Pregnant again! Wow the last 15 months of our life with Cosmo has been a whirlwind. I’ve all but given up on social media, I’ve changed some of my side jobs (switched the winery position for tour hiking for a nonprofit and accounting ), and I hardly ever have time to write anything longer than a grocery list.
Here we are though, in the busiest season I can remember ( including traveling nonstop for years), and preparing for our worlds to be turned upside down again. Billy and I knew we wanted another child, and one close to Cosmo, so I never even considered natural preventative timing. My cycle, took about 7 /8 months to return ( paralleling the end of our breastfeeding journey, but when he turned 1 we started thinking more carefully about getting pregnant again. I ordered the Ava and boom as most things go when you gamble money (they refund you in full if you aren’t pregnant within 6 months) I was instantly pregnant. I was shocked, I expected to have to wait longer ( I was in heavy run training still having a normal cycle) but I didn’t expect to get pregnant the first time we intentionally looked at the calendar first! Hello, healthy body! I was so proud of myself to be in both the fittest shape I could remember being as an adult, and also the most fertile.
So Im “due” around the backend of January ( although hopefully we all know babies appear when they please), making me 12 weeks pregnant at the writing of this blog. Not too much has changed ( I skipped racing the 100 mile ultra I was training for ), but Im still getting active daily. I’ve committed immediately, to another home birth, and have already begun Spinning Babies daily yoga practice ( more for mental preparation than anything). I chose this time to go with a midwife who is the family member of a close friend, but feel grateful to have both my midwife from my last birth, and a midwife (hospital only ) covered by insurance who are both willing to monitor me at any capacity I request. My friend circle has shifted to mothers and women who support and have experience with birthing, so this pregnancy I feel very supported by my community. It’s comforting and also calming.
While Cosmo has my personality at the moment, loud, borderline abrasive and demanding, but a total charmer, I feel this this child is different. I get a calming quiet energy from internal and I feel a little more hormonal than last time ( shorter temper ) and mildly nauseous most mornings ( solved with something bread or cracker like ). I feel like this child will be more Billy’s energy and probably female. However, unlike my last pregnancy I won’t be persuaded to overly monitor it ( the gynecologist I started with, not the midwife I finished with).
I am choosing to skip most ultrasounds ( I did one to confirm single pregnancy and I plan to do one more at 20 weeks or so to confirm healthy organs ), I’ve done bloodwork to determine sex ( will know soon and to rule out chromosomal abnormalities). Providing neither the bloodwork or organ scan come back with unexpected results we will proceed with a home birth again.
Life is chaotic and busy, but we feel calm, content, and curious. Maybe this child will continue to bring these qualities to our home.
As I often get asked and rarely have time to answer ways to work with me are:
- In person fitness instruction ( contact me dralyxbarnett@gmail.com )
- Online fitness / nutrition instruction
- Currently running a free fitness group
- Hiking in Volcanoes National Park
I’ll attempt to post updates again, but no promises!