Some people have been asking for a little update on how I’m feeling and how this pregnancy is going, so I thought a quick Young House Life check-in would be fun. The short answer is that I’m so excited about this little bun (as are John and of course Clara, who tells anyone who’ll listen that she’s going to be a big sister). Burger seems ambivalent at this point, but I’m sure when a kid with sticky crumb-dropping hands comes along he’ll be elated too.
It took me a long time to feel ready to carry a child again (more on that here), and it took us longer to get pregnant this time than it did last time, but over that span of time it feels like things have changed – in a slow but very sweet way. I’m a lot more at peace with the idea of being pregnant than I thought I might ever be (a few years ago that concept had me choking back anxiety-riddled tears). So when people ask me how I knew I was ready to try again after such a traumatic birth, the honest answer is really that over time my feelings of excitement and hope over-rode those feelings of terror and fear. They’re still there, but they’re not nearly as big and scary as they once were. So my advice would be to wait to see if the fear ever gets outweighed by joy, excitement, or hope and that might be a nice sign. It certainly didn’t happen overnight for me (Clara will be almost four when this kiddo comes along) but I’m finally in that place I hoped to be someday. I’m thrilled. I’m thankful. And I’m ready for this crazy ride, even if it might be nail-biting at times.
As for the physical stuff, I’m feeling kicks which instantly make me smile, and my energy level seems to be picking back up too, at least for the moment, which is really nice. According to the docs, who have a close eye on everything, the bun and I are both doing well, which is amazing and oh-so-comforting to hear. Honestly, just feeling a kick here and there makes me breathe a sigh of relief, so although I’m still dealing with some pretty annoying all-day sickness, I generally just feel thankful to be carrying a healthy bun. In the good news column of Barfyville, it’s not as severe as it was (without getting too graphic, I probably toss my cookies around 30% less than I did a few weeks ago, although I’m still running to the bathroom multiple times a day) so I feel like it might be slowly beginning to taper off. It ended at around 17 weeks with Clara, so although I’ve recently passed that mark, I’m hopeful that in another week or two it’ll just flip off like a switch, which is what happened last time around.
When it comes to finding out the sex, thanks to the office being closed for Thanksgiving, we have to wait another week, so we won’t find out until early December – but as soon as we do (and we tell our friends and family) we can’t wait to share the news with you guys and start thinking about nursery stuff! Oh man, just typing that makes me excited. I’m doing the same thing I did when I was pregnant with Clara, which is that I’ll see a date of something (like an expiration date on the milk or a date of when a movie comes out in a commercial) and if it’s after the ultrasound date in December my brain says “Wahoo! We should know what this bun is by then!” Of course this baby has already been notorious for not giving the techs a clear shot at things they need during ultrasounds (when they want measurements of certain areas I’ve had to do jumping jacks, roll back and forth, and run down the hall – sometimes even then only to hear “nope, didn’t work”). But we’ve never left without finally getting what we needed in the end, so I’m hopeful that the bun will cooperate and we’ll (eventually) get a clear shot.
So that’s about all the news I have for you guys. Thanks for asking how I’m feeling and offering various nausea tips (I’ve tried virtually all of them to no avail, but it was nice to have different suggestions to explore). And thanks for all the well wishes and the kind words about this pregnancy. It really is amazing to be carrying a little baby around in my belly, and when the doubt or fear creeps in it’s nice to be able to remind myself that so many people are out there sending such good thoughts our way.
donita says
My daughter had morn just ng sickness BAD with both of her babies!! Her Dr had her take half a Unison and vitamin B 6 before going to bed. She never threw up again.
Young House Life says
Alas, I tried that and it didn’t work for me. I hear it’s a miracle for some people though!
xo
s
Dani says
Just wanted to say thanks for all your preggo/baby updates (with Clara as well as the bun!)
I’ve just found out I’m pregnant with our first baby (like, JUST found out, no one knows but hubby and I…and now everyone who reads this, yay internet anonymity!) so have gone back and re-read all your baby related posts :) It’s calming reading stuff from people I’m ‘familiar’ with (aka I read your blog religiously) instead of fifty million terrifying internet articles I’d find by googling…
:)
Young House Life says
Aw, congrats Dani! Such an exciting time! Hope you’re feeling great.
xo
s
Brittany @ Brittany Cooks says
I don’t know if anyone has suggested this yet, but fresh blackberries work like a charm for nausea. When I had my wisdom teeth taken out I was so sick I couldn’t even keep water down to take my anti-nausea meds! Crushed up a few blackberries..and BOOM. I was fine from then on out. Hopefully you’ll be out of the barf phase soon, but in the meantime a few delicious berries couldn’t hurt! :)
Young House Life says
Haven’t tried that! Sounds good though!
xo
s
GreenInOC says
This shirt is a cute twist on the typical big-“sis”/”bro” shirt for Clara!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/108344694/only-child-expiring-date-shirt-pink?ref=shop_home_active&ga_search_query=only%2Bchild
Young House Life says
Really cute!!
xo
s
First House Spouse says
Hi YHL! We wanted to report an exciting time in our life and shared our First Birth Story – Not According to Plan with the world. :) You’re entering more exciting times and we are very happy for your growing family!
Young House Life says
Aw thanks for sharing the link! Loved the story, what a sweetheart!
xo
s
Ilse says
Looking at that last picture, wow, I suddenly realise how much Clara’s hair has grown!
I just keep thinking how adorable she’d look with a little bob haircut!
Barb says
We have the same age spread and I couldn’t be happier with it! Micah was in preschool when Cole was born so I had a break 3x a week from parenting 2. And now that he’s in kindergarten I get to hang out solo with my mini me. It’s the best of both worlds!
Young House Life says
That’s so nice to hear Barb!
xo
s
jennie says
Sherry. I am so excited for you! I too had a traumatic birth and there are days when I think I am done and days when I think I could have another one. Its a process. :).
Congrats!
Danielle J. says
Hi Sherry,
I am pregnant for the first time and am seven weeks along. This pregnancy thing is NO JOKE! I also have the morning (noon and night) sickness really bad, and the fatigue along with the 24/7 nauseousness is killing me! I look at you doing all of this work on your home and blog and not to mention having a family to take care of.. HOW DO YOU DO IT?! And, where do you find your energy?? I feel like I am so out of it all of the time and it feels like it is never going to end! Every time I get sick I say how grateful I am out loud.. Haha – Any tips for a newbie preggo who feels like a total zombie?? It doesn’t help that we are keeping this a secret from our family until I am 12 weeks (you’re the first to know!)and I am just avoiding them at all costs because I am afraid I will get caught running to the bathroom in front of everyone!
Kathy says
I was one of the 10 month sickness. The only thing that helped was Zofran and even that only helped me not toss my cookies. I still was nauseous the entire time. Nothing worked. I learned though that a big contributed was plain water. It made me vomit right away when I drank it. However, Crystal Light or Koolaid mixed with it was fine. I now can never think of drinking those and clutch my water bottle to me, even with my daughter almost being 5.
And only one for us. With how sick I was, I knew I wasn’t sure about another. We decided to wait to decide until she turned three. At a year and a half, my husband had a stroke and we gladly accepted the sign that we are a one and done. Silly as it is, I’m glad we have a good “reason” because people can be nosy and pushy and want to know why we don’t want more kids.
Young House Life says
Such a good tip about drinks! Water gets me too!
xo
s
Kris says
Sorry you are still feeling so sick :-/ I lived on gummy bears my first trimester with my daughter. I also found that I couldn’t handle the iron in most prenatals. Something about the type and the solubility? Anyway, I tried four different kinds including a few that were supposed to be gentle on tummies. I finally ended up on good old Target brand ones. I’m now 15 weeks with our second and I’ve just been able to ease up on my gummy bear and sour worm kick in the last few weeks. Now if I could get over my beef and chicken aversions I’d be a happy camper. Lol. Hope you feel better soon. :-)
Carly says
Congrats! I have a nosy question that is budget related. We’re car shopping, have one child and aren’t sure if there are any more on the horizon. (Still getting over a traumatic birth.) Have you guys thought about whether or not you’ll need more space once the baby arrives? I always consult your blog when it comes to home matters, so I thought I’d ask about the car, too. Thanks!!!
Young House Life says
We have been thinking about an upgraded car situation (not a second one, we’d trade in this one and get something else that’s used, but a bit bigger, since it would help with another kid and DIY cargo, etc). We’re researchers so it might take us a while, but we’ll post about it if we ever do make a decision!
xo
s
Carly says
Thanks!!! :)
Emily says
Hi YoungHouseLove!!
Was wondering if you’ve seen this funny pregnancy spoof of “sexy and I know it” my LMFAO? So funny! Thought Sherry would get a kick out of it.
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=funniest+pregnancy+video&FORM=VIRE3#view=detail&mid=BBF69E0EA64E9242F02FBBF69E0EA64E9242F02F
Young House Life says
So funny! It wouldn’t load from that link but I searched it and it came up and we laughed so hard! My favorite part was the waddle, waddle, waddle, waddle, waddle. So good!
xo
s
Emmy says
From one preggo to another…what about a post about maternity wear? I need to start buying some and you are so very smart about everything. It kind of looks like you mostly wear black. I think that actually sounds like a pretty good plan! Do you wear maternity jeans? Use a bella band? I know you don’t go into an office every day or anything…but you always look cute in pics. If I worked from home I would probably wear pjs every day!
Young House Life says
I have one pair of maternity jeans I usually wear the whole time (with Clara it was one pair from Old Navy, and with this baby it’s a new pair since the old ones were all stretched out). I like the ones with the full panel belly, just because they can last all the way through, and I never had luck with a bella band (I have a tiny torso, so I pop right away, and then it’s nice to have the support of the belly panel). As for tops, I do wear black a lot, which seems to simplify things (long sleeved black v-neck, black blazer and t-shirt, black trench coat with a v-neck sweater, etc) and a lot of my clothes are just from Target’s maternity section or Old Navy’s!
xo
s
Essie says
This is totally unrelated, but I didn’t feel like scrolling anymore to find a better post to ask this on! :)
I know that Clara is a thumbsucker and my 2 year old is a finger sucker too (although he sucks his pointer & middle finger.) I don’t have any friends with kids who suck their fingers so I was curious as to your experience with it.
Does she still do this and does she do it alot throughout the day or just to go to sleep? Do you or did you try to break the habit in any way? Do you plan to?
It’s of course a habit at this point so it will be hard for them to stop doing it and I don’t want to force my little guy, but he does it all day and it’s starting to drive me a little crazy! Just curious as to how others handle it with their kiddos. Thanks!! :)
Young House Life says
Both John and I sucked our thumbs and outgrew it naturally, so we’re hoping Clara does as well. We talk about how when she’s 4 she won’t suck her thumb anymore, and she agrees, but we’ll have to see how it goes. So far the doc said it’s just fine and it’s not affecting her teeth so we’re grateful for that, and we just hope she naturally decides she’s over it (perhaps when her little brother comes along and she feels like “the old one” in the house). Will keep you posted!
xo
s
Brittany says
Congrats to you all! I am also pregnant with our first :) I have a question about painting while pregnant…what kind of paint is okay for me to be around and is it okay for me to do the painting or should I leave that to my husband? Thanks!
Young House Life says
Anything no-VOC is great! I also use low-VOC with a respirator on, but other than that I steer clear (no oil-based/high VOC stuff or strong glues/adhesives/caulks, etc).
xo
s