I am so glad the first trimester is well behind me – it was a bit of a doozy and the terrible weekend weather we have been having so far this year certainly didn’t help. I wanted to offer a pregnancy recap by trimester again because I have found them so helpful and make me feel a little less isolated, as pregnancy can often feel a bit lonely. If you’re curious as to how this compares to my pregnancy with Emerson, you can find those posts here, here, and here.

How We Found Out: I had a sneaking suspicion that I was pregnant right from the start. It was mostly a gut feeling, although I wasn’t sure whether to trust it as it had been proven wrong before. But the most insane “gut feeling” was right before I took the test – I said goodbye to Emerson as I sent her off to daycare and had this overwhelming feeling of “this is the last moment you’re my only baby”. I immediately went to take the test and to no surprise, it quickly read pregnant. I couldn’t even act surprised because I just knew.

I told Jody that evening when he got home from work. I put Emerson in a Big Sis sweatshirt I had ordered (like I said, I had a feeling!) and had her meet him at the door. In the most fitting toddler fashion, she had a complete meltdown and it was very chaotic – a glimpse into our future! Ha!

Symptoms: Oof, the nausea this go-round hit me like a ton of bricks at six weeks. I had been on an overnight work trip and the second I got home, I collapsed on the couch and didn’t move for the rest of the weekend. The nausea continued for another month or so, which was zero fun but I’m so grateful I never got sick.

I also was so exhausted. I would put myself to bed most nights right after Emerson and sleep until my alarm went off the next morning, where I would snooze it multiple times. It really weighed on me mentally too because I felt like I couldn’t give my all to Emerson.

Cravings: Other than ice-cold water (more on that below), I haven’t really had any cravings yet this time around. I ate a lot of pasta when I was experiencing nausea and would eat a bowl of grapes every day before lunch. Although my mom said that is just me trying to replace the wine that I’m currently not drinking!

Highlights: Of course, finding out Baby #2 is on board was a highlight, as was sharing the news with our family – although it was much more casual this time around. Seeing baby at our first ultrasound appointment was so sweet and we are counting down the days until our next scan.

One of my favorite moments, though, was when my best friend came to visit. I was so excitedly nervous to tell her when she handed me a bottle of wine to tell me she was also pregnant! We squealed, cried, and laughed for nearly ten minutes straight. It has been so fun to walk through this pregnancy together!

Cozy Throw Blanket: I found this blanket at Target shortly after I found out I was pregnant and I knew I needed it. While it is not heavy and thick, it is so soft and the perfect throw. We keep it on the couch and I can honestly say I’ve used it every day since!

Pregnancy Devotional: I love the pregnancy devotional I used when I was pregnant with Emerson and wanted another one to keep me grounded while giving me a glimpse of what miracles were happening every week. This devotional is more rooted in faith than journaling experiences throughout the pregnancy but each trimester has a recap to record those kinds of special moments.

Prenatal Vitamins: I have been taking these prenatal vitamins for a few years. I like that they are gummies and they don’t taste awful. I did learn a trick this time around if prenatal upset your stomach – take them right before bed to avoid the nausea they might cause!

Pink Stork Morning Sickness Sweets: These were a lifesaver! As I mentioned, I experienced nausea from 6 weeks until about 11 weeks. I kept these with me everywhere – in my office, my car, my purse – and would pop one in my mouth whenever a wave of nausea would hit.

Maternity Joggers: I have a pair of maternity joggers from Fabletics that I was gifted last pregnancy and I lived in these in the early days of this pregnancy. The belly band was so comfortable on that early pregnancy bloat, and it kept me warm through the rest of the winter.

Stanley Quencher: It seemed the second I saw the positive pregnancy test, all I wanted was ice-cold water. My Stanley kept my water nice and cold all day – not sure how I lived without it before!