1st Trimester Bumpdate (Baby #2)

Finding out I was pregnant again came as a surprise, not because we weren't trying to grow our family, but because it took so long with Liam that we were already mentally preparing ourselves for this to be another long and emotional journey that would test our patience. A week or so after coming back from our trip to Kauai my period was a couple days late. Not really a strong indicator of anything because I'm not one to start on the exact day the app predicts, but feeling curious I decided to take a test first thing in the morning on November 7th, 2022. Travis was downstairs with Liam having breakfast as I saw that faint second line appear on the strip clearly signaling a positive result! I thought for a brief moment if I should set up something cute to share the news with him, but having him just a few feet away and with no way to really discreetly put something together while we were all in the house, I opted to just go downstairs and show him the strip. I told Travis I had good news to share and showed him the strip, "You're ovulating." he said, "No, I'm pregnant!" I replied with the biggest smile on my face. He was surprised, but so happy and we hugged! Neither of us was expecting it, but I guess tropical paradises and total relaxation are the most prime conditions for baby-making, haha!

The first trimester came and went so fast. I felt very gaggy and so many smells and foods would gross me out. Luckily I've never been the type to be extremely nauseous and throw up during my pregnancies. I didn't throw up once with Liam and it's pretty much been going the same way with baby #2 and I'm so grateful! I again have had an aversion to meat, but not as bad as I did with Liam. I can still do some chicken sometimes depending on my mood. But with Liam it was an absolute NOPE. I've also had the same cravings which are basically sweets, sugary cereals and pop-tarts. I'm seeing the same group of midwives again and plan to birth naturally at the hospital. This time around we decided to not go with the support of a doula, but to have Travis be my main support system and doula now that this isn't our first rodeo. He was amazing last time and this time we really just want it to be me and him bringing this new life into the world.

After a couple of weeks of secretly enjoying the news, just the two of us, we started sharing our news with family. We got Liam a Big Bro shirt and invited my in-laws and sister-in-law over for dinner. We waited around a couple minutes for them to notice Liam's shirt and figure out the news, but after a while of them walking around the kitchen and helping with the dinner set up Travis had to drop a hint and ask them if they liked Liam's Shirt haha! My in-laws were, of course, so excited for us and spread the news to the rest of the family in Arizona.

I decided to wait to tell my side of the family the news until Thanksgiving, which was so hard, but my mom would be in town visiting so I knew it'd be more meaningful in person. We had thanksgiving dinner and were sitting around the table enjoying conversation when I pulled out a little box and told my mom I had a gift for her. Inside was the positive pregnancy test and a note that said "Extra thankful this year. Baby #2 expected July 2022!" She immediately broke down in tears and I went around the table to give her a hug, "Tears of joy right?", I joked, hahaha! You just never know with my mom, but she was truly happy, as was my sister and niece.

I had my first ultrasound shortly after on December 2nd to confirm the pregnancy. Nothing, but a tiny little "frijol" shaped figure was obvious on the screen, but there was definitely a heartbeat and hearing it for the first time was music to this mamas ears. On New Years I was around 12 weeks along and we made our public announcement on social media. We just keep counting our lucky stars and are so grateful to add another little one to our crew!