2nd Pregnancy Thoughts

My due date is next week! Pretty crazy. To sum up the experience, I would say that this pregnancy was harder in the first trimester and easier in the third. I was mildly to moderately nauseous pretty much every evening for the first trimester. It was great getting to the second trimester where I felt walking around and living my life- except no running. My body did not appreciate my few attempts at any level of speed above a walk. I played volleyball once or twice a week (with far less jumping and hustling than my norm) up until 36 weeks. I might have kept going longer, but I was already dilated to a 2 and my doctor told me to take it easy. At this point, I get Braxton Hicks contractions whenever I bend over or go on walks. Or sit still. Or sleep. They are way more frequent and strong than I had with Elliot, but I will gladly take them over the non-stop feeling of discomfort and back pain from last time.

I remember being far more uncomfortable at this point with Elliot. I feel like I'm a bit smaller, and I'm more at liberty to change positions throughout the day than I was last time. A big part of it is also mental. Last time around, I mentally moved my due date up a week when I was dilated to a 2 a month early, which made it incredibly frustrating as my due date came and went (he was 3 days late). I was also super anxious about having his birthday be as far away from Christmas as possible. This time around, I'm mentally preparing myself to go late again. It makes a HUGE difference!

New on my "prep for having a baby" to-do list this time around is getting Elliot ready to be a big brother. We talk about it all the time, and he's sweet about it. He will already put blankets on my belly saying that they are for Annabelle. He helped me put her clothes in her dresser and likes to talk about how she will like to watch him do all sorts of stuff. I'm just as excited for Elliot to meet Annabelle as I am to meet her. 

Just a few more days!