Category: Family

Today Merfbaby is 15 weeks old and the size of a stress ball.

So. After tracking one pregnancy with fruit and veggie sizes, I’m gonna switch it up, cool? Cool.

I don’t know if I can keep up the weekly posting for NewMerfbaby (sorry, second Kiddo) but I’ll try. I like having these to look back on even if it’s just for me…and any other Preggo ladies like me who like reading these :)

Let’s see…well, the news is out. We’re having another Merf in July 2015. Due dates is set for July 29, 2015. So. Our Wedding anniversary is July 28. Riley’s Birthday is July 31. Hm. It could be a busy end of the month for this little family of ours. Chances are good we’ll be celebrating an Anniversary and a 2nd Birthday well in advance of my due date!

How I’m Feeling: I’m finally coming out of this intense fog of morning sickness + head colds + fatigue like whoa. Seriously. It’s way more intense this time around. If you haven’t heard from me lately this is why, sorry. I have napped like a champion on some days and woken up hoping to feel better – only to feel super gross. It’s harder in some ways because I have Riley to care for, but easier in other ways because I’m not working on a show. So I can allow myself more time to rest during the day. Can we get an Amen for toddler naps?! I pray he naps for ever and ever.

Belly/Weight: Ah. So I did this little thing called Whole 30. Go check it out. I’ll wait. Fall down a rabbit hole? Sorrynotsorry. I did my first Whole 30 before Thanksgiving. Wrapping up before the holiday. I was eating super well, had lots of energy and just kicking butt at life. Well…I think my body took notice, because that’s when I got pregnant. Yea. And it’s not just me. I have another friend with the exact same story. Ha! I will forever think of Whole 30 getting me pregnant. Which is awesome! Anyway I was feeling so great about my body and my health…and then I found out I was pregnant (yay!) and shortly after our entire house was hit with the most terrible stomach flu. Which led to some poor eating…which of course then I had morning sickness which led to little to no eating. So, yea. I don’t think I’ve gained much weight but I’ve been sustaining on bagels and red meat. I cannot even look at a cooked vegetable right now. The struggle is real.

Life Changes: So thankful I’m starting to feel a little more human now. I feel like my belly isn’t as low this time so I’m still in all my normal clothes. But I am favoring pants with stretchy waistbands. I’ve had my eye on a few Maternity tops that I may grab. Last time I was all about not spending money on Maternity clothing, mostly because I thought it was such a waste. It’s expensive and you only wear it for a little while….well, what I didn’t really consider was that at the end only having 2 shirts and 1 pair of pants that fit makes you miserable. Then, when you have the baby you still wear all those clothes for another few weeks. I am still sick of my maternity clothes from last time. I may need to pass some of it off to a friend.

Movement: Not yet – but I’m expecting it soon. In the ultrasounds NewMerfbaby is much more chill than Riley was. I’m excited to feel the flips though. I remember that being such a strange feeling.

Sleep: Sleep has been harder this time around, which is a bummer because I was such a solid sleeper with Riley. I think it’s mostly from being sick with a cold for weeks on end. I started taking some Tylenol PM when I was really struggling for sleep – my most recent head cold had me in a bad way. I called my OB to make sure I was clear to take it, and I wanted to hug the nurse through the phone when she said it was OK. I told her I was so excited to go to sleep that night! And I was.

Cravings: So I was a vegetarian for years until 2/3 of the way through my pregnancy with Riley. I couldn’t keep up with the protein requirement so I added in Chicken and Turkey. Then I had Riley and I started Breastfeeding. Gimmie all the foods. Protein was necessary to keep me feeling full. So I’m back to being a full meat eater now. Which is nuts, especially since my #1 craving with NewMerfbaby is red meat. Never thought that would happen. Tell me you’ve seen the Friends when Phoebe is pregnant and all the baby wants is meat? Yea, that’s my life. No veggies. Just meats. And Orange Juice. And bagels with cream cheese. Coffee isn’t appealing. And even my beloved oatmeal breakfast doesn’t sounds appealing, and I ate that before, during and after my last pregnancy.

Exercise: I’m still working out with my trainer. Who is due with her baby like 9 days after me!! We workout 2 times a week, and recently moved up our workouts from 7:30pm to 9:30am. I was struggling with the later workout, and my morning sickness was always worse in the evenings. I’m glad I’ll have more consistent exercise this time around. I did pretty well the last time around, but I know strength training will really help with labor and recovery.

Favorite Pregnancy Moment this week: Sharing the news with the internet and the rest of our friends and family :) It’s always fun to share after keeping it to ourselves for so long.

On My Mind:  Like I said I feel like I’m coming out of a fog, which is refreshing. I have been such a lame human/wife/mom/pregnant lady struggling with not feeling well. I’m thankful to be coming out of that. I’ve been thinking a lot about what we’ll need to do to prepare Riley for NewMerfbaby. Not so much emotionally – that will come later. Since he’ll be barley 2 when the baby arrives I think it’ll be no big thang. I’ve been thinking more about transitioning him into his “Big Brother” room. I’m refusing to call it a “Big Boy” room, because he’s still a toddler, sniff. I’ve been getting the room ready, and starting to organize and decorate it. I think we can transition him into the twin bed soon and I’m crossing my fingers that will go well. I know I want that transition to happen well before the summer. One child waking me up in the middle of the night will be enough, ahem – newborn.

So I don’t get much time to stroll through the internet, but when I do I really try to be picky about what I read. I want good, life giving content. Stuff that makes me think, but also makes me happy. Not always joyful things, but things that pull at my heart, shift my perspective and sharpen my focus.

Motherhood can be so isolating. And hard. Supa hard, amen? But there are these days, the good and full days. When you know in your bones you’re right where you are supposed to be, doing the hard work what will pay off for a lifetime to come. When our Grandparent’s were raising babies community was a different thing. There was a village around you to help raise your tiny humans. They would play in the backyard of the neighbors house, or your sister in law would pop over with the cousins for dinner and it was a big, messy, collaborative thing. In other places I’m sure it’s still that way. But in LA we hardly even share more than a polite nod with our neighbors. So when the days are rough we long for that community, and to have a support system that will encourage us.

So. Back to the interwebs.

There’s some good stuff out there. Yea. There’s some icky stuff, but there really are some awesome people out there in the world, living in the trenches of raising tiny humans right along side you. And they may look like they have it all together, but remember – no one does. We all need grace and kindness. And just when you think you have this parenting thing all figured out – you are humbled. I am. Daily.

A few things I’ve read lately:

This post. Oh, yes. It’s truth and honesty.

Her blog is such a joyful and fun window into her life as a Mama.

I look up to and admire her so much. As a Mama, and a businesswoman.

Beauty and honesty on this one.

Encouragement from a Mama of 4 boys.

She had me at the blog title.

Happy Friday Friends!