FIRST TRIMESTER UPDATE (BABY #2)

Here we go again!! Some days I still cannot believe I am pregnant. Having a toddler, you don't have much time to read pregnancy apps or lay down to feel kicks, so the weeks are just flying by! When I first found out we were expecting, I went back and read the first trimester post that I did for Nico and it was so fun to relive how we found out, who we told, and look through all the bump pictures and ultrasounds. I decided I definitely want to document the process again for this baby as well!

HOW I FOUND OUT

We weren't sure when we should have baby #2. My doctor told me ideally we should wait 18 months for my body to fully heal. We thought by the time Nico turned 1, we would feel ready to grow our family. Well his birthday came and went and we never got that magical feeling that it was time. Surprise; having a baby/toddler is a lot of work! But the saying is you make plans and God laughs, right? In November we ended up switching our insurance plan and so there was a 1 month lapse in my birth control. We knew there was a chance it could happen, and we were okay with that, but we didn't REALLY think it would happen. My close friend who was also pregnant with me during Nico's pregnancy told me she was pregnant with baby #2 and that she suspected it because she had heartburn. The next few days I found myself with heartburn. Definitely placebo, right? I decided to take a test to be sure because I had some old cheapies from Nico's time. When I looked at the test it looked like it *could* be positive if you tilted it the right way in the right light. It was so so faint. In my gut I knew it was positive, but I needed confirmation. I went to HEB and got a First Response test and immediately went to their bathroom to take it. Positive! I was shocked and shaking. We knew this could happen, but really didn't think it would. It's so crazy how many emotions you can feel all at once. Excitement. Scared. Happy. Sad. I started to think of everything that was to come: pregnancy (I just finally got my body back after 2 previous pregnancies and breastfeeding), labor, birth, sleepless nights, breastfeeding. But then you picture a mini version of Nico, and envision him as a big brother and their bond together. But then you get sad that he will no longer be your baby, and he won't get all of your attention like he's always gotten. I had so many thoughts going through my head, but above all I was grateful and happy for our little blessing!

HOW I TOLD SONNY

After I went through all the emotions myself, I started to think of how Sonny would react. Would he be just as shocked as me? I wanted to do something cute like I had with Nico, so I started to brainstorm. I decided to make Nico a Big Bro sweatshirt and *hope* that he would notice it, lol! I made the sweatshirt upstairs and was panicking that he might come up or ask what I was doing. Thankfully Nico kept him pretty busy. Each night I give Nico his bath and get him in his jammies while Sonny prepares his sippy cup of milk. I put Nico in his new sweatshirt and brought him out to the living room to Sonny. He immediately looked at him, "What does his sweatshirt say?" and read it again. Then he said "Babe, you're pregnant again?!" and I burst into tears. I said "I don't know if these are happy tears or not!" and he hugged me with Nico and said "Of course they are!!" He was SO excited and I felt so relieved. Since this was so unplanned, I had no idea how he would react, but I should have known he would be nothing but happy for our growing family!

HOW WE TOLD OUR PARENTS

When I was pregnant with Nico, we waited to tell my parents until we saw the heartbeat on the ultrasound and until we could tell them in person. This time, I felt like the news should be celebrated right away. The very next morning after we found out, I FaceTimed my Mom and Nico was still wearing his Big Bro sweatshirt. I flipped the camera onto him and she noticed it within seconds! She screamed and was so excited! She found my Dad and he said "Is Alex pregnant?" and we both were wondering how he knew. He said he could hear her reaction from the other side of the house, lol! After we hung up, Sonny called his parents and told them over the phone, they were so excited as well! I don't think either side were very surprised this time, lol!

8 WEEK ULTRASOUND/BUMP:

12 WEEK ULTRASOUND/BUMP:

SYMPTOMS: NAUSEA

A few weeks after finding out I was pregnant, I started to feel nauseous again. Just like Nico's pregnancy, it only came on in the morning before I ate or if I had an empty stomach throughout the day. Luckily, if I would eat an oyster cracker it would go away instantly. We decided to book a quick road trip to Horseshoe Bay Resort when I was 8.5 weeks pregnant, and I didn't want to risk feeling yucky, so I took vitamin B6 + Unisom because I had heard it helped with nausea (my doctor approved of this). It worked SO well! I never even got the feeling of being nauseous at all! I continued this for the 1st trimester and didn't have any problems. I wish I did it during Nico's pregnancy as well!

SYMPTOMS: CRAVINGS

The one thing I wanted ALL. THE. TIME. was tortilla pizzas. If you don't know what I'm talking about you need to watch Amber Lancaster's highlight on how to make them (they've gone viral!). They are so good and super easy! I probably made one for lunch every day for a couple weeks straight, not even lying! I liked to top it with parmesan cheese and giardiniera and dip it in ranch. Later on I started to crave pot stickers as well. I guess it's true what they say that salty cravings = boy!

SYMPTOMS: DRY SKIN

This symptom was new for me; I didn't experience this with Nico. My skin and lips were so dry that I started getting red itchy patches on my face. I would put vaseline on my lips multiple times a day to keep them from drying out! I talked to my doctor and turns out you can become slightly allergic to ingredients that you weren't prepregnancy, so I dropped all of my skincare and only moisturized with lotion morning/night. This helped the red itchy patches clear up! I questioned if I might be having a girl due to this symptom, but I guess every pregnancy is just different! After the first trimester, I was able to go back to my normal skincare routine (which was already pregnancy safe).

I think that about wraps up my first trimester! Of course I also felt stretching, cramping and bigger boobs, but nobody wants to hear the details on any of that! We are so over the top excited to meet our little munchkin and are always praying for a healthy pregnancy and baby! Thanks for following along on our journey to August!!

OTHER 1ST TRIMESTER PHOTOS:

Just a few of the many pregnancy tests I took! As you produce more of the pregnancy hormone, the test line gets darker and darker. It became more real that my tiny poppy seed was growing!

3 days after my positive pregnancy test, Bentley already knew. He hadn't laid on my lap like this since I was pregnant with Nico. He's continued to do so my entire pregnancy, so sweet!

I found out I was pregnant on 12/6. I was buying this ornament for my friend's son as part of his Christmas present. The thought crossed my mind to get Nico one too, but I was nervous because our first ultrasound wasn't until after Christmas. I ended up getting it and prayed that everything would go well this pregnancy! It made me smile each time I passed it on the tree.

Our first picture as a family of 4! Christmas Day - 6 weeks 2 days

We FaceTimed our immediate families on both sides and told them the news!

Headed out with Sonny & Nico to get some tacos - 7 weeks 2 days

Horseshoe Bay Trip - 8 weeks 3 days

Texas' crazy snowstorm! 8 weeks 4 days

I had brunch with my girlfriends when I was only 9.5 weeks along. It was still early, but I knew they would think it was weird if I didn't order a mimosa or bloody mary, lol! We were exchanging Christmas gifts, and I decided to make this custom label on a mini wine bottle to share the news. They were so excited for me!