Each day that this little life grows in me is just another gift from the Lord. We don’t know what the future holds, what is in store for our family. None of us really do, right? But we wake up each day, making another conscious decision to trust. To trust that He know’s what He’s doing. To trust that we serve a God who is sovereign and merciful and just. And with Him in control, what do we have to fear? 

How Far Along:  I’m just past 15 weeks. I know that’s still pretty early but for a pregnancy that I thought would seem like forever, it actually feels like it’s going by really fast.

Weight Gain: This is something that’s been a bit difficult for me. I normally love being pregnant and embrace the changes my body undergoes to grow a healthy baby. But the weight I gained in my pregnancy with Paisley, I didn’t lose before I got pregnant again. So while I’ve gained around 14 lbs in this pregnancy thus far, I’m about 25 lbs heavier than I normally am at the beginning of second trimester. :S  I’ve been trying to just be ok with it and focus on staying healthy and eating well but it has been something I’ve struggled with some days when I realize I have to go out and buy a whole new maternity haul that fits.

Mood: Pretty good for the most part. Considering the road we’ve been down over the past 6 months, there have definitely been hard days when I’ve found it challenging to navigate through all the feelings of grieving the loss of one baby but being excited about another. It might seem to some like all is well for us now, because we are pregnant again. But the truth is, a new child doesn’t make the loss of another any less easy. It’s been really hard for me to be around other newborns, especially during the months of July and August when Paisley would have been with us. It’s just painful reminders of what our family is missing. But again, we most certainly feel completely and truly blessed that the Lord has given us another baby so soon and for the most part during this pregnancy, I have felt really good.

Favourite Maternity Clothes Right Now: hmmmm I’ve been pretty much living in dresses all summer. (Pink Blush, Maxi dresses from Old Navy and my Dwell and Slumber dress have been my faves!) They’re loose and cool and comfy and while it’s normally my favourite season for fashion, I’m a little nervous for the transition into fall.  I’ll have to go out shopping for some new maternity jeans, leggings, sweaters etc.,  I want to find some more loose fitting shirts like the one I’m wearing below! It’s from Deck and Oar and it’s sooooo comfy you guys! I’ve been wearing it on repeat these cooler days since I received it! And if you head over to their site, you can get a shirt of your own for 15% off with discount code: NATALIE.

Sleep: Sleep has been fine. No changes really other than waking to go pee a few times a night.

Symptoms: So this pregnancy has been identical to my pregnancy with P and I’m just going to come out and say it…  I have a strong feeling this baby is also a girl. As I’ve mentioned before, my pregnancy with the twins was a breeze. No morning sickness, full energy, my skin was amazing and I just felt great. With this pregnancy, as with P, I’ve felt constantly nauseous, extremely exhausted, really bad migraines and the worst food aversions. I will be VERY surprised if it ends up being a boy! ha!

Movement: I think I’ve felt a few flutters here and there but I’m not completely convinced it’s the baby and not gas bubbles.

Cravings: Again, same as with P, so different to the boys when I didn’t really experience cravings at all……Bread, bagels, muffins, pasta, more bread, and sweets. I could literally just eat a bagel for breakfast, lunch and dinner at this point. I’ve been trying my best to maintain a healthy balanced diet though!

Stretch Marks: Just all the same ones as last time, becoming more prominent as my belly expands and grows.

Names: Hmm we definitely have our tops but nothing set in stone yet. We’ll have a better idea once we find out the gender.

Least Favourite Food: Meat has probably been the biggest thing. Just not feeling it much at all. But veggies have been hard for me at times too, something I normally eat a ton of.

Nursery and Baby preparation: It’s been difficult to continue with working on our nursery since we had started it for Paisley and are now finishing it for this new babe. It brings back all the memories and feels whenever I enter that room. But at the same time, it has also been healing for all of us to have something to be excited about again. To have a reason to finish the room and know that the crib and other things that were meant for little P will be used by her sweet sibling on the way. When my sister was down last week, we prepped the walls for painting and so will be doing that soon.

Things I’m looking forward to in Second Trimester:

• Seeing our baby lots! We had our first appointment with our OB last week. It’s the same one we had with the twins as I’m considered “high-risk” again. While we’ll also be using our midwives through this pregnancy (I don’t think I could ever not!), we’ll be having bi-weekly appointments and ultrasounds with our OB from this point onward so I’m excited to be able to watch our baby grow!
• Less nausea and headaches – it’s already gotten so much better thank goodness.
• Finding out the gender!
• Working on the nursery and buying all the baby things.

That’s pretty much it! Thanks for reading guys!