Baby #2: The Second Trimester
The second trimester has come and gone and it was the best one yet! I had a ton of energy during the day, and my nausea is gone! Yoga and running feel great still. I have to modify some yoga poses because of the pregnancy. I can still do inversions, but twists, forward folds and poses on my belly are getting harder to do. I have to use more props or have had to just stop these poses all together until after the baby is born. My practice is the best diary for my body during this time. Every day I get to check in with my body and mind during my practice. I notice where I am, make adjustments and find gratitude for this body and experience of mine. I am so so grateful I had yoga in my life before being pregnant.
I like to listen to my body at all times in my life, but I am especially aware during pregnancy. This trimester my body has been asking for 8-10 hours of sleep a night, and I don’t nap during the day. I am so thirsty all the time so I am drinking 3-5 quarts of water a day. I am eating around 4-5 meals a day to avoid nausea from not eating enough. Sometimes I get so busy with my family or working I forget to eat and then terrible nausea comes on. My favorite meals this trimester have been soups, salads and baked goods like muffins, breads, and bagels. It’s winter in Missouri and soups have become an obsession. My husband is so great about letting my cravings control our meals during the week, especially since I do all the cooking and dishes. Chicken noodle soups, venison stews, tomato soups are all favorites right now. Any way I can get as many nutrients into my food as possible, I make it happen.
And then, just like that, I got to feel my baby’s movements during this trimester. It is the most relieving feeling to be able to feel my baby move every single day. It’s a constant reminder of the gift I have been given, and it eases my anxiety after a miscarriage. I love feeling all the kicks, hiccups and turns! So do my daughters and husband.
Being a holistic mom is one of the most judged titles I could have placed upon me. I understand the government’s suggestions of how I should live my life while pregnant, or how my children should live their lives after they are born, but I have my own opinions and knowledge that makes me choose to parent the way I do. I eat an extremely healthy diet. I take vitamins and supplements. I drink kombuchas and cold pressed juices. I use essential oils to help my side effects of being pregnant (ex. peppermint, digest zen, lavender, etc). I drink a lot of teas. I make my own toothpaste and elderberry syrup. I don’t get vaccinated, and I don’t vaccinate my children. I will continue to teach and practice yoga and hot yoga until I pop. I know people just listen to what their doctors are telling them to do, but I am lucky enough to have an OBGYN that has done her research and fully supports my choices. She doesn’t judge me and she has read the risks of the products that health professionals give to their patients and she respects my decisions. I think everyone should feel comfortable with whatever they choose for themselves or their children just like I get to.
As an entrepreneur and owning two businesses, it has been a lot with a growing family and body. I was able to turn my rewritten manuscript of Happy Food Cookbook this trimester to my publisher, which is to be released later this year. As for Nourish, that is a whole different challenge and has been stressful. I own Nourish with my business partner, but I am the partner that runs the restaurant. I have had to train a Front of House Manager and a Kitchen Manager for the 10 weeks I am going to take off for my maternity leave this spring. What we do at Nourish Cafe & Market is more than any food industry job I have ever had in the last 17 years. We bake and make everything from scratch. Most restaurants buy their baked goods, sauces and other items premade. It has been a lot on me to get people trained and ready for when I am gone, plus I still plan to be helping direct my staff while on maternity leave. I wouldn’t have it any other way in my life, but this is a situation that they don’t any pregnancy books to help direct me. I have to believe in myself, my skills, my communication and my faith that everything will work out while I’m gone. I am excited to come back after maternity leave though because I love my life at Nourish.
All mothers know that once you enter the second trimester you begin to grow in the belly, thighs, boobs, and butt, and that can be mentally difficult for some women. Well, I am one of those women. After being homeless a few times in my life, I don’t like spending money on material things if I don’t have to. When I read the Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle in 2010, I made a promise to myself that material items don’t hold a sentimental value to me like relationships to the people in my life and myself do. With that being said, it is hard for me to buy a bunch of maternity clothes when I know pregnancy weight is just temporary for me. Every week that passes that a pair of pants, a bra, underwear or a shirt stop fitting because I am expanding, I have the challenge of buying more clothes that fit. It’s definitely an internal battle for me of “wasting” money on material things I am only needing temporarily. Thank goodness for the friends I have that have loaned me their maternity clothes to help me get through this transition in my life. My mom is the best for always sending me new maternity clothes to make me feel beautiful as I grow too.
Making it to the second trimester was a very big deal to me. It’s when my chances of a miscarriage dropped significantly, which was a higher stressor for me after just having my miscarriage. I also was starting to show so it was becoming more real. After a miscarriage, it was hard for me to believe this one was going to stick, but I was so happy when I made it to my second trimester. My belly started to show and it was such an amazing experience. I started to let go of doubt and enjoy the pregnancy.
One thing that did change for me once I started showing was how I felt when strangers would get too close to my belly. In checkout lanes, in public or even at Nourish I felt like I need to create space and guard my precious package against others. Being around my husband is the safest feeling I have in public while being pregnant. I just feel like I can let my guard down, enjoy the present moment and I know he would never let anything happen to me or our daughters. I have so much gratitude for my relationship with my husband and how we parent together.
This trimester I have started feeling the nesting hormones baaaaaad! I want to clean and organize my house, my calendars, my business, anything and everything I want to have nice and organized for the arrival of baby Reese. I am grateful that I do take care of my body physically so that I can continue to nest, take care of my family and business while being pregnant. Eating healthy and still working out has given me the tools I need to take every day and do as much as I can on my feet before getting too tired to do anything. I only hope the way I treat myself during my pregnancy inspired other women to live up to their potential when pregnant. I don’t look at pregnancy as an excuse to be unhealthy, I look at it as a temporary challenge to maintain a healthy diet and my workout routines. I do, however, have a lot more compassion for being weaker or eating more grains or meat than when I am not pregnant because listening to my body is the most important part.
It was a normal Friday morning around 6:30 am, when I do my weekly run around downtown Columbia before working at Nourish Cafe & Market all day. I was feeling great physically and mentally I was so happy to be growing a healthy baby. As I ran by the University Hospital, the sign flashed the date September 28, 2018. I stopped dead in my tracks and began to cry as if it was the day I lost our baby. It was our baby’s due date that we had miscarried months before. I felt so many emotions at that moment. I felt guilty that I had moved on and was pregnant. I felt guilty that I hadn’t even thought about that day since getting pregnant again. I felt so much sadness that that was the day I was supposed to meet my baby and never was going to. I was 14 weeks when I had my molar miscarriage, and it was the hardest loss of my life. I called my husband and he talked me through it, but I will never forget that experience in my life and how much gratitude it gave me for the children I do have, and for being pregnant again at that moment. My husband and I believe that every experience in life makes you bitter or better, and our miscarriage made our relationship stronger than it ever has been. For that, I believe everything happens for a reason.
I know I keep saying how grateful I am about everything in my life during this pregnancy but it is so true. After being a homeless drug addict 11 years ago, I never dreamt I could be so blessed and have such a loving tribe in my life. This has been one of the best trimesters I could have asked for. I can’t wait to meet my sweet baby girl, and I know Dillon is ready for a forever friend as well.
Cheers to good health and happiness!