Exciting News in Our Family!

We’ve made the announcement on our personal social media, but I wanted to officially announce on the blog as well that we’re expecting our second baby! I couldn’t be more excited to be a family of 4 in late September. We are so thrilled and can’t wait for Ezra to have a baby brother or sister 🙂 We were really wanting to have our babies pretty close together, so just shy of Ezra’s second birthday seems absolutely perfect. God’s timing is always exactly that, so we’re just over the moon!

I am currently 14 weeks along and am feeling pretty good! Finally starting the second trimester means that most of the worst is (hopefully) over! I’m so excited to be able to blog this journey of our second pregnancy and some of the things I’ve learned/will learn along the way. I was already eager to share some things I discovered about health during my pregnancy with Ezra, so I’m so excited to be able to share them as I actually experience it all over again. I know pregnancy blogs won’t apply to everyone, but I wanted to share a few things for those who many be interested 🙂

Pregnancy is such a beautiful and completely life altering experience. I can’t explain the range of emotions and physical feelings you go through. It is a roller coaster from before you even see the positive on that test until well after your baby is born! But what a wonderful roller coaster it is 🙂

I was pretty sure I was pregnant for a few days before I ever took the test this time. I had all of the usual symptoms- nausea, headaches, heartburn, moodiness (haha that’s what made it click with Craig!) and a very clingy 14 month old. So I wasn’t surprised at all to see the word “pregnant” show up! I immediately squealed with delight and haven’t been anything but excited since. Even amidst the nausea and mood swings, I am so thrilled for this baby to be a part of our lives!

This pregnancy has already had some differences compared to the last, and I’ve learned even more about coping with some of the side effects. So in this post I wanted to go ahead and share some of my favorite things to help with the first trimester.

The dreaded morning sickness! Mixed with the pure exhaustion you feel in early pregnancy, it all just makes you want to lay in bed all. day. long. Thankfully with both pregnancies my morning sickness hasn’t been completely awful. With Ezra it was just a little here and there but nothing overwhelming. This time it has been a little bit worse, and is more of a constant nausea, but it has still been manageable. But in those rough moments my best friend has been my little bottle of ginger (or di-gize) essential oil. I just mix a few drops with some coconut or jojoba oil and rub it on my belly or a little behind my ears and within a few minutes it is SO much better. It has really been a lifesaver! The only problem has been my horrible aversions to different things, occasionally including ginger. So in those moments, I just applied I oil that I love on my chest or a dab right under my nose before using the ginger! Problem solved! Organic ginger tea is nice as well if I’m wanting something warm and soothing to drink. I usually mix in a pregnancy tea or a fruity tea as well and stir in a tiny bit of honey and lemon juice. The ginger by itself isn’t the best tasting, so I like to add something else to give it a better flavor 🙂 Also taking vitamin B6 has been known to help with morning sickness, and since adding a B6 supplement I have noticed an improvement!

Already showing SO much faster than with Ezra!!!

Drinking PLENTY of water has also been a huge help. I can tell when I’m even slightly dehydrated that I just feel more sluggish. My tiredness is worse, my morning sickness is worse, and I just feel bad overall. So making sure I start my day with water and drink it constantly throughout has kept most of the negative side effects at bay. I typically keep a large glass bottle with me and refill it as often as possible to make sure I’m keeping myself hydrated! Also a diet full of filling, real foods helps to settle my stomach and keep me nourished and more energetic. I’m currently loving most all fruits and anything with protein! Chicken has been my best friend 🙂 It’s been tough fighting cravings for unhealthy foods, but it is truly amazing how much better I feel when I decide to eat lots of fruits and vegetables versus the tempting, greasy foods I’ve been wanting! They really make me feel nourished, and plus it’s great to know that I’m nourishing my baby as well. In some of the worst moments I’ve just grabbed an apple to eat. I’ve been amazed each time at how great it seems to taste and how refreshed I feel afterwards even when I was really just craving cupcakes a few moments earlier 🙂 Another important thing to remember is to not let your stomach get too empty! You NEED to nourish yourself during this time, and letting yourself get too hungry will only make the nausea worse. So it’s best to snack on simple things that won’t upset your senses like carrots, apples, nuts, and other fruits and veggies.

I definitely plan in the future to blog a little bit more about some of the natural things that are most important to me during pregnancy! Pregnancy is such a crucial time to take care of yourself and watch what kinds of things you’re putting in and on your body. There are so many environmental toxins that we are always fighting, so we might as well do our best to not add to the mess! Babies in the womb don’t have a fully formed blood brain barrier, as it is developing all throughout gestation. This barrier allows certain things into the brain through the blood, but protects it from others that may be harmful. This is why it is so important that we watch what we’re putting into our bodies because developing babies are very sensitive to what we’re taking in! Finding out that I was pregnant with Ezra was what really kickstarted this journey for me more than ever because I realized that it wasn’t just my health that was at stake! So I’m definitely excited to share more about what I’ve learned about natural pregnancy and childbirth in the near future 🙂

I’m very thankful to have had a relatively easy first trimester of pregnancy, and that everything seems to be going so well! With Ezra the second trimester was definitely my favorite, so I’m looking forward to that part again 🙂 Be looking for plenty more updates in the future! I’m so excited to share this journey with you guys!