Baby #2... woohoo!

Our second kid will be here in September! A few thoughts in no particular order:

I am more worried than I was with Grace. I am worried about how my back will hold up during the third trimester under the strain of a huge belly. I now know how fast and furious and excruciatingly painful labor will be. May I make it to the hospital in time. I'm not looking forward to those first months of feeling like a tired zombie.

I am also so, so, so excited! Now that Michael and I have had the experience of slowly unwrapping Grace's personality and quirks over the year, we are looking forward to getting to know another little human. We both can't wait to welcome him or her into our family and to discover all of his or her little quirks, likes, dislikes, and personality over the years.

Grace and baby #2 will be super close in age - 18 months apart to be exact. To put that closeness into perspective: My first trimester & the last three months of nursing Grace overlapped. Also, I was pregnant with both babies in the same calendar year. In January and February 2013, I was pregnant with Grace. In December 2013, I was pregnant with #2. Was this planned? Yup! We've loved being parents and are ready to welcome another kiddo.

I've felt pretty exhausted and nauseated for the past two months. With Grace, I felt very sick, had tons of food aversions, and no cravings. This time around, the nausea has been more manageable and I've craved everything spicy, everything salty, and everything sweet. One day, I ate two spicy Ramen bowls back to back. Total sodium intake? 150% daily value. Oops.

Besides health for mama and baby, my main hope for this pregnancy is fitness. Due to lower back pain from hauling around my huge belly, I was pretty sedentary during the third trimester with Grace. It felt gross. This time around, I've scouted out local pools, purchased a maternity suit, and I hope to swim at least twice per week. I will also be doing as many pregnancy compatible ab workouts as possible to give my core the strength it needs to care for Grace and my awkward pregnant figure.

All in all, this pregnancy is flying by. We will eat, breathe, live for a few months and suddenly be a family of four.