Monday, May 1, 2017

Pregnancy 3.0

This third pregnancy has been no joke, I've decided that each one has been progressively harder. When I was pregnant with Owen I felt pretty good most of the time but I also had plenty of time to relax and listen to my body. I took lots of naps and could forego the day's to-do list if I needed to rest. Being pregnant with Wes was harder but Owen still took a long nap every afternoon so I still napped when I needed to and Ty could hang with him when I needed a break. This time around listening to my body and resting is a much harder feat. Wes naps but Owen doesn't so on my days home resting isn't much of an option. And now that we are living in Gig Harbor I have added an additional 3 hours to my already long work days. I did the math and I'm gone from the house from just after 5 am until around 9 pm- close to 17 hours. They have always been long days but being pregnant make them almost unbearably long.

I had significantly more nausea with this pregnancy and threw up almost every day for the first 12 weeks. Even worse than the nausea I've been quite ill three times since I started growing this baby. Once with some horrible virus, once with strep throat and once with an awful GI bug. It feels like every time I get into a good grove some horrible illness knocks me down for a week. I've been sick more in the the past year than in the rest of my adult life combined. I knew that having a third baby wouldn't be easy and the first 20 weeks certainly confirm that.

Ty has been absolutely amazing through all of this. He has cleaned all four toilets every week and picked up the slack in the housekeeping department. He has been incredibly supportive of me napping on the weekends and resting when I can. I've found that as our daily burden has grown over the years we have become a much better team. Of course all spouses have things that annoy them about the other but I rarely feel like I need to complain about those anymore because I know that Ty is working hard every single day to be a good dad, husband and provider. I've always been very independent and never felt like I needed someone to "take care of me" but I am so thankful to have someone who does when I need it the most.

If I'm being honest, for a lot of this pregnancy I really questioned if we'd made the right decision to have a third. I wasn't sure if I was pushing my luck since we already have two sweet kiddos and a solid routine. But as the weeks have marched on I've been getting increasingly excited and less worried. Being a mama is my greatest life work. There is nothing I cherish more than the immense gift of rocking my babies to sleep at night and watching their sweet little hearts grow and mature. I know I can do hard things and as a family we'll rise to any challenge that comes our way. I love the little bean already and know my life wouldn't be totally fulfilled if he/she wasn't a part of it. I'm 24 weeks today and feeling great. I couldn't be more thankful for the gift of my family and pray I'll have the grace to count my blessings, even on my toughest days.

Pregnancy craving-- carrots, apples and tea.


8 weeks 

12 weeks 

16 weeks

20 weeks 

22 weeks