Coming this September, Brian and I will be welcoming another baby girl to our family! It feels like we just brought Marie home from the hospital (she isn’t quite a year yet), and in some ways it feels like Marie has been part of our family forever. We are so excited to have two babies that will be close in age so they really can grow up together. They will be about 17 months apart.

We found out that we were expecting baby 2 the day Marie turned 9 months old, which felt a bit timely! We shared the news with our families right away and they couldn’t have been more excited. The first symptoms I experienced were crazy dreams (this happened with Marie too), feeling more fatigued and getting sudden hot flashes. I started feeling pretty nauseous during week 6 of pregnancy and really stopped working out regularly to prioritize sleep. Right now, I go to bed around 7:30 or 8pm each night and wake up at 5:30am (although I could sleep longer!). I wake up early so I can be ready to go for Marie.

Being tired and nauseous during pregnancy with a very active almost 1 year old, really changes the game. I really have to reserve any energy or moments I feel ok during the week to do things for Marie. I have also noticed that I have an extremely heightened sense of smell, which triggers me to not feel so great and makes things like preparing food or changing Marie’s diaper quite challenging.

Much like my pregnancy with Marie, the first trimester has been very rough. I spend most of my time in bed watching TV when I can have someone help care for Marie. I know this is only a phase, and I know that I will enjoy cooking and being active again at some point, but right now I’m struggling to just get through most days. Even though I know this is a phase, it’s still a challenge to get through, and I don’t want to wish time away because that means Marie is growing up faster…but I really just can’t wait to feel like myself again and have a zest to do anything (play with Marie, cook dinner, walk outside, etc).

We had our first doctor’s appointment around week 8 and Brian was able to attend the ultrasound and appointment. It was very strange because all of the notices posted around the office about limiting visitors during birth, altered appointments and virtual appointments were labeled March 12 2020, which was the exact date of the last doctor appointment Brian was allowed to go to prior to Marie being born on April 15…so in a way, it felt like we were JUST at the hospital.

I started taking medication to ease the nausea and vomiting after my first doctor’s appointment, and it really has helped but I still have to spend quite a bit of time resting and have many food aversions. The first trimester (and all of pregnancy/postpartum) truly is a test of intuitive eating and intuitive movement, in my experience.

Another thing I want to mention is that I have been breastfeeding Marie throughout my entire pregnancy. My goal was always to breastfeed Marie for her first year of life, and thankfully we have had a very smooth journey. When Marie started eating solid food at 6 months, my period returned. At this point, I was still breastfeeding Marie for most of her meals. She now eats three regular meals a day and two snacks (I weaned her off of her two post nap nursing sessions by swapping in a small snack like yogurt and berries or toast with peanut butter and banana) and only nurses when she wakes up in the morning and just before bed. But even those nursing sessions are getting shorter and shorter. While I know I will be sad when Marie completely stops nursing, I will be thankful for the break before I do this again in September.

I am about 14 weeks now and feel ok. I have some good days and some bad days, but because I am officially in the second trimester, I think more good days are coming my way. We’ve had two doctor’s appointments and our Non-Invasive Prenatal Test bloodwork (NIPT) and so far they have said everything looks good! I have started on the nursery (which will be very similar to Marie’s) and baby #2’s bathroom and bedroom at the new house. Now, I just imagine our life with two little girls and I am so excited! I’m trying not to get caught up in the logistical details (like how do we give a bath to a newborn and a toddler at the same time?), but researching what I can and savoring Marie being my only baby while she still is.