we thought, yep, it's definitely a girl. But lately, we've kind of gone back, it might be a boy. Yeah, we're pretty much going to drive ourselves crazy. :)

• I definitely have had some serious cases of pregnancy brain. Like when I thought I was having my ultrasound yesterday, however (thankfully I discovered before I went in!) I realized it was actually next friday. oops. not only did we ramp up our anticipation, but Andrew even went in to work at 6:30AM in order to get off early. I also thought I had nursery on Thursday and didn't. And I was talking to Andrew about it being friday and it was only Tuesday. Seriously, my brain is so foggy right now.

Anyways.................

• The biggest and most unexpected surprise of this pregnancy was that I was not sick. I never expected to be so lucky. With graham, I threw up every day for at least 5 weeks. Barely more than a little nausea this time. Holy cow. That is one of the best blessings ever!!

However, to counter that was the exhaustion. During my first trimester, I could barely pull myself to Graham's naptime, then I would crash and try to drag myself thru the rest of the day. It was crazy. I never had that with Graham, even thru his newborn days! The good news is, 2nd trimester has given me some relief and life doesn't end if I don't get a nap these days. But I am still more tired than normal and wear out quickly. Must be the sprints I do keeping up with the Gman. :) However, I will take exhaustion over sickness any day!

• Probably the very best thing about not being the first baby is that the anticipation doesn't about kill you. For that first one, it seems like you spend 9 months tapping your fingers, waiting, waiting, waiting.....for the 2nd one, it feels more like your due date is coming at you like a steam engine!! Wait, hold on, I'm not ready for 2 yet!

For the first one, you know everything in life is about to change, but you can't really imagine what it's going to be like and how much it will change. For the 2nd, it's nice because you know life is not going to take that drastic curve. You have some idea what to expect and you're already used to lugging the car seats, strollers, diaper bags and thousand other pieces of baby gear.

• All in all, even though I hear people say it was harder to go from one to two, than zero to one, I still feel way more peace of mind and calmness about the coming chaos. I've been thru newbornland and survived, we got the baby on a schedule and it worked, and now I also know how quickly those snuggly baby days pass by!

I definitely still have apprehension about the whole labor/delivery thing. Lots of moms have totally different experiences there as well. Now the good news is, after the crazy birth I went thru, I wouldn't think (hope or pray!) that it would be worse...but who knows, maybe I'll grow a 12 pounder this time. (Dear Jesus, please no.)
Probably my biggest apprehension is post-delivery. With my last birth, it was 4-6 months before I could walk without pain and even longer before I felt like "normal" again. I also was able to clear my schedule and pretty much stayed home a lot during those first 3 months, both to recover and figure out babies! This time around, I have a lot more on my plate and especially with Graham, I really don't have the option of staying home/in/quiet for very long! But, the Lord knows, and will obviously give grace as needed!!

• We haven't really talked about baby with Graham yet. I figure I will probably wait till I start getting larger and he starts realizing that something is going on with mom's belly before we start trying to explain about "baby" being in there! It's almost like he has this sense though, because he has become extra snuggly and extra attached to mommy in the last few weeks! He also doesn't like to see me holding other babies right now. hmmmm..... But I've been watching a little girl 2 mornings a week and she likes me to hold her, so I think that's really the best thing for graham that he is getting used to sharing mommy in these next few months!

The other day I was gone for about 30 mintues and when I came back it was mommy, mommy, mommy!! as he pulled me to come see and play with what he & daddy were building. How can I not love that?!!

• I'm starting to enter the annoying stage where my regular clothes aren't fitting right, yet maternity clothes just look big. And preggo jeans are so annoying. When I tried on a pair the other day, I was reminded that no matter how large you get, they never stay up! Like, why can't they put belt loops on them?!! But I'm in no hurry to grow out of my clothes, this time around I'll probably make them go until I possibly can. Unlike round #1 when you can't wait to wear them. :)

So, here's my overall synopsis.....

• While round one is extra special because everything is a first, I think subsequent pregnancies are even better. The time doesn't drag so much and you have plenty else to keep you occupied! But the biggest reason is this: now that I have experienced the amazing love & joy that Graham has brought to our lives, in some ways, I can anticipate this child that much more because I know that experiencing that x2 is going to be even more thrilling.

So baby #2, five more days and we get to find out what kind of little person you are and we can't wait to give you a special name picked just for you. We love you, sweet baby.