Pregnancy #3

Back when I was pregnant with Caleb, I wrote up a little comparison between my first and second pregnancies. I loved looking back on what I recorded this time around. I had thought for sure I didn't have trouble sleeping when I was pregnant with Caleb but I had clearly forgotten

So just for kicks, I thought I'd do it again with this pregnancy. I am currently at 26 weeks.

The Bump
We didn't start telling people I was pregnant until around the 4-month mark this time around. By then, my bump was growing more obvious. Some people admitted they might have suspected I was pregnant, but then again we were coming out of winter and everyone looks a little bloated after winter so they didn't want to say anything. Just in case. Some moms said they didn't suspect anything at all because they still look pregnant sometimes thanks to the post-baby pouch they never lost. I think they were just trying to be kind.

By the end of school term, I was about 21 weeks and still there were some people who had no idea I was pregnant. I'm not sure if that's a sign of how unnoticeable my bump was this time, or how large my pre-existing "bump" was already... hmm.

It's hard to find maternity clothes here. Obviously, I can no longer wear my jeans and shorts but for the most part, I'm still wearing my normal clothes with the exception of one maternity skirt my friend kindly passed along to me. Thanks to it being summer, I've been rotating through a handful of maxi dresses and skirt/t-shirt combos for the past little while with the occasional yoga tights and t-shirt tossed into the mix when the days are cooler.

The Cravings
Early in the pregnancy, all I wanted to eat was salad. Towards the end of my first trimester, all I was eating was chicken caesar salads. For breakfast, I would have yogurt with chia seeds and blueberries, for lunch and dinner, chicken caesar salads. I was pretty easy to please, I think.

The Aversions
Much like when I was pregnant with Caleb, I had a thing against meat. It wasn't quite as bad this time around - I could still stomach the idea of meat, but then only thing I would willingly eat was skinless chicken breast. With my caesar salad.

I was completely turned off by fast food and eating out in general. The smells of certain restaurants almost put me over the edge and I had to walk past, holding my breath to stop myself from gagging.

I noticed that I was much more sensitive to food and environmental allergens. For example, even after confirming that I am allergic to red meat, I would still eat a little to sustain my body's tolerance. However, once I got pregnant, I could feel my body react much more when I did come in contact with these allergens. It has gotten slightly better in my second trimester.

The Other Symptoms
Basically the moment I found out I was pregnant, my sleep went out the window. I just could not get comfortable and my back was aching all. the. time. I was extremely tired during my first trimester. That's normal, but I think it was made worse by the warm weather, my not being able to sleep, and having way too much on my plate.

I've been experiencing lower back pain and it's been getting stuck occasionally, just like last time. I really missed my pregnancy massages and visits to the chiropractor this time around. However, I've found that keeping yoga in my routine has helped me stretch out sore muscles and relax, and I feel stronger this time around.

I Want to Remember
Nathan was absolutely dying to tell his friends that I'm pregnant. He wanted to share the good news with everyone but we made him wait until we had our second ultrasound just to be on the safe side. By then, his excitement had died down quite significantly and he hasn't really talked much about the baby since then, except when he has name suggestions. His current favourite is Charlotte.

Caleb loves kissing my belly. Nathan used to do this all the time when I was pregnant with Caleb - maybe it has to do with how tall they are and the fact that my belly is just right in their face. He kisses his sister goodnight almost every single night and sometimes talks to her with his face right up to my belly so no one can really understand what he's saying. Caleb's already decided that her bed will be right in between his and Nathan's, and that he'll hold her when she sleeps. His current favourite name suggestion is Gwen, after the girl in Ben 10, which is so weird because he doesn't even really care for Ben 10.