pregnancy two | 20 Weeks

We’ve reached the halfway point! In so many ways this pregnancy has gone much faster than my first. I still cannot believe our baby will be here in June. I am so excited to meet and love on this little one. We had our big ultrasound this week, and I feel so grateful for a healthy baby who is happy and swimming around. Like I suspected, my placenta is in front and baby is low, just like Priscilla was. I am hoping we won’t have an accidental unassisted home birth 😉

We hired our doula and placenta encapsulator this week. We’re working with Anne Ferguson at ByWater Birth again. She was our doula, encapsulator, and birth course {Hypnobabies} instructor last time. After a lot of hemming and hawing I decided not to re-take the Hypnobabies class, and instead will do the home study. Wish us luck, haha!

I am loving taking photos in my new “studio,” it’s a little living room on our main floor that our wonderful painters painted all white. I love the two big, long windows and all the natural light. I didn’t realize how heavy all the dark green was until we got a few rooms painted. What a breath of fresh air! Our painters are coming back to finish the second floor at the end of the month and I am so happy. I have a little micro nursery idea for this new baby that I can’t wait to start decorating.

Symptoms | I am feeling so great overall, but do have some lower back pain. This week I got some body work done by Ihotu Ali, she is fantastic. If you’re local, look her up. She’s in the Bryn-Mawr area and fantastic. I have been seeing a chiropractor during this pregnancy as well, just like last time. Cilla and I both love getting adjusted at Roots. Occasionally I’ll have some heartburn, and the natural remedy of apple cider vinegar shots plus baking soda water seems to work.

Mood | I feel so happy, excited, and joyful. In some ways I am so anxious for baby to be here. I cannot wait to meet this sweet soul. I wish we had done a closer age gap between Cilla and this one. We are baby loving fools over here.

Weight gain | I’ve gained six pounds so far this pregnancy. I’m a little leaner than I was at this point last time, but two flights of stairs and a 25 pound toddler who loves to be carried will do that to you 😉 I gained 31 pounds total last time, I’m curious to see where I’ll land at the end of this pregnancy. We had our 20 week ultrasound {and yes we are so excited to share gender this weekend!} and baby is 14 ounces 🙂

Sleep/energy | It seemed like my energy was really all over the place for a long time, I’d have huge bursts and then really long, exhausted days. Now I seem to have evened out a bit. I have some insomnia, so if I’m up at 5am for some reason I can’t go back to sleep. After an entire month of not going places and being a hermit, Cilla and I are taking more adventures.

Food cravings | I just had the best green salad with beets, blue cheese, and caramelized walnuts. That sums up my cravings. I am also in love with lime bars and LaCroix.

Food aversions | Occasionally meat, though that seems to be fading some.