My my my… 9 or 10 months ago (after our last loss) I was sure we’d never get here. Here we are, 10 months into Covid later, and just shy of 15 weeks along with this little Tater Tot… and we’re feelin pretty excited! We are due July 12, which is 1 day after my 35th birthday.
Raeleigh says she’s excited, but she also likes to sit on my belly and ‘squish’ her brother or sister! I am pretty certain she doesn’t totally understand. We’ve been showing her pics of when she was in mummy’s tummy, so we’ll see where she’s at in a few more months.
It’s been pretty different this time around in terms of how things have gone. Firstly – of course it’s different because I’m chasing around a 2 year old. I was way more nauseous this time than I was with Raeleigh – only in the last couple weeks it’s started to settle down. I lived on Tater tots for the first few months (hence where the nickname for the little thing came from) and I was exhausted.
The other thing that has been really different so far is the creaks and pains I’ve been feeling! “Lightning crotch” (yes, it’s just what it sounds like if you’ve never experienced it… feels like shooting pains in your crotch/inner thigh area). I didn’t experience this with Raeleigh until I was about 36 weeks along. This time… 11 weeks!!!! WHAT!?! I was like NO this can’t be right!!! Odd to be so early, but with my own research (who knows how accurate that could be!) I attributed it to a couple things:
✅ second pregnancy – things are shifting and moving much sooner than the first time? like, much much sooner? haha
✅ less movement (because I was pretty sick so I was exercising, but not to the extent my body is used to)
✅ not enough water – this can cause cramping and things to not move the way they should, so maybe contributed? Not enough water is never good. So I’m sure it played a roll
I found it got SO much better when I increased my activity level/workouts back to what my body is used to! I also found if I took a couple rest days in a row, it would be worse! SO, I’m resting as needed, for sure – but I feel so much better when I’m active (specifically, the lightning crotch is better 😂) Pretty awesome when exercises fixes things!! The other thing I found that seemed to help was a little bit of extra magnesium! It also has electrolytes and vitamin C in it, so a great product for pregnancy AND covid! Plus it boosts my water intake for the day, so that’s a win! (It’s here if you’re want to check it out – it’s a great product for anyone to use!)
Oh and aside from the question ‘How are you feeling?’ (which is always lovely!), the other most common question has been ‘When will you find out what you’re having?’ … we will NOT!!! The surprise with Raeleigh was the BEST. THING. EVER!!!! And we’re so excited to be surprised again! Wouldn’t have it any other way. For those of you pregnant and considering whether you want to find out or not… shoot me a message – I’ll share our video when we found out seconds after she was born that it was a baby girl. Coolest moment EVER!!!
Greg and I have been pretty open about our journey to have a family thus far. My first post about it is here and the second one (from our loss in the spring) is here, incase you missed them.
I feel like it goes without saying I was cautiously excited (even in disbelief a bit) when I saw the positive test this time around. I waited a couple days before I told Greg because the line was SOOO faint the first test I took, I was sure I was seeing things. This is my FIFTH pregnancy… which is crazy to think. In many ways, I feel SO grateful to have been able to get pregnant fairly easily as I know there are many people that never even get to experience those two little lines. But then I start to feel sorry for myself for all the losses we’ve suffered so far (and know if we decide we want any more children in the future, there’s a good chance we’ll have more losses before doing so successfully)
As I mentioned in my instagram post, there is a really big part of me that hesitates to share this, and knows how difficult reading this could be for many of you. Those struggling with loss, infertility or anything in between. And while I know nothing anyone can say will make it better, I just want to mention you, let you know you’re not alone, and send my love to you. We have TOO many people close to us that have really struggled as well, and are still waiting for their happy endings. During our struggles over the last few years, I know how much reading about others and what they’ve gone through has helped me (us) through the journey – so that’s why we share ours.
THANK YOU for being here, thanks for reading, and thank you for sending positive vibes to our little Tater Tot for the next 6 months! Raeleigh (thinks she) really wants a sibling!!
Xxx
Andrea