Our Little Igloo

It’s amazing how different each pregnancy turns out to be. With Caleb we were barely out of newlywed status and as poor as church mice. I was 22 and didn’t have a clear grasp on my personal style or taste in decor, so when it came to decorating the nursery it was a hodge-podge of things we had been given and picked up here and there. Obviously he survived just fine without a Pinterest-worthy nursery and Samantha did too, especially considering that she didn’t have her own room until 18 months old when we moved into our current home. 

Nurseries aside, at the end of both pregnancies I had a long list of things I wished that I had done differently and near-traumatic occurrences that I would have preferred to avoid if at all possible. 

I’m determined to have this third time be the charm. 

A lot has changed in the eight years since I was pregnant with Caleb. I’m 30 now (which still feels weird to say) and I’ve been a mother all this time to two wonderful little human beings and have experienced both joy and disappointment. All those mistakes I made the first (and second) time around made me stronger and wiser. I know what to do and what not to do, and when to ask for help, something I didn’t have the confidence to do those first years when I thought that I had to have it all together. 

I have finally come into my own style, preferences, and tastes. Clara’s nursery is a far cry from the jumbled assortment that was Caleb’s first bedroom. Even the clothing I’ve gotten for Clara has a cohesive feel, and that’s with picking them up at thrift stores and yard sales. 

And the lists. Oh, the wonderful lists! I’ve made a list for nearly every aspect of this pregnancy, from buying baby clothes to packing the hospital bag to prioritizing my nesting. While perhaps mildly obsessive, I feel as though these lists have helped me stay sane and focused and in control, attributes that are usually lacking during pregnancy. 

With my due date less than a month away, I’m looking forward to seeing if all the list making and organization pays off like I envision. With a husband that travels for work, two little ones, church work, homeschooling, lots of visitors, and a business to run, I have a lot on my plate. Really, I can’t afford to mismanage what precious time and energy I do have. It may end up that half the lists are absolutely pointless, but for now the lists are helping and I need all the help I can get!

Whoever decided to call it morning sickness really deserves to be slapped. Okay, maybe not slapped, but at least glared at. 

All day long, every day. There’s a reason why pregnancy is referred to as the nine month flu. 

With Caleb, I didn’t really experience nausea, just the vomiting. I had to eat every two hours on the dot. If I was even ten minutes late eating my snack, I would have to rush to the bathroom, like clockwork. Although more than a little annoying, it was manageable and taught me the all-important mom rule of always having a snack tucked away in your purse. And you know how morning sickness is only supposed to last the first trimester? Nope, the vomiting lasted from the day the stick turned pink to the day I gave birth. 

With Samantha, it was the complete opposite. I had severe nausea AND vomiting around the clock. It didn’t matter if I had just eaten a three-course meal, snacked on a granola bar, or hadn’t eaten for four hours. There was no rhyme or reason to it. Thankfully, it only lasted for that first trimester and was gone by the time I got to the fourth month, making the remainder of my pregnancy quite an enjoyable experience. 

This time around, the rule book has been tossed out. I can forget what I learned during my first two pregnancies, the little tricks and the coping skills. Instead, this pregnancy has decided to combine the effects of my last two and throw a couple of new curve balls into the mix, too. For the first three months I’ve had Samantha’s morning sickness, around the clock, no rhyme or reason. There does seem to be certain foods that make it worse, like cereal with milk or salad (which previously have been some of my favorite go-to meals). Also, it is worse in the mornings, especially during the first two hours. I have to keep a bottle of ginger ale and a bag of graham crackers next to my bed, eating and drinking within the first five minutes of waking up or else find myself puking my guts out in the bathroom. If it was just during the mornings it would have been easier to handle, instead, it lasted all day long, just with slightly less volatileness later in the day. 

Now that I’m in my sixth month, I’ve identified this season as Caleb’s morning sickness. Gone is the debilitating need to eat within five minutes of waking up and in its place is the necessary evil of round-the-clock snacks. This time Baby has been kind and has given me three hour stretches instead of just two. I have snacks hidden all over the house, in the case, at my desk, in my purse, even in the bathroom. Yes, I know it’s kind of gross, but I did say “necessary evil” for a reason. 

Unfortunately, the nausea has decided to stick around, albeit at a much milder level, as well as the aversion to certain foods and drinks. Adjusting my day-to-day diet has been quite the challenge as I usually eat a salad every day for lunch and now just a few bites of romaine lettuce will turn my stomach. And at the risk of TMI, let me tell you- throwing up green stuff is not fun in the least. Thankfully, I’m still able to do my protein shakes in the morning and they actually help settle my stomach and give me a somewhat steady start to the day. 

With three months still left to go, I’m wondering if this is it or if my so-called “morning sickness” will change once again. Either way, I still want to give whoever deceived decades of women into thinking we’d only have to put up with this for 1/3 of our day a good glare with my evil eye. And I do a mean evil eye. 

2016 was a wonderful year full of fun adventures, visits with family and friends, and exciting milestones for our kiddos. We’re looking forward to a new milestone in 2017 as we welcome a new addition to our family! #3 will be joining us in August and we couldn’t be happier. So from our (growing) family to yours, Happy New Year!