Being Sara

So, I’m pregnant again. I’ve been ready for this for quite a while now. Zach took a little longer to come around - but that’s ok - he’s usually the one who has a more level head about these sorts of decisions. After Xander’s first birthday I started getting the questions about when we were going to have another one. After about 6 months of these questions, I resorted to responding “ask Zach”. When someone asked us this in March, Zach didn’t say no. I of course immediately jumped on that as a “yes”.

When we were trying to get pregnant with Xander, it took us 7 months. My OB/Gyn suggested that I calculate about 2 weeks after my period as my most fertile time. That method didn’t work very well for us (it seven months to finally work!) This time around, I was already a frequent user of BabyCenter, so I used their Ovulation Calculator, and the first month we tried that, it worked!

When I was a few days late for my period, I knew. I waited the required 10 days before taking the test, and Zach didn’t want to get his (or my) hopes up until after the test, so we didn’t talk much about it for a few weeks. Every day that my period didn’t come, I got more and more excited of course.

After I was a week late, I ordered Xander a t-shirt that said “I’m Going To Be A Big Brother!” I had decided that it would be fun to let Xander tell our families. Conveniently, the 11th day of my late period was Mother’s Day, so I decided to take the test then. As with Xander, I was too excited to tell Zach in some sort of creative way, so I showed him the digital read-out. Unfortunately, he was still asleep, and even after waking him up, he wasn’t really awake enough to read the little stick, so I just told him. He was very sweet of course.

That morning I dressed Xander in his new t-shirt. We had spent the night at Zach’s parent’s house, and Zach’s Aunt and Uncle were there as well. Zach’s Uncle David saw Xander’s t-shirt, and sort of read the words out loud, but they clearly didn’t click. Zach’s dad zipped up Xander’s sweatshirt, but didn’t read the t-shirt at all. I was starting to wonder if this was really the best plan. Finally, as everyone was getting ready to leave (David and Debbie to go back home, and us to head to my parent’s house) I took Xander’s sweatshirt off, and about 10 minutes later they read the shirt and it clicked! They were of course thrilled. I warned them this would be the last one, so they should enjoy the baby while he or she was still a baby

Then off to my parent’s house. By now it was too warm for the sweatshirt, so as soon as Xander marched into their house, they read the shirt. I think at first they were a little surprised because they hadn’t realized that we were even talking about having another baby yet. After the shock wore off, they were just as thrilled. My grandmother also arrived to visit for Mother’s Day, but she didn’t quite understand the t-shirt, though she was very happy to hear about the upcoming baby.

I have learned a few things since my first pregnancy (and anytime I think I’ve forgotten, I can just go back and read my blog!) So I’ve started to take note of significant things more quickly this time, and I’m constantly comparing the two pregnancies. It’s true when they tell you that no two pregnancies are alike! I went in for my first prenatal visit at 9 weeks - fully expecting to hear the baby’s heartbeat, because I did with Xander. We couldn’t find the heartbeat, which apparently is pretty common (but not in my experience!) that, along with some light spotting had me a little worried, so my very wonderful doctor’s office scheduled me for an ultrasound 2 days later. We went, we saw the heartbeat, the little limb bumps - it was great, and such a huge relief!

So, a few things to note about this second pregnancy. Morning sickness very rarely hits me in the morning. Instead, it hits me anytime it feels like. For a while, thinking about or talking about food would make me nauseous, so it was pretty tricky to not think about what I was doing while I was doing it. Also, I found that I would feel terrible all day or for a few days in a row, and then have a break (where I would proceed to pig out because I felt great…) The good days seem to be more regular than the bad days as I head into the second trimester, but I’m not out of the woods yet.

My cravings have been crazy. Very early on it was peanuts in the shell (I didn’t eat the shell, I just wanted to shuck them myself). Then it was mini dill pickles and french fries. Lately it’s been raw vegetables. Nothing too terrible (though the fries weren’t great…) and it seems like once I’ve eaten whatever I’m craving a few times, then I don’t feel the need for it anymore - very strange…

The maternity clothes came out much earlier this time. I think part of that was the fact that I already had a whole maternity wardrobe sitting in my attic, so it was a lot easier than trying to buy everything again.

Finally, the exhaustion has set in big time. Part of that is trying to keep up with Xander while growing this other little peanut at the same time. I find myself falling asleep at 7 or 8pm some nights, and some days I feel like I’m walking through a cloud all day. Some days I don’t eat my lunch, I just find a quiet comfy chair in the library and sleep for an hour. I’m really looking forward to some more energy in my second trimester. So, I’m going to try to blog twice a week now - once for Xander and once for baby 2.0. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep up with both!

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