I’m writing this earlier on in my second trimester, I’m just beginning my seventeenth week of this pregnancy. Presently, I’m writing this update from bed during a somewhat dramatic summer storm where our lights are flickering and I can hear the rain pelt our windows. I love how our house feels during rain storms, and I am loving this pregnancy! This has been the most interesting, distinctive pregnancy I’ve ever had, it has just been so beautifully unique when compared to my previous four.
My two theories on why this has been such a good pregnancy are time of year and just an improvement to health overall (including the large amount of supplements that I take daily). On my hardest days I can still just walk outside, step on grass, and sit in the sun, and I think that has made a profound difference. All my other pregnancies meant my early days corresponded with my least favorite time of year here in Minnesota, February-April. Since having Penny two years ago, I’ve been working on improving my health, including adding in some supplements. My sleep hygiene is greatly improved, and so thus increases my energy and overall stamina. I credit blood nourish, morning magnesium, Floradex with herbs, beef liver, and magnesium glycinate. Since I have felt well enough, this is also the first pregnancy I’ve been able to stomach and take daily a prenatal. I found a high quality one called Needed.
Each night after the kids go to bed and I make some hot water for my magnesium tea and announce to Seth with some over the top joy, “it’s magnesium time!” And then he laughs and rolls his eyes.
We’re also eating better as a family than we ever have. I can’t seem to tolerate processed foods or much refined sugar right now, so we’ve been getting to know our local coop. I love shopping there! It’s the kind of just cute place with beeswax candles, local flowers, bulk section, and those lower profile carts. Each morning, I begin my day with a little cold brew, some raw cream from our farm share, and a scoop of protein powder. Then after the kids have their first breakfast we’ll usually have some eggs together. We’re going through them so quickly these days. I feel like I won the lottery since the kids like eating hardboiled eggs now, so easy to throw into our picnic basket for lunches on the go. After nearly a decade of not properly nourishing my body I finally started eating better about a year ago. The impact has been profound. I feel better now as a pregnant mother of four than I did even three or six years ago. I was long ago on board the crunchy train, but this own experience within my own body has made me a more devoted believer. I feel so strong, maybe the strongest I ever have.
I am certainly the woman who loves having babies, but I didn’t love pregnancy, and just considered it the fire I’d need to pass through to get to the art of mothering. This time I am actually enjoying the pregnancy part. And, I am feeling so excited about having another home birth. We’ve just been so fortunate to be able to have babies at home. I am dreaming and praying over so many part of this baby’s birth, and very excited to work with the same birth photographer we had last time, Maggie. I had my first “birth” dream last night, it was sort of comedic. I suppose it’s time for me to star listening to my Hypnobabies tracks again.
After some convincing, I got Seth to agree to forgo finding out the gender of this baby. We’ve usually found out at the twenty week mark or before what we’re having, but this time I just want to be surprised. I am so excited. We have most of what we need anyway. I still have all of Penny’s baby headbands in her top dresser drawer, so if we end up having a daughter I can just borrow one of those for her announcement photo. I am pretty convinced we’re having a boy, though.
I will leave this update with a dear story:
It was family visit day at an outdoor camp Cilla attended and a perfect stranger came up to tell me that I was the most beautiful pregnant woman she had ever seen! I cannot believe the kindness of people. I think it takes immense courage to give someone you don’t know a complement, let alone a banger like that. We started talking and I told her to check back on me when I’m 39 weeks and probably not feeling as beautiful and sprite as I do during these early golden days of second trimester. Then I started telling her how that since it’s my fifth baby I’m just bigger this time around.
“This is your fifth?!” She had a look of actual lovely surprise on her face.
“Yes!” I answered.
“Good for you! That is so great.” Sometimes this is said with a ‘ugh so glad it’s you and not me’ tone I can immediately detect, but this was the most genuine, truly rooted in kindness response. It was just so honest.
Later I saw her again, sitting in a field of grass playing with her daughter. We waved at each other as I packed up Cilla in the van, the oppressive humidity making us desperate for the air conditioning.
I love the world of mothers and motherhood so much. I feel so grateful and lucky and happy to be carrying this new life.
