Lauren Jolly Photography

Second pregnancy. It has flown by. Or maybe life is just speeding up? I can’t believe we are in the 5 week countdown to meet Miss Amelia. I haven’t blogged much or really even shared much about how this pregnancy has gone, so I figured I would take a minute to reflect on our journey.

There have been some similarities but also some differences between B and Amelia’s pregnancies. I was sick from 5 weeks until about 32 weeks with Bennett. I was on a minimum dosage of anti vomiting medicine and once I found what worked, life was good. I actually didn’t get sick with Amelia until about 8 or 9 weeks. SO- for those first couple of weeks, I was so excited that I might not have to deal with it! I thought… well, this pregnancy thing isn’t so bad. Famous last words! I have been on Diclegis again since about 9 weeks and I just refilled my prescription for the last time (because it goes until my due date). I have also been on twice the amount that I was taking with Bennett. I am SO thankful for this medicine though!

I know that everyone jokes about how you get nothing done for the 2nd baby and ummmm…. well… here I am at almost 35 weeks and there is still so much to do. We didn’t even start buying things for her until 32 weeks. Not because we don’t care… simply because our lives have been going by SO fast. I had my busiest year yet for Miss Jee’s and it was a challenge to balance mamahood to a 2 year old, running a business (through a successful and jam packed year), being pregnant and every other hat I wear. We have actual plans and dates though now for emptying, painting and putting her nursery together. I have ordered 90% of her stuff online, because who wants to shop pregnant and with a 2 year old… so my house has reached horder status. We have maxed out every nook in cranny in our home with all of her stuff because her current room isn’t empty from Patrick and I’s office stuff.

Naming this little girl has been an adventure! Patrick and I both thought we were having another little boy and really only focused on a boy name! That should of been another clue that this was a she and not a he. We decided on Amelia a few weeks before we found out the gender but the middle name was nearly impossible to decide on. Weeks and weeks and weeks went by and we would go back and forth on potential names. I would like something but Patrick would hate it. Or we would know someone from way back when who had the name or four other people at church had the same name. Finally, we found a name that stuck for a few weeks but wasn’t final just in case we “thought of something better”. I know that most people don’t find middle names important but I still call Bennett, Bennett Journey on a daily basis. SO – finding a name combo that I loved was so important. THEN, I found it. I loved it. It was perfect…. and my husband hated it. I didn’t give up though! I kept asking (pestering) Patrick about it. He finally said, “If you want this name to have ANY chance, you need to let me just think about it and stop bringing it up!” SO HARD! In his own time though, he slowly started to ask me again, “What was that name you liked”. I could see his thoughts swirling and his love for it growing. He was about 90% sure about the name and then the emergency landing happened with the plane. When he walked through the doors that night, I said, “After what you put me through today, I am making the final call… her name will be Amelia ______”. And that was that. He laughed, we both laughed and said hello to our daughter Amelia who finally had the perfect name like her brother. Since it took so long to name her, we decided to just wait until she is born to announce it. We want our family to meet her and hear her name before we make the announcement public.

Another huge difference between Bennett’s pregnancy and Amelia’s is the type of prenatal care I’m receiving. Switching to midwifery care at Baby + Co has been one of the best decisions I have made during this pregnancy. I have loved every single minute of my care through them. Seriously, go take a tour…. or even just give them a call. It’s a night and day difference.

Even though I feel as though I have nothing done and time is running out, I am so excited to meet our sweet baby girl. I know there are hard moments and sleepless nights BUT there is so much good that comes with new life.

OH, here is one thing we are doing differently this time around. At 39 weeks, I’m going off of social media until after she is born. The watched pot doesn’t boil syndrome is real. SO, when I reach 39 weeks, I will be disappearing until a few days after she makes her arrival. Being at a birth center means we are going home 4-6 hours after she arrives. This means we could be going home at 2 am… which means our family won’t be meeting her until the next morning/day. We want to make sure our immediate family has the chance to meet her before the social media world SO yall will just have to wait a little bit longer.

Gosh, I feel like this post is already so long so I’ll wrap it up (plus Bennett’s nap is over). Can I ask you to be praying with me over the next couple of weeks?

1. Pray/Agree with me that everyone in our household stays healthy. Pray for a healthy remaining pregnancy and that Amelia is growing just the way she should be.
2. Pray that I get as much rest/sleep as possible. Sleep has been so hard for me this pregnancy and the last thing I need is to go into labor feeling worn down.
3. Pray for the timing of my labor. We are praying that I go into labor while Patrick is home (before his 1.5 hour one way commute).
4. Pray for the right midwives to be present. I love them all and truly believe that every single one of them would be a perfect fit so pray that as Amelia’s birth story unfolds, we have the perfect birth team.
5. Pray that we finish everything around the house. We have to clear our old office, paint it, assemble all of her furniture and then start the actual construction process on my downstairs office (which was just approved by a structural engineer).
6. Pray for Patrick. As much as I say, “we have a lot of do”, most of it is stuff he has to do (like the construction for my office.) This is all on top of our already busy and tiring schedule. Pray for strength and energy!
7. Pray that this labor is slightly shorter than Bennett’s. HA. No… but really.
8. Pray for a peaceful and perfect labor and delivery. Patrick and I truly are believing for a stress free, peaceful day (or night) as we bring Amelia into this world.
9. Pray that Bennett transitions into being a big brother well
10. Pray we adjust to being a family of 4 well.