Week 19

Hello, second trimester. You’re very boring, you know that? You are just the long stretch between the roller coaster ride that is early pregnancy and the busy preparation of the last few months. Yawn.

There really is nothing new to report. I feel great! I’m just twiddling my thumbs over here. It’s too soon to start really making plans, such as a freezer cooking list or early labor To-Do list. We don’t really need any new things for the baby, so a registry is unnecessary. We co-sleep, so there’s no nursery to decorate. This really is just an in-between time, and it’s kind of driving me NUTS. I am definitely a planner, and I thrive on having a project to work on. I simply cannot just, well, be. I need to be organizing and figuring out and researching or else I feel empty and useless. It does help that we are working on putting our house on the market soon, but there’s only so much cleaning and packing a girl can do. I don’t want to look for houses until ours is at least officially listed, and I don’t want to get too crazy about moving (packing materials, moving trucks, etc) in case everything falls through. Sooooo, here I am.

I will take this time to tell you about my Birth/Pregnancy/Breastfeeding Pinterest board. In addition to Recipes and Homesteading, it’s my most updated board. I am what my midwife calls a ‘birth groupie.’ The whole process, from pregnancy to post-partum, absolutely fascinates me and I can’t get enough of it. I love reading birth stories and hearing about other women’s experiences, I love learning through modern research and traditional techniques. I think giving birth is just about the most important and powerful thing a woman can do, and that experience is life-altering. The way a woman handles labor says a lot about her, and I guess that’s what makes birth stories so interesting to me. It’s like reading someone’s personal journal, a glimpse into who they really are. I understand that some women are all about pain relief and getting the whole ordeal over with, but I am not one of them. Those women probably think people like me are twisted, finding a strange joy in the pain. It’s difficult to describe, but I have seen it equated to climbing a mountain or running a marathon. It is a triumph, a feat of extraordinary strength and determination that I believe can shape the way a woman feels about both herself and the world around her. Okay, I’m sounding a little crazy now, so I shall say goodnight.


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The Grumpy McWhinypants Corner 

 My main gripe is nursing. IT HURTS LIKE A SON OF A GUN. That is all.    

 

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Supplements

My blood work came back great except that my vitamin D is really low. I hadn't been taking my fermented cod liver oil regularly, so I am just making sure I take 2 teaspoons every single day. It's the absolute best source of natural vitamin D you can get (apart from the sun, of course). However, the sun's position over our part of the world during winter simply cannot give adequate vitamin D, no matter how long you stay outside. Perhaps that's why cod liver oil has been a vital food in the northern hemisphere for centuries!

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Pre-pregnancy Weight: 110 lbs

Current Weight:  125 lbs
Total Gain: 15 lbs

Weeks 8 -13

So much for the weekly updates, huh? I underestimated the enveloping force that is being pregnant while running after a toddler. I will try to sum up the last few weeks:

Weeks 8 & 9

Woo boy, these two weeks gave me a run for my money! Nausea, exhaustion, crazy hormones (i.e. an emotional basketcase)... If it wasn't for quite possibly the most helpful and sympathetic husband in the world, I don't know what I would've done. Aside from a few particularly bad moments, the nausea was actually fairly manageable, and not nearly as bad as it was with Abigail. It was more like a dull ache that hung out in the pit of my stomach. I found that keeping at least some food in there, along with staying hydrated, really helped. The trouble with food was finding something that both my nose and stomach could agree on. These two weeks were definitely the most difficult, but luckily things improved drastically later on.

The cravings have been out of control this time!  I don’t remember any particular hankering with Abigail, except for pepperoni pizza in later trimesters. This time, though, they’ve been strangely powerful! I admit, though certainly not proudly, that I even indulged (gorged?) myself on McDonald’s one night. A horrible thing to do to my delicate growing baby, but man did it satisfy. I seem to want carbs and starches, specifically junky food like cheeseburgers, French fries, Italians, and sandwiches. I am obviously a huge advocator of real, whole foods prepared from scratch at home, but pregnancy cravings are no joke! There was also a terrible incident with chocolate cake (homemade, at least), that involved two failed attempts, tears, and lots and lots of leftover cake and frosting that did not go to waste. I can honestly say I still can’t even think of chocolate cake without getting a little nauseous…

Weeks 10-12

Each day after weeks 8 and 9 brought me closer to feeling normal again. I would still have a bad (super nauseous and exhausted) day here and there, but overall it was much better. I had a few headaches, but nothing like the 4-5 day monstrosities I had with Abigail. I did take acetaminophen twice, after trying all my natural remedies, but I really regret that and will just barrel through them from now on.

Week 13 

We have finally reached the second trimester, huzzah! Aside from a touch of nausea here and there, I’m feeling pretty great. I try to nap with Abigail most days, and go to bed with her at night, to stave off the exhaustion. I miss my peaceful alone time at night with the husband, but it’s worth it not to be a zombie all day. Lately, though, I’ve been staying up as late as 9 o’clock! ::gasp::

I broke out the maternity clothes! I’m definitely showing now, just passing the “is she fat or is she pregnant?” phase. The maternity gear is still a little big, but it’s much more comfortable than my regular clothes. I also ordered a few more things from Old Navy (who knew they did maternity?). I purposefully didn’t buy a lot last time around, as it seemed unnecessary to waste money on clothes nevermind stuff I’ll only wear for a few months. I wore my husband’s t-shirts mostly, with my one pair of maternity jeans. BUT, I realized that spending a few extra dollars on some nice things to avoid feeling like Frumpy Baggypants all the time is worth it. I tried to invest in pieces that would be wearable postpartum, too, including a few empire waist dresses that will last me well into the third trimester and be functional for nursing. 

Oh, I almost forgot! I had my first prenatal visit with my midwife, and she is awesome! I will have a separate post about it, including our birth plan.

The Grumpy McWhinypants Corner

• I’m still battling the acne, though I just started oil cleansing and am hoping that will help.
• I’m pretty tired of being tired.
• The pain on the top of my hip is still there, though isn’t too bad lately. It gets me mostly when I sit in one position for too long.
• I have had a touch of heartburn a few times, but nothing unbearable. That comes later…
• The most difficult thing I have dealt with so far is the pain of nursing. Abigail still nurses a few times a day (morning, nap, and to sleep at night) and oh boy, it hurts like nothing I've ever felt. I hoped it would ease up after a while, but it only seems to be getting worse. Sadly, it's changing my original plan for breastfeeding, but that is for another post.

The Menu

Oh goodness, I’d like to go ahead and skip this part. We’ve eaten out more than I would like to admit. A few nights of cereal and chips for dinner. Lots of pasta and sauce (hey, at least the sauce is homemade?) On good days, I made pancakes, bread, muffins, granola, or cookies. I tried two new recipes, cheeseburger goulash and taco pie, both were meh and won’t be repeated without drastic alterations. Lots of eggs and oatmeal. Snacks are usually apples or bananas, homemade yogurt with my granola, or clementines. 

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Pre-pregnancy Weight: 110 lbs

Current Weight: 120 lbs

Total Gain: 10 lbs

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Supplements

• Prenatal vitamin
• Biokult probiotic
• 2 teaspoons FCLO/Butter oil blend
• Magnesium body butter throughout the day, with magnesium oil sprayed on at night before bed
• (I had to cut out the magnesium powder as it did not agree with my stomach)
• I recently purchased all the bulk herbs for homemade pregnancy tea and hope to have a recipe up on my main blog soon! I will be drinking a quart of it a day.

Week 7

I like the idea of keeping a pregnancy journal for a few reasons. One, it can be helpful for future pregnancies to be able to look back and see what I did that helped or hurt in regards to nutrition, exercise, rest, supplements, etc. Also, the whole process is so consuming, it is easy to forget the little things (or big things, if you’ve got a bad case of mom-brain…). Lastly, I think it’s a nice way to focus my thoughts each week. Here we go!

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Recap

We found out we were pregnant the morning of January 10. I wasn’t really feeling it, but I was a week late and figured might as well take the test. It didn’t help that the month before I was THREE WEEKS late, but had three negative pregnancy tests. Needless to say, my hopes were not high. Boy oh boy, when I saw those two little lines, I squealed with delight! I grabbed Abigail, hugged her tight, and ran into Patrick’s office to tell him the wonderful news. I really truly was expecting another letdown. We then called the moms, of course, and told them to spread the news. 

And so here we are at the beginning of week 7. I feel wonderful! A bit tired most days, but not exhausted. Also, no headaches or morning sickness (yet), fingers crossed! With Abigail, I had pretty bad nausea all day starting at week 6, ending on the first day of the second trimester. I never actually threw up, so I considered myself lucky. But now with a little one running around, it would be pretty inconvenient. I also had excruciating migraines in the first trimester with Abigail, always lasting a few days. I even resorted to acetaminophen at one point, and it hardly made a difference. I am REALLY praying that doesn’t happen again. I remember one night was particularly painful, so I was lying in the dark bedroom with a wet cloth over my eyes, listening to a Dragnet radio show with Patrick to get my mind off of it. It was terrible at the time, but is kind of a nice memory now. :)

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Pre-pregnancy Weight: 110

Current Weight: 113

Total Gain: 3 lbs

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The Grumpy McWhinypants Corner

• ACNE! Oh man, these hormones are wreaking havoc on my poor skin. No matter what I do, they just keep multiplying. Ah well, I’m pretty blessed that one of my main issues is purely aesthetic.

• Pain on the top of the back of the hip bone (say that ten times fast, it’s fun!). You know those two bones that poke out a bit on the lower back? The right one hurts like heck sometimes, a pinching sort of pain that fades into a dull ache. I had it really bad in the mid-second trimester before, and I remember thinking I wasn’t big enough to warrant back pain, I had just started to show! My midwife said it’s just one of the many lovely aches of pregnancy. :) It was really bad sometimes, so that when I stood up I had to sort of walk like a slow hunchback for a while. It’s not that bad yet, but I’m not optimistic since it started so early. :(

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The Menu
(at least what I can remember...)

Breakfast is always:

A cup of coffee with raw milk and coconut sugar

with

Oatmeal made with half whole raw milk and half water, sweetened with a tablespoon of coconut sugar and finished with a tablespoon of high quality butter swirled in

OR

Two eggs with a few pieces nitrate-free bacon

Lunches:

(With a cup of warm salted bone broth)

•  2 homemade corn tortillas with ground beef, salsa, cheddar, homemade yogurt, hot sauce
•  Eggs and bacon
• Wild-caught tuna mixed with homemade avocado mayonnaise on homemade biscuits with cheese, mixed green and carrot salad.
• 2 eggs with sweet potato hash browns

Snacks:

• Apple with homemade peanut butter and/or homemade apple butter
• Banana
• A piece of cheddar cheese
• Cup of bone broth

Dinners:

• Sourdough pancakes with fried eggs, green beans
• Einkorn pasta with homemade tomato meat sauce, mixed green and carrot salad
• Burgers with cheddar on homemade biscuits

Supplements:

• Morning- Prenatal vitamin, 1 Biokult probiotic, 2 teaspoons FCLO/Butter oil blend, 1 tablespoon elderberry syrup
• Afternoon- 2 teaspoons Natural Calm magnesium powder mixed with water
• Magnesium body butter throughout the day, with magnesium oil sprayed on at night before bed

A note about ingredients and a disclaimer:

Cheddar is grass-fed, meat is hormone/antibiotic-free, produce is usually organic, eggs are local and pastured, yogurt is homemade from local raw milk, anything made with flour uses einkorn, butter is organic. (I don't intend to come off like a hoity-toity ultra-hippie, but I believe that the source and quality of the food matters very, very much.) 

So that’s it! They won’t always be this long, I promise. :)