Tag Archives: Pregnant

Prepping for Final Baby

pregnancy, , , , , , , , ,

There is no secret here that I am pretty open about our family and how big we want it. My partner and I are planning on having 3 children provided that everything is alright though and everything aligns right. As you know having a baby can be challenging. I even talk about the 5 tips to get pregnant easier here in a different blog post. These are the things that I have been doing for the past little while in order to prep for the final baby we hope to welcome to our family!

Photo by Melike Benli on Pexels.com



One thing I have been doing since August was taking prenatals. They say you should be starting to take these 3 months prior to trying to conceive. That being said though, prenatals will not make you become pregnant faster. The purpose of this is to build the vitamins and whatever else up in your body to help carry a baby better. Obviously there are times though that people are not able to do this with surprise pregnancy’s and things however if you are actively planning like us than yes, take them 3 months before hand to help your body become ready!

Another thing that I am trying to do is continue to lose weight. Having 2 kids and thinking about another pregnancy I want to make sure that I am not tired and sluggish. I want to hopefully lose maybe 25lbs (Hopefully since you know I write these in advance I will have you all updated on the Thursday’s Self Care) and I want to also be able to have munching and snacking in control so that I don’t have to worry about over eating. With my first pregnancy I gained a lot of weight and it was hard. With my second I didn’t gain that much. Which was great however I want to hopefully lose weight and not gain like I did with my second. Chasing kids around will be challenging so I really want to make sure that I am healthy and at least not carrying around extra weight unless it has to do with the growing baby!

Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com



I am also slowly thinking about bedrooms. Currently we have 3 bedrooms upstairs and right now my youngest is in the biggest room with the crib and my oldest in his own room in a big bed. That being said, whenever number 3 comes along hopefully it happens the same as it did with my first two which was relatively quick, that I would really like to low key plan the babies room. Chances are my youngest will have to be in a big boy bed. Not to mention I will have to put both of the boys in the same room. Then move the baby to the little room. I am not in a huge rush obviously due to the fact that I am hoping that we can keep the newest addition in a bassinet for a period of time but I would like to at least mentally prepare for the changes of rooms.

This also may sound super silly, but I am also mentally preparing myself for another c-section. It was really hard on me, so hard in fact I talk about the 3 things that were the hardest part of a c-section here as well as the parts of a c-section that no one talks about here. Maybe it was part of my fault because I never really thought “It could happen to me” and I knew literally nothing about it. All I knew was that they cut open your stomach. Not the time, what happens in recover, or anything like that. I want to be fully prepared to have another c-section if that is the route that is safest way for myself and for the baby to make it to this world. I know recovery won’t be easy because of the fact that I will have 2 little fellas who would be running around and I really hope that at the end of the day we do not have to go that way however if it does I want to be prepared as well.

And finally, I am also prepping for the fact that this will be my last pregnancy. We always planned on having just 3 children and as much as I feel like an alien and that I was low key not a huge fan of it. I will say that we were pretty lucky. I was basically minimal pregnancy symptoms and was able to do a lot more than friends of mine were though. That being said though, every pregnancy is different. I know this will be the last time that I can feel little kicks on the inside. I know that this is the last time my body will carry another human. I am okay with that and I hope the 9 months fly buy. I am ready to also take this time to really reflect on the fact that our family dynamic will be changing for a final time also too.



It feels super surreal though to sit here and be thinking about a 3rd pregnancy. From the first and to the third it will be a total of 27 months of pregnancy. That is over 2 years being pregnant. I still cannot believe that such a short time ago I was announcing that we were pregnant with our first and soon we will be announcing that we were pregnant with our last. It marks the end of an era so to speak. My partner and I always wanted to have our children close together in age for many reasons, maybe because we are a little bit crazy but still! Before we know it we will soon be out of diapers, and they will be off to college! Never do I ever wish memories and time away, but boy does it ever pass fast! I still am in shocked that my youngest is nearly a year old and here we are, going to be trying yet again!

What People Wish They Knew About Pregnancy – Part 3

pregnancy, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Before I begin, I want to say this is something that I had asked the people on the app “Peanut”. This is an app where mothers sign up and can meet other moms around their towns and essentially become friends and hang out (Not a sponsor). However for me I felt it was far too overwhelming and in typical fashion I stopped using the app. I did however ask a question to the community, that question was “What is something you wish people told you about pregnancy or birth”. These are some responses and once the other parts become active I will be posting them below with links. And you are more than welcome to check them out yourself too!

What do you wish people told you about pregnancy and birth Part 1
What do you wish people told you about pregnancy and birth Part 2

Photo by Burst on Pexels.com

Fundal Massage for uterus was something that I had NO IDEA about when I had given birth the first time. I will say having a c-section for my second I did not notice if there was any massage which I assume there was not due to the fact I had just been cut open there. However with my first vaginal birth HOLY MOLY it was tough. The nurses literally will put their palm or even their fingers and wiggle it around your abdomen to see if your uterus is shrinking back and it does not tickle. They check this periodically and it is absolutely not comfortable at all. Yes it is important and needs to be done but just know that it does not feel great though at all. I know when it comes to having our third and final child, as much as I am hoping to have a vaginal birth similar to our second I am HOPING that this massage happens quickly and it becomes short lived!

*** If you would like to support this blog financially you are more than welcome to do so by clicking this link here to bring you to my Ko-Fi website. Supporting the blog via tips is NEVER pressured however if you feel so inclined to help out in another way this is a perfect way to do so! You can see some behind the scenes items as well as insider info on the store updates and uncensored blogs also coming soon!


Forceps or vacuum was something I knew very little about and thankfully with the 2 children I have (And hopefully the 3rd when the time comes) we dont need to know anything about these! This is where you have to have these tongs to help pull your baby out. And the vacuum is just that, it will suction to the top of your babies head to help them come out of you. I was only told about these in my 1st pregnancy when the doctor was half threatening me with gaining too much weight and how this may be something that is needed if I kept gaining. Luckily I never needed them as my son came so fast however I have heard of these being essential in giving birth for whatever reason. In the moment I can imagine they are horrifying and worrisome.

Lack of sleep from labor to months later is something that you may think is assumed however it isn’t. I will say that with my first two son’s they have been nearly incredible sleepers compared to stories I have heard from friends. As obvious as it may be no one really talks about the lack of sleep you get after a baby is born. For my second pregnancy I found it was a lot harder to sleep the bigger I had gotten however I don’t remember that with my first. Afterwards you are also looking at about 2 months of lack of sleep where the first month you are basically a zombie in the process. I know it sounds crazy but it is true. Babies do drink every 3 hours so they need to really be up that much. After about 2 months both of my son’s slept alright averaging maybe 6-9 hours a night. What makes this challenging is that when you have multiple children. With my first I was able to sleep when he slept and catch up on sleep. However with my second that was not entirely possible due to the fact that he was on one nap per day and the newborn didn’t exactly sleep when you wanted them to!



Mom Guilt is something that I dont think anyone ever can prepare you for. This also can be parenting guilt too. One of the first things I know I felt guilty about with mom guilt was not wanting to breast feed. It is hammered down our throats as a mom that if you don’t you are depriving your child of certain things that they never talk about all the reasons why breast feeding may not be right for your family. For me, mentally I just was unable to breastfeed. I did not enjoy it, I felt wrong doing it, and when my son had jaundice and feeding was super important to make it go away it scared me and made me paranoid that he was not drinking enough. That is not to say that it doesn’t work for other people but for me I loved the fact that my spouse was able to feed our children and I was able to sleep a bit, or that I wasn’t hooked up to some sort of pump the entire time or waking every 2 hours trying to make things happen. The guilt I felt this for my first child was tough. It was extremely hard to even get past. I have a friend who breastfeeds her kids and she said flat out fed is best. There is such a stigma about parents who choose to formula feed that it needs to be stopped. It would probably help with things like postpartum depression as well if we never had so many pressures on us parents before the baby has even been born!

As you can see there is multiple things that may seem pretty obvious to others however this is not the case. This is something that maybe by writing these out a new parent may know before the situation arises! And if you are pumped to read this I can’t wait for you to read the other ones when they come out too!

If you would like to purchase the book you are more than welcome to do so here, though the link is for the Canadian site you may need to be redirected to the Amazon sited for your Country to be able to purchase a copy for yourself!

Pregnancy Paranoia

Life, Parenting, , , , , , , , , , ,

Being pregnant is something I have done before. Some of you may have even stumbled upon this blog based on my 1st pregnancy and the adventures we went through with my son. Though, with no exceptions friends of mine had said that every pregnancy you will find yourself paranoid about different things. I am here so say that they are most certainly correct. I even wrote about things that made me paranoid in my 2nd pregnancy here if you want to check that out also. Here is the things that have made me paranoid about this pregnancy.

Number one that made me very paranoid and still does as I am sitting here at 32 weeks is movement. I think because in the beginning I felt movements way earlier this time than with my first I feel like I should have felt stronger ones more often. This is not the case because obviously the baby is a lot smaller! Now that I am nearing the end I am finding myself panicking I don’t feel the baby moving enough! Which logically doesn’t make sense because the baby would be running out of room here! Another thing that I do which does not make any rational sense is that I have these thoughts always after I am doing physical activity. Therefore he is most likely sleeping inside not moving! I never wonder if he is moving enough after Ive been resting it is always after movement! Silly right?! Normally when I try to relax and focus on feeling him move, everything is fine. I never was one to necessarily do kick counts because I felt if I did I would be super paranoid and over analyze whether or not I was getting enough in the time I should be getting them. This is another reason why I never purchased a fetal Doppler either. I know myself and if I did get e I know that I would be obsessed with it and continuously stress myself out more than I need to trying to heart his heartbeat.

Another major paranoia I had was if the baby was head down. An ultrasound at 31 weeks had showed that he was already head down which was a huge relief. With my 1st pregnancy I never really thought a lot about this. For this pregnancy and some reason I did! Maybe because I felt movements it almost tricked me to think the head was up and not down already. Now I also know that at some point there is a chance that the baby MAY flip back however the chance of that happening when their head is down already is down. I feel like I have felt his head being down for a while but sometimes it can be tough. I cannot say I have felt him drop or anything because it is far too early for that as I write this but it still has been crazy though. I feel like I can feel he is head down a lot ore this pregnancy than the last one though. Maybe because I felt my hips or joints loosening far more this time but I really am not entirely sure. It is crazy to think about how in a few more weeks we will be bringing our second child, our second son into the world!

Overall I don’t think I am that paranoid with being pregnant a second time. Nearing the end I feel like time had passed super fast. Maybe because I had so much happening during this pregnancy it felt like it flew by. Especially with our cross province move as well as not receiving out things for 5 weeks also too. There has also been I think more stress this pregnancy due to certain events and not to mention the uncertainty of things like covid and the changes surrounding the rules. Thankfully my partner has been vaccinated for a while so when incomes to the recent vaccination mandate in our province we have not had to worry about it.

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Though I also realize everyone is different and I am sure that there is people who are not paranoid at all during pregnancy. For me it was little things that I get paranoid about. After I vent or talk about it with a friend or my partner it seems to make things a lot easier and my minor fears loosen up also. That being said. If there is any legitimate concerns you may have being pregnant do not hesitate to contact your doctor or see professional help to make sure everything is okay! I personally have not had to ask you doctor anything except for if they do sweeps in this province and when they do it also too. I will explain why I asked this at the 32 week update also! Which you can expect to see in the next few blogs

Regardless if this is your 1st pregnancy or 5th one, I feel like some level of being paranoid is normal. As long as you don’t let it consume you. If that begins to happen it might be time to talk to a professional because the excessive stress may not be good for your baby! For me I never fixate on something for long, and if I get worried I talk about It or I try to occupy my mind with a chore or something too! It is crazy that one pregnancy you can be very worries about certain circumstances and this time around it be a whole new set! Thankfully I also have a partner who is level headed so he understands that can over worry about things sometimes and knows how to settle my mind too!

Is there anything that worried you with your pregnancy or your spouses?

How do you settle your mind when you start to get those slight paranoid feelings?

Let me know in the comments below! Maybe others will be able to learn from you and your coping strategies, or maybe they also have small fears that are the same!

Pregnancy 20 week update half way

Life, Parenting, , , , , , , , ,

I know it has been a while since we have had an update. Between the move from hell, appointments and what not I am back tracking to provide this to you all! That being said I hope I dont leave anything out.

Flutters have been happening and even though this is the second pregnancy I can say it still feels so surreal! It feels almost fake because with my son Vincent he had an anterior placenta (front one) so a lot of his movements were muffled for a while. To be able go feel them so early is refreshing and very cool. They obviously were not that strong since the baby was so little but still feels like flutters! For anyone who is reading this and may not have experienced pregnancy yet the best way I can describe it is, think if there is a little fishy inside of your belly that sloshes around. Or if you have ever drank a whole lot of water at once and when you get up you almost feel the little wave of movement from all the water. That would be what it feels like!

I also had my very last prenatal appointment in Quebec before the move. Everything was alright as far as I know. It felt great to be able to finally be leaving this province and heading home. I had gotten all of my files while my boyfriend will need to translate the french parts to be able to give to my new English doctors. Which is a huge help since obviously none if them will know french unless the word is the same in both languages. Planning about a family doctor and what not seems a bit stressful but I think Ill be able to manage it. At least they speak the same language as me right!

We also were able to get an ultrasound thankfully. Now, this was an entire process that I hope to never have to repeat but in the end it worked out. The referral that I had gotten to the same hospital I gave birth to my son in was booked and was unable to fit me in. I received this in an email so close to our moving day that it was worrisome we would not be able to get an appointment. They suggested another hospital close by but as typical Quebec style they put you on hold and reaching the actual department wad a nightmare. To the point that they even hung up on me once I reached an actual person. Next was my boyfriend tried calling because maybe him speaking french would help them to answer, wrong. He had the same results that I had. Lastly there was a hospital near his job that he felt like trying. He brought my referral and talked to them and it was super simple in order to get an ultrasound. Not to mention the hospital is far from the size of the others so navigating them was easy. So we finally were able to get an ultrasound!

The different hospital made things a bit weird. In Quebec you need to get a hospital card. In Nova Scotia you do not need those at all. So once I arrived I went to get that done. My partner waited in the car with my son because no kids are allowed in. Which was okay. This hospital they also want you to strip down to just underwear and a hospital gown. Which is super strange compared to the other ultrasounds where you just fold up your shirt and fold down your pants and then you just have it like that. No removing clothes at all. At this point I was about 19 weeks which is still a bit on the early side.  The ultrasound went relatively okay. The actually doctor that came in to check the ultrasound was a bit short I felt like she was a bit pissed that it was so early she asked me about the trisomy 21 test that I had and I said it came back fine as far ad I knew. Which then made me feel very paranoid something was wrong. Afterwards she said that it was hard to get all the measurements needed because I guess the baby was face down and some parts are hard to see with it being so small. Overall she just did not seem thrilled. And then stated that it wad basically incomplete due to the time and position of the baby. I left there feeling a bit uneasy to say the least.

And finally, THE GENDER! That was something we were hoping to find out before we moved as my spouse and I are very anxious and would be finding out the gender as soon as possible. We do not have the patience to wait which is no surprise as we never waited with my son either. She wrote it down on a piece of paper and put it in an envelope. I am so glad I wasn’t tempted to look because she used a black permanent marker which was OBVIOUSLY able to see the gender when I got in the car afterwards.

We are having ANOTHER BOY!!

I had no guesses with this baby like I did with my son, well 1st son. I had a feeling since people said it would be a girl that we would have another boy! Regardless a healthy baby is the thoughts we have and gender is not super significant in terms of disappointment or expectations! Though my boyfriend hopes our 3rd and final baby will be a girl! I still have a feeling we may end up with 3 boys! A busy household indeed!

Did you find out the gender of your child(ren) if you have any?

Pregnancy Scares in the First Trimester

Life, Parenting, , , , , , , ,

Being pregnant is one of the most exciting times of your life. Whether you are pregnant or your partner is. Being one of the most exciting times does not make it any less scary though. There is a lot that can potentially go wrong especially within the first trimester. For me, I feel like my second pregnancy I was more nervous in the 1st trimester than I was in my 1st pregnancy. Why? I honestly have no idea. Maybe it was due to the fact that I had more symptoms during my second pregnancy than I did for my first. These are some of the things that scared me, and hopefully reading this will help you or someone you love feel a bit easier during their first trimester also too.

One of the major things I was worried and scared about was a miscarriage. I had never been pregnant before but for some reason it really scared me. It also didn’t help that I was using a fertility app where there was a bunch of people symptom spotting and nearly everyone was searching for their rainbow baby. This is when they have had a miscarriage and the next baby is the rainbow baby. I dont even think anyone in my family had a miscarriage either. One thing I did find comfort in if you can even find that, was researching that if there is a miscarriage chances are it was something to do with the chromosomes. It made me feel a little better knowing if something did happen that the chances are it was at such a cellular level that there was nothing that could be done to prevent it. It also helped to stop looking at the app and reading all of these stories because it certainly did not help me not panic about it or become paranoid.

Another thing that barely happened with my 1st pregnancy and happened a bigger time with my second was spotting. No spotting in pregnancy is ever considered normal. But spotting is a common thing that happens to people. With my first it was such a small amount that it was not a big deal. It scared me but I talked to a friend and it was alright. This second pregnancy I had wiped once and it was a pink color and that scared me. I booked an emergency appointment. They said it was my cervix and booked an early ultrasound about 7 weeks. Everything was fine!

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Another scare that I had with both pregnancy’s was morning sickness. You always panic and worry when you hear the horror stories. People who can barely get out of bed or barely eat and what not. With my 1st pregnancy I was very luck in terms of morning sickness. If I was sick I would go to bed. Or if I was tired I would nap too. With my second pregnancy I felt more nauseous and would try to nap more when my son napped. Or where there is covid and some reduced hours in work places my boyfriend would be home early and I would nap when he was home. I still feel extremely lucky when it comes too morning sickness. Most of my yucky feelings was in the evenings when my son would be going to bed or already in bed. When it came to combating this I would have little candies to help suck on. Some instant breakfasts that helped to drink something so I wasn’t feeling so empty when I woke up. I would have ginger cookies around to munch on if I needed it also too. And ginger ale also was used. All these little things helped when it came to feeling icky and trying to make it through the day easier without feeling like I was dragging my butt along.

And finally, not so much a scary thing, kind of exciting but also something to worry about, when do you tell people! We ended up telling my boyfriends parents early with my 1st pregnancy due to the fact that we went to visit them. And I told a few friends who I was close with who also had kids early in their lives. That way I had some folks to talk to about it with. Then we waited to tell my family til we went home which was about 10 weeks. With our second one we told people publicly about 10 weeks because we were buying a home and were frustrated with how the housing market was and figured why not share some great news with our friends and family. With our family though we told them a lot sooner, maybe like 6 or 7 weeks and just kept it quiet til we told everyone after. A lot of people suggest waiting til after 12 weeks because thay is nearly out of the first trimester. That is in case something were to happen. Really, I think it is a personal choice. Whenever you want to tell family or friends that is your choice to do so.

As you can see, even with one of the happiest and exciting times of your life, there can still be some scary things happening. For me, I tried not to dwell on what scared me and I tried to wait til I knew for sure. Thinking about what-ifs can be very taxing and stressful. And as time progresses during pregnancy you lose some of this fear and the excitement gains more control than being scared. Or your fears change, or evolve too. I know it is harder to say than do, bur don’t let your fear overshadow the miracle of bearing a child and creating a family!

Have you or someone you know been pregnant, and did they or you have the same things that scared you also?

Was there anything different that you had to deal with that you were fearful in the 1st trimester of pregnancy?

Let me know in the comments below! Maybe others or even myself have had the same fears.

Getting Through The 1st Trimester

Life, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Finding out that you are pregnant can be a very exciting time in anyone’s life! I know when we first found out we were pregnant with my first child, and now our second one we were excited! However I feel like my first pregnancy I was a bit lucky because I barely had any symptoms except for being tried. When I was tired I would just sleep But now having a toddler and being pregnant for the second time things are way more challenging. Here are my tips to help me get through the first trimester (With or without a toddler!).

SLEEP! In the first trimester you are probably losing a lot of sleep. Not only that but suddenly your bladder seems to be super small and you are running to the bathroom nearly every 3 hours especially in the middle of the night even if you did not do that to begin with before. Thought I was really lucky that my partner was home often I was able to sleep when I felt like it because he would watch our son. However, if he was working late I would still try to nap when my toddler did. It can be hard though because some days I would be super tired and go to sleep and would have one of those days where my son nearly never slept his nap time. However a lot of times it works really well to be able to nap when he does. It may not seem like a lot but it really is a decent amount of time to be able to sleep and not over sleep. Though be warned that sometimes I tend to find myself more tired after this. But catching up on sleep is really important if you are able to sleep during the day. I will say, going into the second trimester there is some relief in terms of when you need to run to the bathroom from your sleepy slumber but in terms of the increased bathroom visits. They will still be a lot due to the fact your body is housing a baby! Try to also drink water early in the day (Something that I do not do) And limit it late at night so that you find yourself hopefully nearly empty when it comes to having to get up to relieve yourself!

Prepping for morning sickness or food aversions was something I did with my first pregnancy and now this one even though I did not think I needed it much. I had certain staples in my kitchen such as ginger ale, little sour candies that would help with morning sickness. I also had carnation instant breakfast’s as well. They really helped in the morning when I was not interested in eating breakfast a lot and still filled me up though to be able to function at some point. I still have been pretty lucky even with this pregnancy in terms of morning sickness. Even when I did have it it was mainly after supper and by that point my boyfriend was already home and was able to take the the lead when it came to putting my son to bed and getting him ready for his sleep. Having things like this was a huge help especially the ginger cookies which I would have a few snacks on in the mornings when my stomach was just a bit more upset though.

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Make it fun and have an app or two! When I was pregnant with my son I used two in particular, they were Ovia Pregnancy and then What to Expect. These are super fun to use because you are able to pick a subject to compare the size of your baby! When I was pregnant with my son I used the “fruits and Veggies” theme for both. Every week was a milestone and it would compare the growing baby inside to whatever fruit it was comparable to! This time around I have chosen to do one for 80’s and 90s nostalgic items, and then another one in the “Fun and Games” category. This is a great way to compare the size of your baby to things you know the size of already. With baby number three I assume knowing myself I would be picking a different category to compare the size of the baby to! Another thing that is huge when it comes to these apps is every day or so it will post little tips and tricks about what is happening with the growth of your baby. From things developing and changing. Sure you may have multiple children but still is exciting to see how things develop since you may not remember when things happen as they happen.

Regardless about what you try to do when it comes to surviving the first trimester, there is really multiple things you can do to make it through. Another positive thing to remember is that even if the first trimester is rough, chances are things will slowly level out towards the 2nd trimester. I have been lucky and have found that whatever symptoms I have been feeling does normally seem to disappear a bit. However on rare occasions there are people out there who have to deal with major symptoms in the second trimester also. However, there are also medical interventions that you are perhaps able to take for things such as morning sickness if you talk to your doctor about how you are feeling.

Lastly, remember that there is also so many reasons to sick it out because at the end of everything no matter how sick you get you will have your little bundle of joy to be thankful for! When you see your child you suddenly forget all of the heartaches and sickness you may have felt as it just melts away!

Is there anything that you did when you were feeling a bit wonky in the first trimester?
Do you follow any of the tips and tricks that were mentioned above too?

Let me know as I am sure a lot of other readers would love to read about it also!

What is the “Nesting” Phase Really Like in Pregnancy

Life, Parenting, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

You might be new to pregnancy, or you might be someone who knows all about it. For me, I have only ever experiences “Nesting” once. while I am currently waiting to find out if I do the same things for the second time also. Since every pregnancy is different I will be curious to see if there is anything majorly different between the two of them!

What people think nesting is, is a period of time before a baby is born where you are doing the weirdest, and over the top things. Typically people claim this is the time you scrub everything so that it is in tip top shape for when the baby arrives. This includes when you are prepping the room, hospital bag, cleaning and washing cupboards and dishes and walls. You are making sure that everything that can be is ready for when the baby is born. You are probably making sure you have more than enough clothes and then you are washing them also so they are nice and fresh for the new baby too. A lot of people would consider nesting the period in which you get that little boost of energy for a small period of time before you give birth to your child. I would say I agree with this however I dont know if at the time I knew what I was doing was nesting or if I just took advantage of the new found energy!

What I thought about for nesting and what actually happened I think are two different things. I did not think I would really have a big nesting period when it came to having a baby. Looking back now I would say that my nesting period was about the last few weeks of my pregnancy. I started with trying to get everything in place for the baby’s room. Washing clothes, decorating everything also. We did the Harry Potter theme for my son and that was something I worked on a bit as things went but I really tied it all together when the time came. We also did really good on trying to get everything prepped and ordered in terms of tools and trinkets we needed too. Lotions, body washes, socks, diapers, wipes everything in between we would try to get ready. After that I wanted to focus on our basement. Since moving it the place was a mes and since my Uncle was off work we really tried to get it some what organized before Vincent was born. We went through boxes and labeled things and got things ready to be thrown away. Everyone knows when you have a child you have a lot of things that you acquire as the time passes and it is important to really make space for that or you can be overwhelmed.

Aside from these two major things I cant really think of a whole lot that we really did before the baby came in terms of nesting. I think I did this stuff also around 35 weeks so that I was ready and able to spring into action if something happened. I wouldn’t say I really did anything outside of the box in terms of cleaning. Our home was not really bad in terms of clean. However maybe if we were stuck waiting and were over due with the pregnancy I would have done a lot more in terms of trying to get the action moving!

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Now, I am pregnant for a second time! Currently at the time of writing this I am about 18 weeks, still a long way to go! And by the time this is released and you are able to read it I will be in the middle of a move across provinces in Canada! I think if I was to predict the future I will be doing things to be able to prep for the baby by getting their room ready, we are not trying to do anything too serious or big until we know the gender. I have a few ideas on how to do the room however other than that we are just waiting to see. Another thing would be if we are having another boy I will have to re-wash some of the things that we used for my son and prepping those to get ready for the newest addition! I would like to think at the time we will be doing things to get the house up to our standards by painting, organizing and things like that. Nesting for this pregnancy also might be a lot of prepping my son for the arrival for his new sibling! Being an only child and suddenly having to share his parents might be an adjustment for him. Especially with Covid and not really socializing with people much either. Another reason why it might be a bit different is that we will be close to my family and the opportunity for them to help us might also make nesting a bit easier or look different than with our first since we were basically here alone.

There really is no right or wrong way to nest. Maybe you wont even find yourself nesting at all! For me I didn’t really think about it at the time that I was nesting until it actually was done and over with and even a few friends pointed it out! Whenever you do, if you do notice you have this little burst of energy I would for sure use this moment to the full potential for things you might have put off til closer to the birth! I know that is what I will be doing, and Ill be updating you all on if or when I notice my second pregnancy nesting and what I have done if anything differently than my first!

Did you know when you were in the nesting period?
Did your spouse notice that this was what was happening to you as it was happening?
What kind of things did you do when you were nesting?

Let me know in the comments below! Maybe we had somethings in common!


The Struggles of Having a Toddler and Becoming Pregnant Again

Life, Parenting, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Being pregnant is a wonderful thing. Even if you have to get past the whole nausea and exhausted feeling. Then, comes another decision, will I have another child or stick to one. Having one child is a lot for someone who has no idea what they are doing or who has never been around kids before. Deciding to have another child while already having one can be overwhelming to say the least! Welp let’s tall about things that I found hard being pregnant and having a son who was just over a year old when we found out we were expecting again!

Expect to be tired. I think this goes without saying even when you are not pregnant and have a child. You will be even more tired. My first pregnancy when I was tired I went to nap whenever I wanted as it was summer and I wasn’t in school. With already having a child you do not have that luxury any more. I was very lucky because when I was feeling exhausted I would nap if my boyfriend was off work foe the afternoon or whenever. That way he could watch my son. Another thing I tried to do was as soon as my son went foe a nap I would go to bed and nap also. That being said, normally as would Murphys law be, when I was the most tired I would try this and they would be the days that my son would have the roughest sleep and wake up every half an hour so I would feel even worse! Being tired is part of pregnancy but having a one year old or even under 2 year old can make you feel that much more tired!

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

An important thing I would recommended for with a young child even when not pregnant would be a play pen. This has saved me on more than one occasion. Babies and toddlers are fast. If I needed to run to the bathroom, felt nauseous, switch laundry, prep baby food or meals, this is a great way to know your toddler is safe when you cant be there. With a baby you can put them in a bassinet and work around when they are sleeping. With a toddler it really isn’t that simple. Especially when they drop to one nap a day and only sleep for a few hours. And before you say “Just go to bed earlier and it will help” remember in early pregnancy the amount of times you get up to use the washroom during the run of a night can be a lot. So even if you go to bed early you still are not sleeping soundly by any means!

Another struggle is your body can feel way more sore than you are used to. Maybe this is because I am out of shape and have been most of my life. But chasing around a toddler has really amplified that! In particular I tend to sit on the floor, on a pillow of course, to play with my son. By the end of the day I fi d myself taking a warm bath or warm shower and letting the water run down my lower back. We do go for walks from.time to time depending on the weather which does help. But know taking care of a first child while growing another one can be challenging. One thing my doctor said I was able to use was athletic gel. The kind that is simply menthol that I put on my lower back normally before bed. This ia not to be confused with brands like rub A535 or even brand similar. Just the normal cheap gel that cools and warms. It does help for sure.

And lastly, a struggle that can be hard but easy to overcome, finding balance! Trying to keep a routine with a toddler while being pregnant and dealing with the morning sickness, food aversions to smells, and exhaustion also too. It is okay for you to skip the dishes for one night. It is alright if you go to bed as soon as your toddler does. Leave that laundry I’m the basket for a day or two. Finding a balance can be hard and we often feel bad about skipping tasks. I am guilty of this myself. I have to remind myself that I am not a super hero and there is only so much that I can do. It is okay to put something off if you need to. Just keeping your son or daughter safe and happy while I’m early pregnancy can take a lot out of you to begin with. Don’t push yourself to the max or you will be feeling worse than you were before!

Regardless of how many kids you have or their ages, being pregnant while already having a child can be tough. Even for the most seasoned woman. Mostly due to the fact that every pregnancy is different. And you have no idea how it will effect you at the end of the day. As I mentioned before, when I was pregnant with my son things were pretty normal and easy going. Now with this child I am noticing myself wanting to catch up on sleep more, not eating as much and being sensitive to smells. Thankfully my nausea happened towards supper time when my boyfriend was home and could take over. No matter what, you are doing a great job even if you feel like you are slacking! We are our own worst enemies. No one is judging us but ourselves and sometimes we are the hardest critics. Keep going! And hopefully you find yourself in my shoes with a bit easier second semester !

Have you been pregnant with a toddler?

What was something you found difficult to balance by already being a mom and wanting to expand your growing family?

Let me know in the comments below! I would love to hear your success stories (or struggles) if you wish!

5 Tips For Getting Pregnant Easily

Life, Parenting, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Contrary to popular belief, based on movies and TV shows. Getting pregnant is not an easy feat. There actually is a lot more than just, doing the, you know, that goes into getting pregnant successfully. I am on my current and second pregnancy and from reading articles or checking out fertility apps ai may have some quick answers and tips to questions you might have to make having a baby easier.

Ladies, tracking ovulation does not just have to happen when you decide you want to procreate. There is a whole ton of apps put there that can be used to track cycles. Now, mind you an app is only as good as you use it. If you don’t use it a lot or skip months it will not be as accurate as it can be. If you want to truly know and understand when you ovulate, using an at home ovulation kit may be the way to go. That being said if you are not actively trying to have a child using the kits just for the sake of accuracy might start to become costly. Starting with tracking your first day if your menstrual cycle til the end day can help a lot in terms of knowing when you decide to go further, to start taking the ovulation kits. I have used an app for years just tracking my cycle which I am lucky enough to have it be pretty regular. But for some people who are unsure of their cycle it is a great tool to be able to know approximately how long your cycle can be to find an average length.

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

This next part is way easier said than done. When trying to conceive, don’t make sex a chore. When you start scheduling or making it a big deal, to keep it blunt, it takes the fun out of it. There are many ways to drop hints and make sexual gestures to your partner that you do not need to be standing there with a clock or calendar and waiting for the perfect moment. Obviously planning is a huge part of getting a sperm successfully to an egg but that doesn’t mean it needs to be planned. Even having a secret code or something is a lot better than scheduling. And if it does not happen this cycle it will hopefully eventually happen! Making a baby does not normally happen the first month of trying.

If you are in a committed relationship, which I hope you are, I would suggest if you and your spouse plan on having any children and you are on contraceptives such as the birth control pill, have an IUD or have had the hormone shots or patches, I would suggest planning to come off of these long before trying. I also mention committed relationship because if you are someone who thinks having a baby will strengthen a fragile relationship you are wrong. I tall about how relationships change after having a baby here. Making sure you are in a good spot mentally, and physically for a baby is important. Of course, accidents do happen, but if you can prevent that it would more likely be the best. Remember, a baby will not fix your current problems, and if your relationship is already failing chances are it will put even more strain on that.

Being healthy yourself is a major issue. And yes this also includes the men also being healthy to help with better sperm quality and counts also. If you are a women that is way over weight or many health issues that are preventable, than you should be doing EVERYTHING possible to get yourself on the best shape you can. I am not the smallest person around, in fact I am probably over weight myself. However by some chance it was relatively easy for me to become pregnant. There are a lot of reasons why people are unable to get pregnant especially when it comes to health and lifestyle (that is controllable!) that if you find yourself struggling sometimes it may be best to evaluate your life. Are you eating healthy? Exercising regularly? Getting important vitamins and minerals? Another side note is that some people may not be aware, if you are planning on having a baby it is nest to take pre-natal vitamins 3 months before trying. This way your body builds up the reserves needed to have a healthy birth.

And lastly, and certainly not least, have patience! If there is a couple perfectly healthy, each month trying they only had a 20% chance of getting pregnant. Not to mention the same perfectly healthy couple it can take them about a year to have an egg implant also. And if after about a year you still not having any success that is when I would suggest maybe going to see a fertility specialist. If you have previous issues with any reproductive organs maybe before the year is a better option for you, but the rule of thumb is after a year. And if everything else fails there is always the route of adoption even if you have not thought about it previously either.

There you have it! I know some of these may be hard to follow especially patience and not stressing or planning when to make love with your partner. But have no fear there is multiple reasons and multiple ways to become pregnant if doing it completely naturally is challenging for you. The journey have procreation ia not a short one. And it also ia never equal to anyone else’s either. Heck, even your first or second child might be completely different or one may have taken longer to catch than another. It honestly depends on so many factors that enjoying the experience with the one you love makes it all worth it!

Have you used any of these tips before?

What helped you to conceive if you have before?

Let me know in the comments below, I am sure people are eager to hear different experiences!

Pregnancy 16 Week Update

Parenting, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Where do I even begin! I feel like this pregnancy if some what going fast and some what going slow. It is hard to believe that the next update we will have together will be the official half way point! And I will be also in transition between Quebec and Nova Scotia and hopefully figuring out things with my doctor in Nova Scotia to be able to be referred to get a new labor and delivery doctor to follow me. My goal is to hopefully get everything set up so that it goes as seamless as possible and I wont be behind on blood work or anything else that may be needed.

My energy levels seem to be going back to somewhat normal levels thankfully. That is huge for me already being a Mom to a 15 month old and having to chase him around. I find myself not needing to nap as much as I did before and also not having to lay down as often. The bathroom breaks at night seem to also be a little less depending if I find it is a good idea to drink a liter of water an hour before bed or not. As for nausea, I sometimes feel an upset stomach if my boyfriend makes something gross like fish or whatever and I find myself feeling yucky. Still only ever got sick the one time which I think is honestly a blessing!

I also have gotten blood work previously which you may or may not know I hate doing. The first I think is the hardest due to the fact they take so much. And I am a wimp so I would have loved to have my boyfriend there holding my hand but that wasn’t the case. He was watching our son and I went on my own. I did not cry which was good and I never even looked either. For some reason giving blood stresses me out. Maybe because I never had to do it will I was about 20. And then when I did it again after I was pregnant with my son. Lucky would be an understatement or maybe that asthma does not usually require blood work!

I also had a doctors appointment as well! Which I am super happy about and hopeful to be possibly getting an ultrasound before the big move. It was a pretty standard appointment.

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

We talked about my blood work results which are great. The only thing was I am not immune to something called the “5e maladie”. The doctor was not sure what the translation in English was however it is when a child in particular gets a fever or rash for no apparent reason (not like a teething rash or whatever) if I was to get the same thing it could really effect the baby inside. Which would not be good and result in complications. Other than that everything was great. She asked if I would like to have a final check up before I moved which I said yes to! I am getting more blood-work just after 16 weeks and that would be for the 2nd part of my “Trisomy 21” screening. This is to check for abnormalities such as down syndrome and what not. With my son our numbers were extremely low so I am hoping for the same results here.

Next we did a quick check up on me. Checked my breathing and heart rate. My blood pressure was already checked by a nurse when I arrived and that was great. Which obviously was good for me considering the stress of moving and what not! And of course we listened to the heartbeat again which was also great. I still wish my boyfriend would be allowed to go to appointments but it just doesn’t make sense with the pandemic and if that was the case I am sure so many people who didn’t need to be there would be.

And lastly, my doctor put in a request for a 19 week or so ultrasound. Normally this would be done after 21 weeks but I am excited to hopefully have it before. With my son the placenta was in the front so movements were not felt as easily and part of the placenta was covering the cervix. I would like to obviously know this and not have to wait til maybe 25 weeks or more when things happen in Halifax after the move. Oh, and for sure. I would also LOVE to know the gender of the baby too! My boyfriend and I are thinking about names but not entirely til we find out the gender though. It overall would be a great feeling to have this done before we move so we know everything so far is alright!

Over all I am relieved that it went well and cannot wait to hear about an ultrasound. It will be great. I am so happy that I am feeling more like myself again also. That alone can be really exhausting when I am tired and feeling different. Especially with the move coming up I am relieved to be able to finally have energy to get things done. I haven’t felt overwhelmed by anything thankfully I have a partner who can take care of a lot of things on his own. I am starting to plan and pack what we all need to bring for the car and a few nights in a hotel but other than that things are alright! I wont be waiting til the last minute that is for sure! Be on the look out for moving blogs as they come up! I talk a bit about that here.

Oh, and it is probably time we start with belly updates so here is the 16 week one!

Im sure at the 20 week update I will be equally as big by then! I should be in transition to the new house but I will still do my best to update you all on time! It just might be a bit challenging if I have to do it all on a Tablet!