Second Trimester | Q+A - Baby Boy

Oops.... posting this as I'm approaching 30 weeks. 

I've been so horrible keeping up with my blog with baby #2 so here we go, starting with Second Trimester details. I'm currently 26 weeks! Baby is around 14" long and 1.7 pounds (per The Bump app). 

 

He's VERY active, much more active than when I had Merloe! I hear that's a boy thing? He's constantly moving as soon as I sit still for a while. I feel like he's horizontal in my belly still, which is normal but I feel more "wide" with him than Merloe. I also feel like I'm carrying lower which they say is common for a second pregnancy since my body already knows what to do and how to expand. 

I first felt him kick or move around 19 weeks. We were packing for a Disneyland trip for Merloe's Second Birthday. I wasn't able to get in to my 20 week ultrasound until after the trip but it made me feel so much better to feel him moving knowing he was active. We had our 20 week ultrasound at the end of September. The tech is the same one we had with Merloe, so it's always fun going back and reconnecting with them. The 20 Week Ultrasound is always so nerve racking because it's a full body scan to make sure everything is developing as it should be. It usually takes a while so you just lay there in silence praying that everything they see looks good. This is where my doctor does the gender check, they don't offer it any earlier or any blood tests to confirm. We had already been to an outside Ultrasound to check and so we were hoping she would confirm it was the same gender we had been told. Sure enough, halfway through our appointment she goes "Well I hope they told you he's a BOY!" and it was confirmed. She then laughed saying he was not afraid to flaunt the goods. Which is so funny to me because when we had Merloe she was always bashful and shy, so I know we've got a wild one coming soon.

Like I mentioned earlier, we had gone to an outside ultrasound to check the gender. With Merloe, I wanted to know before anyone else so we found out at the doctor's office but did a surprise reveal with our family and close friends. This time Seth really wanted to be surprised so we went to the ultrasound tech and received an envelope with the results inside. During our appointment she was having trouble checking, saying the baby was being shy and not cooperating. The heart rate was above 160, similar to Merloe so I left thinking it was a girl. It had to be a girl. Seth felt the same way, especially since my pregnancy up until that point had been identical. 

For the Gender Reveal we took the envelope to my parents house and invited both families over. I didn't want to do a big reveal, it made me anxious. I don't know why since we would've been happy with a girl or a boy but it was an overwhelming experience for me. My mom insisted on making it special so she decorated the house to the theme "What Will Baby Bee?" and had bumblebee themed food and decorations. For the reveal, we decided to open the envelope and read what it said out loud to our families so we still knew "before them" but also shared the excitement at the same time. As you can tell from our photos, we were surprised and so excited to find out it was a BOY! We both truly thought it was a girl so it was a fun surprise and I'm thankful Seth pushed me to do the reveal this way. 

 

I don't think Merloe has quite figured out what this means, she knows if I point to my belly she'll say "baby" but that's about it. She's quite motherly though taking care of all her baby dolls, even at school they say it's her favorite thing to do. She'll bring them out to the playground, feed them, change their diaper and give them kisses. It's the sweetest! So I know she'll make a great big sis for baby boy.

At 20 weeks pregnant we took Merloe to Disneyland to celebrate her 2nd Birthday a little early. It was a really great trip for us to take as a family before baby boy comes and have special time celebrating her. My parents came along as well so it was a family affair at the Happiest Place on Earth! 

I still have a few more weeks left before my Second Trimester comes to an end, but so far it's been pretty good. I know it's only going to get harder and more uncomfortable these next few months so I'm trying to enjoy what I can. I will say, it's been different having to manage a toddler at the same time. And working! When I was this far along with Merloe's pregnancy, I was still on furlough (Covid Pandemic). So managing work stress and toddlerhood, it's been a different experience as a whole! I've tried to stay active and go to Pilates a few times a week. I'm hoping this helps with delivery and recovery. 

Questions + Answers

Here are some questions and answers about my Second Trimester (same questions I answered with my first pregnancy)...

Eating, Working Out and New Cravings?
No weird cravings or food aversions. My first trimester I couldn't fathom coffee. Now I can drink coffee again but I get decaf. I can't handle the amount of caffeine in regular coffee, chai or matcha so decaf works best for me right now! I've been going to Core Pilates since before I was pregnant. My goal is 4 times a week, but depending on my schedule I sometimes only make it twice a week. They're so great there accommodating my pregnancy and making modifications. I just listen to my body and don't push too hard. It's definitely getting harder to keep up, which is hard mentally because I know I can do it. But I have to remember I have another human growing inside of me, so it's ok to not keep up.

Have you started your nursery?
Ah no! From what I learned with our first pregnancy, not much is needed in the nursery at first. But it's nice to have a place to put clothes and baby items. We're going to move Merloe's crib in his room once it's needed. And then we have an extra dresser we'll move from Seth's office to his room. We just haven't made the time to clear it out and move it upstairs. It's on our to do list!

Have you decided on a name?
I think so! We've shared it with our families and went back and forth on a few names. With Merloe we knew right away that was her name, so it's weird to be in this position. We had a baby boy name picked out for years but recently felt it wasn't a right fit for us anymore. So we thought of two more names, neither have anything to do with family or wine themed (that's usually everyone's first question) but simply two names we liked. We'll share soon! I'm pretty sure we have the name but I just can't quite write out yet.

Maternity Wear
So this has been a new challenge since I'm working. With my first pregnancy I wasn't working so I would lounge at home in athleisure, but that's not cutting it this time! Luckily I have an amazing friend who gave me a huge box of maternity work wear, and I'm so so thankful! I pretty much just rotate through dresses. But now that it's getting colder I might need to invest in a pair of tights or faux leather leggings.

Book Recommendations
I haven't read any new parenting books for this baby, but wanted to share some from my first pregnancy that I still think are helpful:

• The Danish Way of Parenting
• Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family 
• Einstein Never Used Flash Cards
• What To Expect When You're Expecting
• The First Time Dad's Pregnancy Handbook 
• The Expectant Father
• Promptly Journal 
• I purchased this for Merloe's pregnancy and got another one for baby boy! It's so easy to fill out the prompted questions and there's a few spots for photos, so it's been easy to store the ultrasound photos.