How my second pregnancy is different than my first

It just hit me this morning that I am so close to my due date with this pregnancy. I am 24 weeks today and just saw when I woke up that we have another 30 days of quarantine. I tried hard not to write anything about COVID-19 but since it is really affecting us I had to. I just have a feeling that it is going to go even farther than that because there are a lot of people who keep going out socializing and not taking things serious. We are literally starting from nothing with this baby, so we need all the necessities for her and with all this going on if it goes through May I am going to have to cancel my baby shower. I know I don’t need to stress anymore than normal but canceling the baby shower is really going to hit me. My husband and I are both out of work with four other kids, bills, and having to try to get baby things also if we have to cancel the shower.

Okay I could write more about how much this is crazy and so on but this post is not about that. Today I am writing about how this pregnancy is different than my first.

It really is crazy how fast these weeks have been flying right on by me. Even though I am only 24 weeks and I know there will be more differences but these are the main ones that have been going on so far. I do plan on writing a birth story for her as well, and it wont be four years later, haha.

–I was very nauseous my whole first trimester with this pregnancy and with my oldest I only got sick once and it was a few days before I found out I was pregnant. With this one I was constantly nauseous and no food sounded good to eat. I ended up losing weight because I couldn’t stand the thought of eating.

–I am extremely exhausted with this pregnancy. I have been trying to really push myself to get up and get things done so I don’t just waste away my days. At work with this pregnancy I get to snuggle babies so I get to be sort of lazy. With my oldest I had a ton of energy, I feel like a lot of it came from the caffeine I was still drinking. I have learned a ton from my first pregnancy and changed the caffeine intake with this one. I cut out my coffee this time around and its rare that I drink caffeine, so I know that has some to do with it but I am trying to do better this time around.

–No more me time/relaxing time because I have a four year to take care of this time around. My days are so full now than they were with my last pregnancy that I just find myself going to bed early to get that rest I need.

–Eating better this time around, with my oldest I kid you not I had a blizzard from dairy queen just about everyday. I had the mindset that oh well I’m pregnant I can eat what I want. With this time around I have grown and learned a lot that I am eating better than I did before. We are cooking our meals more rather than eating out everyday. I don’t eat ice cream everyday, haha. I now have to take baby aspirin this time around because I did end up with high blood pressure with my oldest so that is another thing I am trying to avoid.

–I am not gaining a ton of weight this pregnancy and at first I was nervous about it because with my oldest I got big fast that even my nose was fat. I keep asking my doctor if she is alright they say she is. I gained about 50 pounds with my first and right now I have only gained around 8-10 pounds and I am over half way there. I am happy I am not getting crazy huge and I am happy she is healthy in there and measuring 4 days ahead so far.

–I have actually bought maternity clothes this time around because I am going to be big in the middle of summer so I needed shorts and tank tops. With my oldest I was pregnant during the winter so I could just throw on a hoodie and sweats and I was fine. Since I haven’t gained much weight so far I actually looked alright in the clothes I have gotten so far so it was not as traumatic as I thought it was going to be.

–I always have a sidekick for appointments now and we both love it. I still go to the same doctor I went to when I found out I was pregnant with my oldest. They still have a lot of the same people working there and they always love when he comes in and makes him feel welcomed, and he always asks for stickers every time we leave, haha. He has always been apart of every ultrasound and appointment and loves the fact he can see his baby sis and hear her heartbeat.

---

Hudson Baby Unisex Baby Plush Blanket with Security Blanket, Girl Elephant, One Size

This is the cutest and one of my favorite little girl blanket and security blanket. Pink elephants are the cutest!

This post contains affiliate links and I may earn a commission if you use them. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. It is no additional cost to you.

I have said before that I am using Babylist for my registry so it is a lot easier for everyone, I am putting the link on here for anyone who does not know what it is. It is a life saver and extremely easier than making multiple registries. I do not make commission on anything on Babylist I just wanted to share with my readers this app I love.

Babylist Link

I just wanted to say that I am so very thankful for everyone who reads and follows this blog, you are the best and I love you guys! Share the love and tell anyone you know about my blog, the more the merrier and it is so amazing!

6 things to do before baby arrives

Adding another baby into your family is very exciting, nerve-wracking, and a lot of preparation. You may have some items left over from your oldest, me on the other hand am starting from scratch. An important thing to do before baby arrives is doing special things with your oldest. The closer we get to July the more nervous I am about bringing a new baby home. The pregnancy isn’t scary, I am fully enjoying this pregnancy. I am more worried about the fact that Kendyn isn’t going to be the baby anymore and he is so used to having a ton of our attention. He knows that there is going to be a baby sister in a couple months and he acts very excited about it. He always talks to my belly, rubs my belly, and talks about her all the time. I am just nervous that he is all excited now about her coming until she is here and she needs a lot of my attention. So I have sat down and thought of a few things I have done and I will do with him to hopefully help with her arrival.

1- Talking about the baby

Ever since we found out that we were expecting we told Kendyn that there was a baby in my belly. At first I don’t think he really understood because I didn’t look any different at that time. But the more we would talk about it, and after we told everyone else and they started talking to him about it, it really seemed to click and now that he can see and feel her move he really loves it and is very excited. We have told him all the things he can do to help and how awesome it is to be a big brother.

2- Go through and get rid of old toys

You are about to get so much more stuff, make it fun for your child to go through all his/her old toys and clothes. About a month ago Kendyn and I went into his room, we sat down and made a pile for toys he wanted to give to other kids and a pile of clothes he has grown out of. He loved the idea that he was giving kids toys that they didn’t have (He didn’t play with most of it anyways.) He always loves going through his clothes anyways so that part was not that hard but toys were a little rough at first. Him and the new baby are going to share a room so I told him he had to make room for his baby sister when she came and he was okay with that.

3- Work on those transitions you have been meaning to do

If your oldest is still in diapers, crib, still has a pacifier, etc. and you have been wanting to break them of those habits, do it now and try to get them broke before the baby comes. I feel like my energy level will not be even close to what it is now when the baby comes for those arguments and battles and that’s a lot of moms with multiples. That doesn’t mean you absolutely have to do it and finish before the baby comes but it would be helpful to get a jump start on it now so you have a heads up. My battle we have been trying to work on and it has been a struggle is getting him to stay in his own bedroom all night. He will start in his room and always ends up in our bed. That will be a whole different post on why I will refuse to co-sleep with this baby because it has been a four year struggle with Kendyn. We are hoping that since him and the new baby will be sharing a room after she is here for a couple months that he will stay in there to “protect” her. I am also nervous of him waking her up at night because sometimes he will wake up crying and screaming from bad dreams and it is very loud, so I am trying to mentally prepare myself for those nights.

4- Have a mommy and me day

I know it might sound silly, but I do plan on making a special day before she comes with just me and Kendyn to do things he loves. There wont be many times after that we will be able to do that once the baby comes. I don’t plan on feeling guilt or obligated to do it, we both deserve a day to ourselves.

5- Go shopping

It’s alright if you are so overjoyed about buying those cute little baby clothes, and before you know it your oldest is growing right out of their clothes. I know I have been crazy about buying cute little girl clothes ever since we found out we were having a little girl. Luckily my son’s birthday is in March so this year we asked everyone to get him clothes for spring/summer and he insisted on lots of shoes. So he wont have to wear small and tight clothes because momma didn’t notice how fast he was growing. He loves getting new shoes but not so much clothes. Haha.

6- Take a ton of pictures!

If your anything like me, you already have a crazy amount of pictures of your kid(s) on your phone. I know me personally I have over 7,000 pictures (I know that’s a ton, but I can’t help it with four kids already.) I am going to keep looking like a crazy helicopter parent with my phone always taking pictures especially adding another to the group. I know it is cliché, but they really do grow up fast and having a baby and older ones trying to keep up on those special moments, it’s hard not to have a crazy amount of pictures. You will look back one day and be glad you were that crazy looking mom and they will be thankful that they can look back and see moments of their childhood.

 

I really hope that my fears of him getting completely jealous of his baby sis needing a lot of mommies help and attention are only fears and he is amazing with her. I just need to relax and hope for the best, he does amazing with other babies so maybe it will be the same with her.

---

Hopefully this post helps anyone who is adding another bundle of joy into their families. These are just a few things I want to do and have done already with Kendyn, and I love sharing my ideas with all of you! Let me know what you think.

10 items on my registry for second baby

After we had Kendyn four years ago we were not sure if we would have another baby or not. I always wanted one more but my husband was not there yet until we started trying in July of this year. Since we were not sure when and if we would have another one we got rid of just about everything we received and bought when he was a baby and from my baby shower. So we are starting from nothing this time around other than we still have the crib. We are having another baby shower since we really do need just about everything and we are having a girl this time. I have put together ten items that are on my registry for second time moms.

1-  

With Kendyn I did breastfeed but we had to eventually mix breastmilk with formula because he had reflux really bad so we used the drop in bottles but this time I just wanted to try something different just in case we have to mix formula again with her, and I love that you can find these both on amazon since I am a huge amazon buyer.

2-

Since I will have two young kids to lug a bunch of stuff around I decided to put a book bag diaper bag on the registry. They are a lot easier to carry and you can carry a lot more in them with all the space. This one especially is one of my favorites because of all the extra pockets and space provided.

3-

If you plan on nursing you will want a nice stash of stuff like breast pads, nipple cream, nursing bras, and milk storage bags if you plan on exclusively pumping and storing milk. I found this brand, Earth Mama this time around and heard great things about them so I am going to try them out.

4- 

I cannot say this enough, you will go through diapers so fast and you don’t even realize it until your down to your last two and need to rush to the store to stock up again. We are planning on doing a diaper raffle this time around because we did not do it for our first and we didn’t get many packs of diapers, we ended up with WAY too many clothes than we could even use. So don’t forget to put all sizes of diapers on your registry because you will need them. We plan on using Parents Choice or Aldi’s brand.

5-

These are amazing, with my oldest I used it for many different things. I used it for when I was nursing, sitting him up, he could lay on it on the floor, when his older siblings and dad fed him they would use it so their arms wouldn’t get tired. Lets just say these are a must have, and you can get different cute covers for them also.

6-

You can not have enough of these especially if your little one spits up or drools a lot.

7-

If you are anything like me, you will want your baby close to you at night to make sure they are okay. Having a bassinet in your room will help ease your mind having your little one close but not in the same bed. Once they grow out of it you can move them to their bed then. You can get many different kinds of these but I am okay with a simple one.

8-

These are awesome when your little one starts to sit up on their own. My oldest loved his, it was a tight fit with him being so chubby but he loved being able to sit up and see everyone at all times.

9-

These are always a great idea to have, it helps your baby with fine motor skills by holding on to the dangling toys and they love looking up at it. I also used mine for tummy time when my son was a baby.

10- 

These are a necessity in my opinion because a lot of babies sleep better when they are wrapped up tight like when they were in the womb and it helps them feel safe and comfortable.

—————————————————————————————————————————————

There are a lot more that are essentials like a breast pump, car seat, stroller. But in all honestly, other than possibly family members there isn’t many people who would get those big purchases for you. If you have friends that would then consider yourself lucky lol.

My dad and stepmom have helped out a TON with this pregnancy and they have bought us some big purchases and my stepmom is the one putting together my baby shower so I am very thankful for them.

I also found it to be a ton easier to use the app babylist for my registry this time around because you can add anything from any website to one place and give one like to your friends and family instead of multiples.

This post contains affiliate links and I may earn a commission if you use them. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. It is no additional cost to you.

Kendyn’s Birth Story

It has been four years since our little man came into the world and I have been wanting to write this and just haven’t been able to. I knew it would be too long because all of the emotions you are going through, it is difficult to keep it short and sweet. I knew you wouldn’t want to read tons of pages on it so I have been able to make it as short as possible.

I read and watched a million birthing stories a few weeks before Kendyn’s arrival. I know that was probably not the best thing to do seeing how this was my first and watching those videos made me a little nervous, but I also learned that not everyone’s experience is the same so that made it a little better for me to think about that.

My pregnancy was not too terrible other than the fact I did have high blood pressure and I did swell up quite a bit. Once I hit 36 weeks I was so huge and tired that I was ready for him to make his arrival.

At 37 weeks, just three days after my baby shower, I woke up for work that Wednesday morning and did my normal morning bonding routine with him where I would lay on my back for a couple minutes before getting ready and watch him move and talk to him. I had zero signs that my water would be breaking that afternoon. I went on with my morning and went into work, It was a sunny day and chilly because it was the middle of March.

Side note: I do not remember ever seeing my mucus plug come out so I was not expecting him to come three weeks early.

My job at the time was to drive mentally handicap adults to and from work, So I was at someone’s job to pick them up and I had to use the bathroom while I waited for him to get ready. I walked back out to the front desk to sign him out, I remember it was 3:30 p.m. and as I was standing there I felt this huge gush of liquid come out and go down my legs. I was very surprised at how calm I was and I just looked at the lady at the desk and calmly told her I had to leave and someone else would have to come out to pick him up because I am very confident that my water just broke. She was very nice and gave me what I always call “puppy potty pads” to sit on in the vehicle and she wished me luck.

As soon as I got back in the vehicle I called Marcus and told him my water broke and to meet me at the hospital, he is a dump truck driver and actually beat me to the hospital. I then called my boss and told her as I was heading back in to drop the vehicle off. I drove about twenty minutes back to work to drop off the work vehicle and have someone take me to the hospital. My boss was acting like a b**** and wasn’t going to let anyone take me to the hospital but I told her I was either taking a vehicle, she could have someone take me, or I was having the baby on the floor in her office. So she finally decided to have someone take me there, because we had one vehicle at the time and my husband would take it to work. My husband beat me to the hospital and was waiting by the front doors with nurses and a wheelchair for me. Once we went inside and up the elevator they wanted to check me to make sure my water actually broke, even though every move I made it was just gushing out. So I stood up from the wheelchair and they immediately had me sit back down and said, “Okay, lets get you in a room.”

They had me change into the gown and lay down on the bed to get me hooked up to all the monitors. By this time I had been in active labor for around two hours. I was dilating pretty fast but then stopped at 5cm. I kept wanting to go to the bathroom to make sure I got all poop out because I didn’t want to poop while pushing lol. They had me walk around the labor and delivery floor for about half an hour and then went back to bounce on the medicine ball. When I still wasn’t dilating quickly they ended up giving me Pitocin. After I had that, I could feel the contractions more. Up to that point they really were not that terrible. There were a couple times when the nurses were surprised I wasn’t reacting when they were looking at the monitors. Contractions really are like a wave like they say, they start very mild and then build to an intensity where you can’t do anything else but focus on it, and then they taper off.

I knew I wanted to have an epidural that has always been the plan even before I was pregnant. So once they offered it to me I took it. I am not going to lie, I was petrified of it but It really was not bad at all, the numbing shot they gave me hurt ten times worse than getting the actual epidural. Getting the epidural was just uncomfortable because you have to sit up, hunched over, and perfectly still while having contractions. But that relief once it kicks in is well worth it!

By this point I have been up for going on 12-14 hours, I was already so exhausted and haven’t eaten anything other than ice chips for about 8 hours. So after the epidural kicked in around midnight we all tried to get some sleep. Let’s just say I didn’t really get much sleep because I was already uncomfortable, still leaking fluids, and the nurses would come into the room multiple times to check me. The last time they came in to check it was a little after 1 a.m. and I was finally dilated to a ten!

 

This is when it really hit me, I was about to become this little boy’s mommy. It was finally time to push and meet our sweet little man.

Once they started bringing in all the supplies I started getting anxious and nervous. I remember the bright lights turning on above me and there was a mirror I could watch if I decided to, which I did sometimes and I do highly recommend doing this!

My doctor was not there yet so they were trying to get me to not push but if you have ever been in labor and your body is wanting to push, it’s nearly impossible to not do it. So they gave me a little more of the epidural to try to slow down contractions until my Doctor arrived. The nurse did let me push a couple times to try to get him started, she had me hold on to the bars that are attached to the bed and it was difficult for me to figure out how to push that way, it just didn’t feel right. Finally my doctor made it and it was game time! Being a first time mom and never having to push a baby out of me was hard to figure out and it took me two hours to push him out which made him get stuck in my birth canal. It was the most intense pain even with the epidural so ladies who go without It you are a hero! I remember them putting an oxygen mask on me and there was just so much going on I felt like it was strangling me, so every time I pushed I had to take it off. Marcus was such a trooper and kept rubbing my head and talking me through everything and I appreciate him so much he really is amazing!

After a long two hours of pushing and twelve hours of labor, Kendyn Roy Grimshaw made his arrival on March 17, 2016 at 3:58 a.m.

Our little St. Patty’s day baby!

The moment they laid him on my chest, nothing else in the world mattered. All the pain I felt just seconds ago went away. I don’t really remember birthing the placenta because I was in such awe that my son was actually here! I do remember getting stitches (second degree tear) only because I did feel a couple pinches from it, but I was so overwhelmed by all the emotions pumping through my body that I didn’t care. There truly is nothing in the world like that moment when he was first laid on my chest.

I don’t think I can even put this next part into words because my writing is not that amazing to put these feelings into words. When they put Kendyn in my arms for the first time and watching Marcus cut the umbilical cord, it was one of those few moments in life when I was living in the exact moment I was in and I was not worried about anything else in that moment in time. I was in complete waterworks, and I was later told by him that Kendyn’s head was extremely cone shaped from being stuck for so long, but I didn’t even really notice with everything going on. I do remember Marcus asking to hurry and put a hat on him before we take more pictures, haha.

And the bond we had from breastfeeding, that first latch was so precious and amazing. He did have a hard time latching but we eventually got the hang of it.

I remember when they were giving him his little bath he would start getting fussy and then the nurse would rub his back and he would immediately stop. He was already spoiled as can be. I remember being so exhausted by the time we made it to the other room, we all passed out for a few hours before it was time for me to feed him. Later that afternoon we allowed family to start coming in to meet him.

We left the hospital on March 19th around 12:30 p.m. to head home to transition into our new lives as a family of six! His siblings came over when we got home to meet their new baby brother and they all just adored him so much and still do.

Before I say I am finished with this post, I wanted to say one more thing. I am so very thankful for Marcus, my partner through this whole amazing journey. He was so calm, sturdy, comforting, and sincere throughout it all. I appreciate all you do babe you are my rock and I love you so much!

Birthday plans changed

With all of this craziness going around with the world with the coronavirus and yesterday was my son’s fourth birthday, we had to cancel going to Monster Jam for his first time and we are also waiting to have a party until further notice. We are planning on having just close family come over this coming weekend for cake.

 

Even though our big plans for this year had to be pushed back, we still celebrated our big boy on his birthday. So I still got up and made him his green birthday pancakes just like I have done since he turned one. He was so happy about it and made sure we put candles in them and sang happy birthday.

 

He had his older brothers and sister here and loved that they were here to sing to him and give him his gifts. His GG and aunt Ady came over and gave him his gifts from them he was so thrilled to have people he loves come over and tell him happy birthday. He was not able to go to school and bring in cookies for his classmates since the preschool/daycare he goes to and I work at shut down until further notice, but he was okay with that. He went to his brothers and sisters mom’s house for the night and had cake and celebrated his birthday with them last night, he was extremely excited about having a sleepover with them.

 

I am just glad we could still do something for him this year since everything is closing down and we have been stuck in the house. I hope that next year we can make up for it and he can FINALLY make it to Monster Jam.

First movie theatre experience

At what age did you take your child(ren) to the movie theatre for the first time?

My son will be four on March 17th and on March 7th my husband and I were trying to find something for us to do together that Kendyn would also enjoy. We had a gift card from Christmas we received as a gift from Christmas this year to the movies so we decided to take Kendyn to see Sonic the movie.

We have been contemplating taking him to the movies for months now and decided we might as well get if over with and at-least we wouldn’t be out too much money if he didn’t want to sit. My biggest concern was it’s hard for him to sit and watch something for a long period of time so I was prepared during the whole movie for him to want to leave.

On our way there, we were talking it up and saying it so awesome and it’s a HUGE screen you watch the movie on. We also prepared him and said that there are going to be lots of other people there so we have to be quiet so they can also watch the movie. He seemed really excited the whole way there asking questions and talking about it. Once we pulled up we reminded him once again that we have to stay in our seats and be quiet so everyone can enjoy the movie.

Once we walked in he immediately saw the candy and ice machine (of course lol). We told him if he was good waiting for the movie he could get his icee to watch the movie and he agreed. We got there a little bit early so we waited for them to start seating people and my husband pulled the trailer up for Sonic for Kendyn to watch before we went in. Once they were seating people we took Kendyn to the theater we were going to be in so that he could see how big it is. We found out seats and were the first ones in there, it was still pretty dark because the previews hadn’t started yet so after a couple minutes he got bored and I think a little freaked out so he got up and said, “ I have to get out of here.” So we took him out to get his icee and went back in.

After a few minutes more people started showing up in the theater and once the previews started he was starting to relax a little bit. The theatre we went to had the nice recliner seats and he insisted on sitting really close to me and my husband so we were pretty squished, haha. Finally the movie started and we got about thirty minutes in or so and he started to get antsy and wanted to get up again, so my husband took him to get some candy and came back. He was fine and laughing at the movie for awhile until his icee ran out so he insisted on getting a refill. So it was mommy’s turn to take him. I took him out, got a refill and went back to our seats. After we got his refill he was awesome the rest of the movie sitting on daddy’s lap.

In the end he did a pretty good job being quiet and only getting up twice for his first movie theater experience. He has been asking to go back to watch the new Scooby Doo movie even thought it’s not out yet, haha. That’s a win in my book and I wouldn’t mind taking him again sometime down the road.

What we’re your experiences?