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Hey! Welcome Back!
We are so excited and blessed to be growing our family and welcoming a new baby due June 1st! I know it will take some adjusting going from a family of 3 to a family of 4 and I'm sure we will be so dang tired during that first bit of juggling newborn life again and toddler life + potty training on top of that but I know it will all be so worth it and we have so much love to give. Our #shearersquad is getting bigger and I can't wait for all the fun adventures it will bring our family!
To be totally honest during this first trimester I was full of emotions more so than during my first pregnancy for some reason. First of all just so excited that we are pregnant again, worried and waiting for the first doctors appointment to hear the heart beat for the first time and confirm our pregnancy. Also worrying before every appointment after that still. You hear so many sad stories and more people we know have struggled and gone through so many ups and downs , it's hard not to let that get into your head and think what if. After every appointment we had I was just so thankful to hear a heartbeat and know everything is going okay, especially during those first months when you can't feel your baby move yet and you have nothing to go off of to know that everything is okay. I also started wondering how all this change will affect Sophie who's our first born. Will she be jealous? Will she be okay with sharing her time? Will she get enough one on one attention? Our new baby isn't going to have the same relaxed environment as Sophie did. Our baby will have to be surrounded by a toddler who runs and jumps and shouts (very loudly sometimes) will that be okay? Also at times sitting with Sophie and sad that soon these will be the last moments of just the two of us and just hanging on to those moments for dear life. Patiently waiting to hold our new baby in our arms and taking in all those new baby smells, wondering what our baby will look like, hoping and praying I will have a safe pregnancy and delivery. Yes, I was all over the place to say the least. My hormones were a bit overboard with this pregnancy than with my first for some reason. I guess that's just the rollercoaster of life. Just know that it's okay to have those moments of hard feelings, if I didn't have those I don't think I would have had the opportunity to really look for the positive, look for those magical feelings and know that it will all be okay and everything will work out for us exactly as it was planned. Once all those hormones started to settle down and my emotions began to even out a bit I realized that this is exactly what we prayed for and this is exactly what we we've been looking forward to and for that we should be so grateful because very rarely does it work out that way. It's so hard for me not to worry sometimes, but it always works out just how it should in the end. It will definitely take some adjusting for the whole family but our family has an abundance of love and more than enough love to go around for us all! Change can be hard and scary but I just keep imaging holding our new little baby in our arms and getting the privilege to go through all those newborn stages that I miss with Sophie and getting to watch her become a big sister will be the icing on the cake. It's so hard to see your kids grow up so fast before your eyes and sometimes I just wish Sophie could stay little forever but you just have to soak them up during the stage of life that they are in. If she stayed little forever I wouldn't get to see her in her toddler stage and growing and learning SO FAST every single day! The things she picks up on so quickly now is mind blowing and just a beautiful thing to witness. I feel like it will only get better the older she gets and goes through new stages in life. I don't think that means her changing and growing will ever get any easier for this momma but it definitely will be an exciting journey and a magical thing to watch.
I'm so excited that you are here and are choosing to follow along on our journey and see what our crazy family gets up to. So many of you guys over on instagram that I've been chatting with are pregnant too, it's so much fun going on this amazing journey with you. & congrats if you're expecting a little one. It's definitely the greatest joy in our lives! <3
I asked you guys over on insta stories your questions for my pregnancy so far and you guys came through with some awesome questions! So excited to finally have them all answered in one place for you to refer back to!
Q & A
Q: Were either of your pregnancies planned?
A: Yes! They were both planned. We weren't sure if it was going to be hard for us to have kids or not. We talked about having kids for the years we were together before getting engaged and married. We always knew we wanted a family together that was never a question. When we got married and were on our honeymoon we decided to start trying but made sure not get our hopes up about anything. We had already been together for 7 years by this point and we figured why wait any longer! At the end of that same month we found out we were pregnant! We were so extremely blessed. We hoped to have kids 2 years apart so we did the math (which pregnancy math is crazy haha) and knew about when we would need to start trying again to hopefully have them close to two years apart!
Q: Did you have any symptoms? If so what do you do to treat them?
A: I was nauseous with both pregnancies up until my second trimester and then it stopped almost right when I hit the second trimester exactly. So weird how that worked out that way! I think I had more morning sickness with Sophie actually getting sick most mornings. With my second pregnancy I just felt nauseous all day without ever actually getting sick. Of course lack of energy and soooo tired during these times with both also then I finally got my energy back during my second trimester thank goodness. I sucked these pregnancy drops they helped with the nausea that I swear helped I also had to eat something small and bland the second I woke up which helped. I drank this tea that Ry picked up for me along with this spray and I think they really helped also! I also had sprite or ginger ale to help calm my stomach. I could only eat bland foods and nothing really sounded great to me through the first trimester. Cravings didn't kick in till later with both pregnancies.
Q: What has the biggest difference between pregnancies been?
A: I think the biggest difference would be that with my first pregnancy I was able to rest whenever I felt like it and this time around I have a very active toddler to chase around, so there was never a ton of time to rest and relax. Ry really stepped in whenever he was home to play with Sophie while I was super tired and not feeling well. He's the best dad and husband and I'm so thankful for all he does for our fam! The other difference I noticed is during my first pregnancy I could feel every little change that was happening to my body, So much stretching and expanding was happening and my body felt so different. In my head I would be the super active pregnant girl but it felt so weird trying to do any sort of workout other than walking. So that's what I did, every single day I got out for a walk no matter what up until the day I had Sophie! The second pregnancy I feel like my body already knew what to expect and even though my body was changing as I was growing a human inside me I feel like I didn't notice every little thing, my body just kind of knew what to do at this point. Once I hit my second trimester and got my energy back I was able to start working out, walking, toning workouts and some yoga!
Q: How long did it take to get pregnant? was it different than the first time?
A: It took us a few months this time around. The last month we tried we used the Ava tracker and got pregnant that month. We had used Ovia and the glow app before and between the Ava bracelet and the free apps they were about a week and a half off of each other so I definitely would recommend looking into the Ava bracelet if you're trying to conceive. Their success stories are amazing and will put you to tears! The first time we got pregnant instantly while we were on our honeymoon!
Q: How do you avoid crazy weight gain? I gained 50 lbs with my first and am pregnant again!
A: I'm not sure if I'm the best person to ask about that. HAHA! I gained about 50 pounds with my first pregnancy granted I was a little bit lighter when we got pregnant with Sophie. This time I've done a better job at staying to my recommended weight gain. I have just had more energy and felt better when I workout this time than I did with my last pregnancy. I also haven't eaten out nearly as much this time around. I think this is so hard because I think it's important to listen to your body, if you need rest, rest. If you need to sit on the couch all day and watch movies, do that! If you want a cheeseburger, eat that cheeseburger! If you're feeling great and want to workout every single day than go for it girl! I feel like listening to your body is huge and my mindset was that I was okay with gaining the weight since I didn't feel my best while working out, walking was all the felt good to me. SO that's what I did and I just knew that it was going to be hard to get the weight off after but I knew I could do it, I had done it before and I could do it again. After I had Sophie It took me just over a year to lose the weight I had gained. When I had her I was not focused on getting on a diet right away, I was not focused on working out right away. I was focused on my baby and healing and learning how to be a mom and take care of a new baby and feel her and just soak in all those baby memories. It took me longer to lose the weight but to me it was worth it because they are only babies for a short time and I'm so glad I took the time to soak it all in. and give myself grace during a new, challenging, magical, wonderful time in life.
Q: Do you have any names picked out?
A: We have a few names in mind. We will probably try to narrow it down to just a couple options and pick the name once he's born. We named Sophie right after we had her and it was so special to really put a face to a name and meet her and see what name fit her the most.
Q: What has your eating/workout routine been like through pregnancy?
A: During the first trimester all I could eat were bland foods and I was definitely not working out unless you count chasing a toddler around. I was sleeping every chance I got and just praying everything would go back to normal once I hit my second trimester like it did with my first pregnancy. Also I didn't know there was medication for morning sickness. I guess in the grand scheme of things I thankfully didn't have morning sickness that bad and It only lasted the first trimester. I've heard lots of stories lately about it lasting for a long time for some women, so I'm thankful it wasn't too bad and didn't last too long.
Q: How far along were you when you found out you were pregnant?
A: 5 weeks.
Q: Did you use an app or ovulation kit to track?
A: Yes we used the Ava bracelet for our second pregnancy and I highly recommend it for if you're pregnant or not. It's so cool to track sleep, cycles and so much more!
Q: How long did you wait to share your pregnancy? I just got pregnant and idk when the right time to tell friends and family.
A: I was 14 weeks when we announced we were pregnant. I've heard so many scary stories I try to wait until we're in as much of the clear as possible.
Q: How did you tell Ryan you were pregnant?
A: He was with me when I took my test when we found out we were pregnant with Sophie. The second time around we had tried a couple months prior and were still trying so it was about that time to take a test to see. Ry had been gone in. California for a work trip. I would've been able to know at the beginning of the week he was gone and I wanted to wait until he got home but when Friday rolled around and he was getting ready to come home I just couldn't take the suspense and especially if the test was negative I didn't want to make a big deal of it when he was home just to have a negative test. I decided last minute to take a test at home before he came home and it said PREGNANT! I took a couple more and another the next day to be really sure but I was soo excited to surprise him when he got home with the good news. I wrapped up my test in a gift bag and tissue paper to giver to him. When he comes home we pick him up from the airport and we go to dinner. Before we headed into the restaurant I said Sophie and I have a present for you, do you want to open it real quick? He was so excited and at dinner we just talked about our new journey bringing a new baby into the fam and how fun it will be!
Q: Did you have any symptoms before taking a pregnancy test?
A: Not since we found out so early at 5 weeks.
Q: How did you tell your parents?
A: I had to tell my mom first because we got for walks together a lot and they live just a mile away from us we see them quite a bit. We had been going on walks a few days in a row and I wasn't feeling good. on our third walk she brought me cold medicine and kept pushing me to take care of myself. I had to give in and tell her that I wasn't sick and didn't need her to shove cough medicine down my throat, I was just pregnant! HAHA That was one of the funniest moments and one I'll never forget! Mom's will always be mom's right?! Everyone else we told in person separate. With our first baby we had more time and had the chance to give everyone a special gift. Then life gets in the way haha poor siblings.
I hope this helps you with your pregnancy journey and just know during the first trimester the worries are normal, the hormonal emotions are normal, the fatigue is normal. Just give yourself grace and rest when you can. Your body is going through so many changes and I think it's important to let your body go through it's process and it will get better and easier as time goes on. It also gets easier to breathe before heading into your appointments as time goes on. Once you can feel your baby move you will have that constant reassurance rather than having to wait until every appointment to get confirmation. Again congratulations on your new bundle of joy and I can't wait to go on this amazing journey with you!
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