We are so elated to finally have announced our second pregnancy! I hadn’t intended on waiting quite this long, again, I think we ended up announcing around 24 weeks last time too. I wanted to wait until the 20 week mark and share the news after our anatomy scan, that seems like a comfortable point for me. But then JD was on trial and it took us longer than expected to tell our family and now here we are!

I wanted to answer some questions here and share a bit more about how my experience has been so far. They say every pregnancy is different and that has certainly proven to be true for me so far.

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How far along are you/when are you due?

24 weeks! Our due date is March 5th. We are getting close to the third trimester over here, it’s going so quickly this time!

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Are you waiting to find out the gender again?

So when I was in the final days of my pregnancy with Eleanor I loudly announced that I would absolutely not be waiting to find out if we were lucky enough to have another child. Then we got pregnant again and found ourselves wanting to wait again. I kept saying “okay, maybe after the NIPT… 12 week appointment.. anatomy scan..” and at each point held on to the idea of waiting. There are so few good surprises in life and this is one of them. I absolutely have my suspicions, but cannot be certain until baby is here.

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How have you been feeling and what symptoms have you experienced so far?

This pregnancy has been very different than my first in so many ways so far. For starters I did not have the crippling morning sickness I did the first time around. What a night and day difference. I had bouts of nausea and some aversions, but it honestly wasn’t bad at all. I have had a lot of issues with gas and bloating this time and a touch of heartburn one week, which were all new to me. I am also feeling more hormonal. I was so insanely calm throughout my first pregnancy. I had no anxiety at all, it was amazing having my hormones so balanced. I’ve been all over the place this pregnancy, definitely feeling more stressed and anxious. But over the last week this has subsided a bit so I am hoping I will level out again as we get closer to the third trimester.

Some things that have been the same — One of my very first symptoms was taking a sip of wine about a week before my period was due and thinking it tasted horrible. That seems to be my first signifier. I appear to be carrying the same so far though I did “pop” a few weeks earlier. I had a bump at 24 weeks last time that took shape around week 27. This time it happened at 22 weeks. And, Baby #2 has also stolen my eyelashes. The bottom row is completely transparent blonde and the top has gotten so short. For reference, they’re usually brown and present. And this week I’ve noticed some gold coming in around my hairline. Will we have another strawberry blonde? Only time will tell!

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How have you been staying healthy/in shape this pregnancy with a toddler?

It’s definitely more challenging. Finding the time to get a workout in with a little one running around, now down to one nap a day is tough. I have been doing pilates at home and MWH workouts. I aim for 20 minutes a day minimum but am trying to get that number up to 30.

Up until last week I was eating like a raccoon. Sugar has been a major craving for me this pregnancy — chocolate, cookies, pancakes, you name it. But salads too. This baby loves veggies. I could barely touch them with E, I had such an aversion. This pregnancy they are all I want — that isn’t a cookie. Now I am back on a healthy low carb diet and trying my best to create balance in that department.

Health-wise not related to food — I’m taking all my vitamins and trying to take the best care of myself possible but again, this is tough with a toddler. She loves sharing her germs with me, currently getting over the second cold she has given me in the last few months.

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Are you worried about having gestational diabetes and preeclampsia again?

Unfortunately, I got the news this past week that I do have gestational diabetes again. GDM seems to be genetic for me, due to hormones. My doctors had me take an early glucose test and I failed so we are in the early stages of trying to manage through diet and see what I can and cannot eat. I was able to manage it through diet with E so I am hopeful. And yes, I am still terrified of preeclampsia. I am on a low dose aspirin regimen and there is now a test they do at 12 weeks to determine your risk factor, which is calming. I thankfully tested low risk and my doctors are keeping a close eye on me.

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Do you have any names picked out yet?

Yes and no. We have our boy name set. We do not have any front runners for girl names at the moment. We have a short list going, but very few of them fit my naming conventions. I tend to prefer traditional names with lots of nickname options. I am trying my best to keep in mind that we call Eleanor Goldie and none of the nicknames we thought we would that actually stem from her name like Ella, Nora, Nell, etc.

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Will you be moving out of the city?

We’ve been talking about this for a while now. We would love to move closer to family and buy a house. We’ve just started the process of looking as our apartment is definitely not going to cut it long term. Right now the plan is to stay put for at least the first six weeks after baby arrives because I want to be close to my doctors and hospital should I have postpartum preeclampsia again. Hopefully that is not the case, but I would have too much anxiety not being nearby. The housing market/interest rates are less than ideal right now as well so we will have to see where we end up.

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Thank you again so much for all of the love and support!

xx