Yes, you read that right, baby number two is coming soon! We are supposed to be having this baby early in November, and I am pretty excited about it. I have always loved the month November and have wanted to either get married that month, or have a baby that month (fun little fact). So I am having a baby in November assuming this one doesn’t come a month early—or even a week early, haha.
This pregnancy has been so interesting. It started interestingly and has continued to be so different than my last. I wasn’t sure if I was pregnant or not because I tested a few days early. I was the only one who saw a line. I ended up testing again the next day, and we got a definite line, and then got another positive again a few days later with a digital test. It was more of a “see, I told you so” than the shocked/happy tears when we found out we were pregnant with Lillian. Don’t get me wrong, we are super excited for this one. It was just a weird waiting game to see if my eyes were deceiving me or not.
Lillian doesn’t really understand what is going on. She doesn’t understand that I have a baby in my belly and that in a few months she is going to be a big sister. She has been spending time with her little cousin, and I am hoping it will get her used to having a new sibling soon, wish us luck.
Let’s get into the best part of pregnancy, something you are all so excited to hear about…
Symptoms
As I said before, most of the symptoms have been pretty different this pregnancy.
Morning Sickness—Luckily I wasn’t throwing up at all, but I was extremely nauseous from week 5 to week 13. I still have random waves of nausea, but it is getting better. With Lillian I didn’t have any morning sickness, but I had really bad aversions to food. This pregnancy I don’t have a lot of aversions or cravings so far.
Headaches—I am not prone to getting headaches, so this has been very new to me. I started getting really bad headaches around week 10. They start in the back of my head and circle around to the front. I literally have one right now as I am typing. Headaches were not a thing my last pregnancy, and I hope they go away soon.
Constant Cold—When I say constant cold, I mean I always have mucus in the back of my throat (TMI, sorry). It is not the most pleasant thing when you are already feeling nauseous, but I had this my last pregnancy, so I was expecting it this time around too.
Aches and Pains—I feel like I can tell that my body is just stretching. I think I am having some round ligament pains and lower back pain. I already have lower back pain whether I am pregnant or not, but I just feel like my back is a little more sensitive now.
Taste and Smell—I would say my taste has been more affected than my smell. Most things I eat leave a horrible taste in my mouth. It doesn’t help the nausea. It is not the metallic taste many women experience while pregnant. It is just a gross taste that I can’t stand, so gum has been a life saver for me.
Helpful Items
Gum—Not just any gum either. It has to be bubblegum flavor. At first I preferred Orbit, but now I will only chew the Trident brand bubblegum flavor. It helps get rid of the nasty taste I often get in my mouth after eating something.
Chewy Bites Tums—I already have gotten a good amount of heartburn. I had very intense heartburn with Lillian, so I was expecting to have it with this one too. I didn’t remember it coming this soon in pregnancy, though. At first I was just using the normal mint Tums, but I literally hated taking them. I despise the chalky Tums after my last pregnancy. I didn’t know how I was going to survive this pregnancy if that was my only option. Luckily, I heard about the Chewy Bites Tums and they have been something I am so SO grateful for. They taste much better. I hope I don’t get tired of them too quickly because it is going to be my go-to for heartburn the rest of this pregnancy.
Zofran—This is a prescription medication for nausea that doctors will prescribe if its pretty bad. I tried ginger, ginger ale, lots of water, eating more protein, eating crackers, I tried everything I could think of but nothing was working. I was hesitant to use Zofran because I prefer to not take medication if I don’t have to, but I was so desperate. I was trying to finish my last semester of college, and Lillian was (and is!) so busy that I couldn’t keep up with her. I asked my doctor to prescribe some, and it was the best decision I made. It helped me survive the first trimester. I started taking it around eight weeks.
Cravings
English Muffins—I don’t know if these are a craving anymore or just an essential I have to eat every day to survive. It started as a craving, and now it is just the only thing that I want to continue eating in the mornings. Cereal turns my stomach most mornings, as well as yogurt. I literally just eat an english muffin with butter every morning for breakfast. It has been my staple this first trimester.
Wings—Buffalo chicken wings and BBQ chicken wings are so, so great. Especially buffalo. I love the smell of buffalo sauce and that spicy edge it has to it. The wings have to have bones in it—I don’t want any of that boneless stuff!
Lemonade—I have been enjoying lemonade a lot lately, but I think it is also kind of upsetting my stomach sometimes. I have had to slow down on drinking it, but it is a fun summer/spring drink!
Aversions
At one point everything smelled and sounded disgusting. There was a solid week where I didn’t want to eat anything. That week I mainly ate cheese sticks and toast. I am so glad that is behind me. Overall, I don’t have any bad aversions. I can eat most things, but sometimes I may turn down certain food choices.
Final Thoughts
I would say I am a little more anxious this pregnancy given the situation of my last birth, but for the most part I am excited and hopeful. My end goal for this pregnancy is to be able to have a successful VBAC naturally. I want to go without an epidural because epidurals can lessen the intensity of contractions, and I want to be able to have the best odds at a VBAC. Sometimes I do go back and forth on if I should have an epidural in case I do have to have another emergency c-section so I can be awake for it. I won’t be crushed if I do end up needing another c-section because I have learned that nothing ever goes as planned, but I still have the goal to try for a VBAC.
If anyone has any questions I would love to answer them! I also want to know if you experienced any differences between your first and second pregnancy?
Nausea combined with the constant cold thing 😭 I HATED that! We’re so excited for you!