1. ” Did you guys plan having your kids 2 years apart? “

Yes, we always wanted two years between our kids so the timing of this pregnancy worked out well. We were pregnant prior to this pregnancy and that baby was due this June however we miscarried somewhere around 10 weeks. So we tried for about 3 months and we were blessed with another baby, I try to always keep that in mind whenever the days get really tough with the pregnancy. If we decide to have a 3rd however we may leave a larger gap…but who knows, we can only control so much!

2. ” How do you manage two toddlers at home while being pregnant, how old are they? “

Well our daughter is 20 months old now and our niece just turned 2, they’ve been around each other almost every day since they were born so they are more like sisters than cousins. Some days are smooth sailing while others are more difficult, disciplining seems to be at it’s prime time right now so it can be really exhausting mentally but they make every day exciting and fun. With being pregnant I have noticed that I am much more tired and more recently I have had to slow down on lifting them because of some cramping and muscle pains. 

3. ” How is this pregnancy different from your first? “

I get this question ALOT! Well for starters the weight distribution is much different, with our first I gained a bum I never had, my sides and my face…I gained roughly 41lbs with Ella. This time around I am lighter, the weight all seems to be going to my belly…straight out so much that I think any more and I will tip over! Um, what else? The morning sickness during the 1st trimester was worse this time around (I thought so any ways), Craig says he remembers it being the same lol. Everything has started earlier as well, the first kicks, the braxton hicks, the restlessness and now the heartburn (yay). My cravings are different this time around as well, with Ella I craved dairy and with this pregnancy I crave salads & fruits. It is so unreal how are bodies go through these changes to create a little someone :). 

4. ” Does your daughter understand there is a baby in your belly? “

This is the cutest part of being pregnant the second time around, how your first loves your belly. Ella says hi baby and rubs my belly, she hugs and kisses it but we cannot get her hand to sit on my belly long enough to feel a kick. The baby has kicked her right in the head when she’s been cuddling my belly but she didn’t seem to notice lol. I think she partially understands it, when she meets newborn babies now she is obsessed with them, then proceeds to have me put her baby dolls in diapers and carries them everywhere rocking them and burping them, kissing & hugging them…its precious. But then she climbs on me, jumps on me etc which in the end shows she is just a toddler and still in her world its just the 3 of us, which is great. I want her to enjoy her time while she can as an only child.

5. ” Are you both nervous to have 2 under 2? “

Well Craig doesn’t seem to ever be nervous about this stuff, he is just full of excitement and really we are due October 2nd and Ella will be 2 on October 26th. We are in rush mode however to get some main floor renovations done (adding in our main floor laundry) which puts more pressure on us and takes away from his chill time after work :(, but we manage. We had Ella when I was 37 weeks & 2 days so we are timing everything with the possibility that it could happen again this time around. I am the more nervous one, perhaps because I am mama? I think about things like her going into her big girl bed in the next month and the sleepless nights to come, how I will manage two toddlers during the day and a nursing newborn. How will I get anything done around the house? I have no clue lol!

6.  “Do you know if you are having a boy or a girl? “

Nope! And we are SO excited to have no idea :). We wanted to wait to find out with Ella but caved when we found out we were having  a niece, we were so curious as to what the cousins were going to be. This time around we were adamant about waiting till the baby was born, it is so fun not knowing. 

7.  “How did you find out you were pregnant?”

Well as mentioned in another response we tried for about 3 months, I tracked my menstrual cycle & ovulation with ovulation strips which worked out great. By the third month I was getting pretty disheartened, you begin to go through mental lists of all the things that could be wrong with you because when you’ve had 1 baby you don’t imagine it could be anything but easy the second time around. Well after trying we did the good old fashion pregnancy test when it was time et voila a + ! I had a hard time believing it at first, one of our best friend couples were trying as well and her and I both tested days apart…I had to go out and buy a more fancy test just to really believe it was finally a positive. Craig said he knew it was the month…always so calm and collected this one lol.

8.  “Did you breastfeed your daughter, will you do it again?”

Yes, I breastfed Ella exclusively until I introduced solids around 6 months and introduced goats milk around 15 months which is when I stopped breastfeeding. I would have been happy to go to 2 but I couldn’t keep any weight on, was exhausted and my body couldn’t handle a pregnancy while nursing at that point. So another thing was when I stopped breastfeeding the month after the miscarriage and gained ten pounds and we got pregnant again and here we are now!

9.  “What are some fitness tips you have for pregnant women?”

Well I do not go to classes or the gym but that is probably a good thing, I would be beyond exhausted.  Swimming has been a great activity as it is summer here. 

These two girls keep me active enough and moving from a bungalow to a two-storey home sure did it as well ESPECIALLY with our laundry being in the basement and I practically do a load or two of laundry a day!! I get charlie horses in my calves almost every morning around 2am where I have to every so gracefully (NOT- more whale like) hop out of bed to stretch it out. All I can really say per fitness tips is to eat as healthy as your preggo cravings can allow you to, I cheat and eat sugars way more this time around than I did with Ella but I also eat much more in the vegetable department.  We are a smoothie and juicing household which helps, it is a great way to get full with healthy ingredients!

Drinking lots of water is important and maximizing the amount of sleep you can get, if you can nap DO IT because you truly cannot count on a solid 6-8 hours at night and when you are tired during the day you are just going to gravitate towards SUGAR! 

10.  “What kind of activities do you do with the toddlers while pregnant, you must be tired?”

With it being summer it is great to just play in the backyard with them for a couple of hours and enjoy lunch time out there as well. We also have found swimming to be a great activity, with messy watermelon faces and hands the outdoors is my best friend with two toddlers. Swimming really tires us all out and makes for a great nights sleep. The girls also love helping me with the gardening, they have their own watering cans and help me water the flowers while I get pruning & weeding done. 

Yes, I am tired but when is a mom not tired? lol

11. “Do you have names picked out?”

We do have a couple names for both genders but I’m sorry they are staying a secret until baby arrives :).

12. “How will you decorate the nursery without knowing the gender? “

Well I think we have decided to wait to do the nursery until after the baby is born, we have commenced the work on Ella’s big girl room now and that is my focus – as well as getting her comfortable in it. The baby will be in our room with us in the beginning any ways just as Ella was so it should leave us some time to decorate vs doing a gender neutral nursery. I had planned originally to do a gender neutral nursery and my mind (and Pinterest board) was flooded with ideas but now I want to wait…