This Pregnancy versus the Last

In case you hadn't heard especially with the gender reveal video I posted last week, we are pregnant again! Here is the thing in that it wasn't something we were expecting and yes I do know how babies are made. I wanted to answer some questions (more or less once and for all) + discuss the differences between these pregnancies in a space that is safe and that would fill others in.

We are really, really getting excited about this baby! She will be making her arrival early July and is loving called baby firecracker (official due date July 6). She is healthy and breached which I believe because the kicks to my bladder are fierce. Skip is fascinated with my growing belly even though he doesn't quite get it all. We talk about sissy all the time and he points to my belly when I ask where the baby is. He likes lifting my shirt and looking at my belly which is really cute but he is starting to do it to other people. Ha!

Regardless, let's dig in to the difference between Skip and baby girl Farrin!

Time: Time is absolutely flying by with this pregnancy! When we were pregnant with Skip we kept saying things like, "hurry up!" and "we are so ready to meet you!" but with this baby we keep asking time to slow down. We are in a different stage in life but no matter what we are truly trying to cherish the time we have with Skip as our only baby. We have a trip coming up this May that we are so excited about! R and I were talking about it last night and how grateful we are to we have one more trip with bubs before another baby.

Gender: Obviously the gender is different this time. We are welcoming a little girl! When I got pregnant with Skip a boy wasn't even on my radar but I absolutely love being a boy mom. Skip is truly the sweetest little boy. When he says "mawwwwwmmmmmma" I melt. I will say that I was hoping for a little girl. I am ready for headbands and painting nails.

Health: I have made a 100% effort to be healthier in this pregnancy for various reasons. I was on bed rest for 6 weeks towards the end of my pregnancy with Skip and had to do two rounds of preeclampsia testing. I have tried to eat better plus exercise 4 times a week. It really helps to have Skip around. He doesn't give me much of a chance to lay around or not be moving which I secretly l-o-v-e even on those days I am stumbling tired.

Complications: I absolutely H-A-T-E using the word infertility in my case because I have dear friends who really know the struggle of infertility. I like to go with complications. We knew we would need help getting pregnant with Skip before we decided to give it a try. We had one round of chlomid when trying to get pregnant with Skip and it worked the first time! I showed all the same signs again: rare periods, months without them, no signs of ovulation thus we thought we would need help again. We were not planning on another baby now and possibly at all so God did what he wanted. I joke this is probably the only way we would have another baby is by surprise.

Name: Another time where the two are different. We kept Skip's name a secret until after he was born. We had our reasons to many monogrammed things, others giving their opinion... With this baby girl we are sharing it soon (we have with close family and friends). The biggest reason for me is early bonding with the baby. With Skip we worked so hard to not slip up with his name. My depression after Skip was born was so severe that I asked Rusty if this time we could say the name out loud now. I feel it will help me bond with the baby. He happily agreed. And with a girl bring on the monograms!

Motherhood: Last night I was talking with a girlfriend over dinner and I laughed so hard at my stance on motherhood before Skip. I had to have a natural birth. I had to breastfeed. I had to be home with him 24/7. I had to protect his little body from germs. And I did all those things for a while. This is the ONLY benefit I see to my postpartum depression is that it made my tightly wound thoughts of motherhood disperse almost immediately. Now I am all for what keeps mommy and baby both healthy and that looks different for every person and each season of life. My friend is exactly the same when it comes to doing what is mentally healthy for mom and bebe. Girl power friends or should I say mommy supporting mommy power.

Birth Plan: Birth plan 100% out the window not because we don't want one but this time I am open for whatever. I don't want an expectation or a have to with this birth. Going with the flow. I do hope that labor will begin naturally versus being induced due to health complications.

Body: This category is completely different too! With Skip I gained so much weight in the beginning and it just kept coming especially with excess fluid all over. This time I have put on about 12 lbs. by week 20 with baby girl. My body looks the same to me though. My bump looks the same and overall shape appears the same. My skin is so dry though! It is crazy. Between winter and being pregnant with a girl, my skin itches and my face is peeling like a summer tan. I just ordered honest beauty hydrating face cream and hoping this twice a day will help. Also it is anti-aging cream. Who am I?

Mentally/Depression: This pregnancy has me reflecting heavily on my pregnancy with Skipper. The signs of depression were evident way before Skip arrived (at least to me). I was talking to R about how staying home for three months before I had him wasn't healthy for me. I sat still, slept a lot and did little to nothing to motivate my soul, mind or body. I remember at 20ish weeks of pregnancy with Skip I was sobbing to Rusty on Memorial Day weekend about how much I hated being pregnant and mentally I couldn't handle it anymore. I can confidently say that at 20 weeks now I feel so far from that. I feel happy, healthy and nourished in many areas of life. Having Skip helps.

When it comes to postpartum depression I cannot say it won't happen again because I cannot control that although I + my family know the signs this time. I also know that showering regularly, resting more and laughter are great medicine. I am fully aware this time versus feeling so lonely last time. It is such a dark place that I hope to never visit again. I am just thankful to feel better altogether at this stage of the pregnancy. God is good!

Hopefully this isn't my last pregnancy post but in case you want to revisit some posts from when I was pregnant with Skip you can here, here, here and here.

All images via BLC Photography