I’m so excited to be sharing this second pregnancy journey with you!
As I mentioned in my announcement post this pregnancy is technically a “geriatric” or “advanced maternal age” pregnancy so my experience is definitely going to vary from my first. Obviously, all pregnancies are different, but medically speaking there will be additional tests and likely some close monitoring to ensure a healthy pregnancy and delivery for both of us.
Just like with my first pregnancy, I plan to write these trimester update posts almost like long form diary entries to myself, but I also want to share my experience with you in case you are also pregnant, TTC (trying to conceive), or are just generally curious — especially about what you can expect from a [fairly average] pregnancy after turning 35.
And fair warning: these posts might get a little TMI (that’s the thing about pregnancy… you have to quickly get comfortable with all kinds of body functions), but I promise I won’t get too graphic in sharing my details. 😜 (That said, I’m an open book and happy to share anything you want to know if you send me a DM on Instagram!)
20 WEEK ANATOMY SCAN
This is such a sweet appointment (but also a bit nerve wracking!) while the sonography tech is inspecting each and every tiny part of baby. It’s a LONG list of photos for the sonographer to capture and with a moving target it can take an hour (or more) to get them all! Babies aren’t always super cooperative for this exam so it just takes patience. 😉
Our Baby Girl is measuring well and right on track! I loved being able to see all of her tiny features on the screen… it’s pretty incredible to see how much babies have progressed over the course of a few weeks.
Baby has been wiggling and twirling up a storm every day — it feels wild to be able to feel her as much as I have been. My placenta has planted itself in a posterior position (in the back of my uterus) this pregnancy so I can really feel all of baby’s movements. With Sophie my placenta was anterior (in the front) so it buffered a lot of the movement sensations for me until Sophie got farther along. Knowing this will be my last time experiencing pregnancy has really helped me savor every little twirl.
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photo provided by Maui Family Photography
FAMILY VACATION
At the end of February (Week 21) we spent a week on Maui, Hawai’i as a sort of last hurrah as a family of three (and partially because my husband and I never got to take a “babymoon” during my pregnancy with Sophie due to COVID travel restrictions). It was an absolutely incredible visit and the time we had together was so special; I’ll cherish it forever.
If you have any interest in our trip, I wrote a post including all of the details of our Maui visit here and as well as tips for visiting the island with little ones here.
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BLOOD PRESSURE UPDATE
I think that at this point I have proven to my medical team that my heart is functioning normally, but I am continuing to take Low Dose Aspirin every day (as prescribed) and monitor my blood pressure just to make sure everything continues to stay level. As a part of this blood pressure monitoring, my fetal / maternal specialist team has also put me on a schedule of additional fetal growth scans and then later on (in the third trimester) we’ll add non stress tests (NSTs).
Thankfully, baby is continuing to measure right on track, staying in the average range for everything. General growth, heart functionality, umbilical cord flow, etc. My blood pressure was also normal at this appointment and has been that way at home since I started monitoring it (I’ve also started skipping my morning coffees on appointment days to eliminate any potential heart rate elevation). I’m not surprised by the blood pressure results, but it feels validating to prove to my practitioners that I’m not actually at risk of high blood pressure / hypertension (that said, I am grateful for the extra care and attention; I’d rather that they err on the side of caution than disregard concerns). I know this extra care is due to a medical concern, but the silver lining is being able to see baby more frequently (every 4-6 weeks) leading up to birth! For right now we’re just continuing on the current monitoring plan and will reassess my regimen if anything changes.
It sure is amazing to see our sweet baby at this stage because I didn’t get to with Sophie. Normally, there are only two routine fetal scans — one at the beginning (~8 weeks?) to confirm conception and make sure it’s a “normal” pregnancy (not ectopic, etc), and then the anatomy scan at ~20 weeks. You can elect to have a nuchal translucency scan between 11-13 weeks, but that’s not considered to be a mandatory ultrasound. The silver lining of all of these extra scans is being able to see our baby more often and at various stages of her growth!
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GESTATIONAL DIABETES SCREENING
The gestational diabetes screening is probably one of the most dreaded routine tests during pregnancy and while I agree that the drinks aren’t particularly delicious, they’re not nearly as bad as people say they are. In my pregnancy with Sophie I was given the Orange flavored glucose drink and for this second pregnancy my OB provided me with the Lemon-Lime flavored glucose drink. After having had both flavors I would say that they essentially tasted like Gatorade or flat soda to me, which isn’t something I would necessarily choose to drink everyday, but I’d argue is far from terrible… I can think of plenty of other things that taste a lot worse.
All of that to say, it’s possible that your palate is different from mine and you might hate it, but I really want to assure you that it’s not that bad. Don’t let the internet scare you. 😉
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My glucose screening was completed during Week 26 (which is protocol; typically this test occurs between weeks 24-28). My instructions for the test were as follows:
Eat your breakfast or lunch at the usual time.
Drink the glucose drink 2 hours after the meal.
Consume ALL of the glucose drink within 5-10 minutes;
DO NOT eat / drink anything until blood is drawn.
Blood must be drawn 1 hour from the time you finish drinking the glucose.
*Make arrangements to be at your lab location at least 10-15 minutes before the hour is up.
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I basically just chugged my glucose drink to get it over with; no sense taking my time to savor it. 😂 I’m already an anxious person so participating in this very time-sensitive task during both pregnancies has had me the MOST stressed about completing it properly. Thankfully, everything worked out the way it was supposed to and I didn’t have to try again on another day. Results were provided after 2-5 business days; baby & I received a clean bill of health, so we managed to avoid any gestational diabetes concerns.
During my pregnancy with Sophie I planned to get my glucose test blood draw done as soon as the lab opened in the morning to get it out of the way ASAP, but that meant that I ended up accidentally fasting (waking up after the window of time that you’re able to eat before the test). Aside from being starving I was also so concerned about making sure I got the timing right on consuming the glucose drink and then getting to the lab appointment on time that I foolishly didn’t hydrate NEARLY enough beforehand and the lab tech had a really tough time finding a good vein so I ended up leaving with a lot of syringe pricks and bruises, which was totally my fault, not hers — learn from my mistake!
*Pro Tip: Remember to drink LOTS of water before you take your glucose.
Because I didn’t eat breakfast last time I was also at a bit of a loss when it came to figuring out what to eat for breakfast that wouldn’t get processed as sugar and provide a false positive for this pregnancy’s glucose test. I typically prefer a lighter breakfast, if I’m going to have one — a yogurt parfait with berries and granola, a fruit smoothie, or a protein shake… I was nervous that these might be too “sugary” due to the fructose, etc., but I found some suggestions from this trusted resource and discovered that many of the things that I already enjoy for breakfast were on the list (nut butter on whole wheat toast, plain Greek yogurt with berries, etc.) which was a huge relief because I already have all of those elements on hand!
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SELF CARE
As my belly has emerged, I’ve found that the skin on my abdomen has been getting increasingly itchy as it expands — my favorite way to soothe and moisturize my torso is with Babymoon Belly Balm by Summer Fridays. There are so many belly lotions, balms, oils, and serums available for pregnant bellies and I really don’t think that you can go wrong with any of them, but I personally love the consistency and the way this one makes my skin feel after applying. I put it on at least once a day, sometimes twice if I’m feeling extra dry / stretched.
If you remember from my first trimester post I shared that my OB/GYN wants me being super strict about my diet and weekly movement goals… and I haven’t been as consistent with that as I would like. How does anyone [especially with little kids] make time for an HOUR’s worth of exercise every day? I feel like the precious little time that I do get during Sophie’s nap and after bedtime is spent preparing more play activities, cleaning / tidying the house, taking a shower, running errands, planning for baby’s arrival, etc.
I will note that at a recent appointment my physician specifically said that she was pleased with my gradual weight gain (that it seemed in line with a healthy pregnancy) and to “keep doing what I’m doing” so that was very encouraging. As the weather is beginning to warm up I’m looking forward to taking more stroller walks with Sophie at our favorite local park to get my steps in! I hope that will be sufficient for my final trimester because I can already tell that I’m starting to slow down a bit. 😅
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RECENT FAVORITES
A few items that have been in heavy rotation lately:
My new Légoe Heritage Shift Dress is so comfortable and I loved wearing it on our recent trip to Florida!
Speaking of Florida, my feet and ankles got CRAZY swollen while we were there due to the miserable humidity/heat (sorry, I’m just not cut out for the FL life #hyperhidrosisproblems). I sorely regretted not packing my Bombas Compression Socks — they were the first thing I put on when we got home from our trip and within 24 hours my feet and ankles were back to normal. I can’t recommend them enough! I try to wear them as a preventative measure, but they also help to reduce existing swelling.
As part of my attempt to flush out whatever was causing my swollen feet I supplemented my water intake with Liquid IV Electrolyte Drink pouches to help boost my hydration. I love to use them, especially during the warmer months and when I am pregnant because there just don’t seem to be enough hours in the day to be able to consume the amount of water that we need.
In case you’ve somehow missed me mentioning these Teleties Flat Clips, I have to share about them again because they’ve been such a gamechanger for me. They’re so pretty, they actually hold my hair in place, and they’re way more comfortable than any other clip I’ve ever worn. I’m absolutely popping one into my hospital bag.
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MISCELLANEOUS
We have baby’s nursery probably 85% complete already!
I’m sure that most people will think this is a pretty boring decision, but in regard to baby’s furniture I just ended up ordered the exact same set that we bought for Sophie. We have loved her furniture so much and the fact that the beds can convert to grow with the girls was a major selling point for us. Even though the “foundation” of the girls’ rooms are the same, I definitely plan to decorate the baby’s space a bit differently than Sophie’s; their themes will be coordinated, but not identical.
For Sophie’s nursery / bedroom I sort of drew from the inspiration of a Parisian rose garden and I still adore so many of the pieces we decided on for her space. I’ve been slowly making selections for the baby and the items are beginning to arrive so it’s been fun to see the room start to become cohesive and styled since it sat empty for almost a year.
I will of course share everything after we get the room fully put together.
I’ve also been in MAJOR nesting mode for the past few weeks. I recall being SO easily exhausted during my third trimester with Sophie that I want to try to get as much done as I can while I’m still pretty mobile and have the energy to check tasks off of my “To-Do” list. I’ve started to prepare for baby girl’s arrival, such as cleaning our collapsible baby bathtub, washing and organizing linens such as clothes & bedsheets, preemptively sanitizing bottles and pacifiers, and so on.
As I mentioned above, I’ve really been chipping away at the baby’s nursery, in addition to also making sure that my postpartum kit is stocked and the formula station in our kitchen is ready to rock and roll. I’m working on sterilizing all of our baby bottles and making sure that the formula maker is clean and ready to go! This formula / bottle duo were easily two of our best purchases for life with Sophie.
We saved all of Sophie’s baby gear so we’re already pretty prepared for baby’s arrival in that regard, but now that we’ll be juggling two little ones the only “baby gear” item that we’ve been shopping for is a double stroller. I feel confident that we have everything else that we need, but that’s been my biggest blindspot. We have LOVED our UPPABaby products, but Sophie is rapidly outgrowing the largest toddler stroller seat that they offer so I’ve been trying to determine a suitable alternative. I’m definitely going to need something to push both girls around in, but don’t want to have to go through the process of buying a whole new stroller setup with another brand for something that Sophie will likely only fit in for a short time, you know?
I have seen a TON of modern wagons on the market in recent years and so many of my parent friends have & love their wagons so I feel confident that that setup would probably be our best bet for toting the girls around. Sophie’s infant carseat is still in excellent condition and doesn’t expire until Sept 2027 so we’ll be using that for the new baby; I was thrilled to discover that the wagon I’m interested in offers infant carseat adaptors so that you can use a variety of other brands’ car seats with it (including our UPPABaby Mesa car seat!).
I’ll definitely share more about which wagon we chose after we check it out / make the purchase.
My mom and her best friend (who is my godmother and essentially a family member) threw us the sweetest baby sprinkle since we didn’t get to have a baby shower when I was pregnant with Sophie (due to the global COVID-19 pandemic). My husband, Sophie and I flew to Florida to spend a week with my mom and share our excitement about our growing family with an intimate group of loved ones at the sprinkle. It was beautiful and small and just lovely to be able to visit with everyone over a delicious meal! We felt so special and loved — and how cute is the decor?! They really nailed the darling soft pink bunny theme! 🥹 It was perfect.
It seems wild to me that we’re already 2/3 of the way to meeting this new baby… the past few months have truly flown by. I imagine this is likely due to having a toddler to distract me from thinking about being pregnant all day long, but it’s still mind-blowing that we’re going to have another tiny family member in a few short months.
Thanks so much for joining me on this journey! Please let me know if you have any questions in the Comments section below; I’m happy to answer them as best as I can. 😊
Sending hugs!
xx, Natalie
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