so we’re having another baby!
We’re having another baby!
And I am oh-so glad the secret is out. Oh my gosh. First, let’s just say that it’s been the worst kept secret on the internet! Lots of people know and certainly everyone who came to my meetup last month knew (hence the lack of pictures!!), so waiting this long to tell you guys was excruciating.
I always feel out of the loop and not-so-connected when I have something that is taking up such a huge part of my life but I haven’t shared it with you guys yet.
So let’s overshare! Let the insanely rambly pregnancy updates resume. First, I’m due on Halloween, so for Max’s trick or treating sake, I’m hoping this little one stays put for an extra day or two. Heh.
This pregnancy has been wildly different from the last. I have been a lot more relaxed, for one thing. And I attribute that to four things:
- Max! He keeps me so distracted and busy all day long. I don’t have much time to (over)think.
- The book. I’ve had an enormous workload on my plate this year, with regular work, freelance, but also shooting the book and putting together my manuscript. Thankfully most of the recipe testing was done last year (I cannot even IMAGINE doing that while pregnant), but shooting, some occasional retesting and putting together the final manuscript has kept me busy.
- No fear of the unknown. Since I’ve already been through this once, my very worry wart mind was sliiiightly at ease. Slightly.
- This is TMI, but no spotting this time around! You guys might remember that with Max, I spotted everyday until 16+ weeks and again at 20 and 22 weeks. While my doctor said this was fine or normal (and was not concerned at ALL! Which freaked me out!), seeing that everyday was so anxiety-inducing and I was just waiting for the worst to start.
And the other way it’s been different? I.have.been.so.sick. HOLY CRAP!! When I was pregnant with Max, I had a few days where I was really down and out, but that was a joke compared to the last 15 weeks. I was so nauseatingly, pukey, horrible-feeling, dead-on-my-feet every single day, ALL day, from week 5 to week 15ish. I have never felt anything like it. It has been crazy! And I love being pregnant, so feeling that way has been a bummer.
I was even taking the b6 + unisom combo that my doctor recommended for my last pregnancy and it did nothing. In my true dramatic fashion, the last four-ish months have been a blur and I have no idea how I got so much work done!
I’m obviously not sure why I’ve felt so different, but I keep wondering if it’s because I’m three years older?! Everyone around me is all “oh you’re having a girl!” but I don’t necessarily buy that. Plus, since I know you guys will ask…
WE ARE NOT FINDING OUT AGAIN! It was such an amazing experience with Max, and we (Eddie especially) really want to experience that again.
Another way that this pregnancy is different? I have zero feeling of what’s in my belly. I was so sure that Max was a boy (I had a dream when I was very newly pregnant, but didn’t know I was pregnant, that I birthed a baby boy and named him Max’s exact name) almost the entire time. This time, I am really unsure. I am sort of feeling boy, but maybe because I already have one?
Everyone always says that they know I’m hoping for a girl, but just because I’m girly doesn’t mean I only want a girl. I have two brothers, so I think that if Max has brother, it would be such an incredible experience. It’s cliché but it is so true: we are just praying for a healthy baby.
Anyhoo, now that the all-day sickness is in the past, I have been hit with a horrific sinus infection and am unable to take my usual cocktail of cold meds. I’m living on apple cider vinegar (which also DID help a bit with the nausea) and lots of sleep, humidifier-ed rooms and trying to stay away from dairy until it passes, but oomph.
So how did I find out? If you’re a frequent reader to the baby page, then you know that we had been trying. I had taken so many negative tests over the last year that I was not expecting one in February to be positive, and it was! It was about three months after I stopped nursing, so even though I tried all the tricks of the trade while still breastfeeding Max, I just don’t think my body could do it for some reason.
We were leaving music class and I just couldn’t wait any longer. I was two days late but promised myself I wouldn’t test until five days… and totally caved. We stopped at the grocery store and of course, even though I am a WOMAN IN MY THIRTIES, I have to buy extra things in to cover up the pregnancy test in my cart while I walk through the rest of the store. Like what am I so afraid of? Why am I such an unassertive baby?!
The moment we got home and I took the test and saw a +, I had the same reaction as my first pregnancy. FREAK OUT! In the best way possible, obviously. But my heart was racing, I started pacing my house like a lunatic while Max just looked at me like I was crazy.
We got back in the car – Max and I ran to Target and grabbed a big brother shirt. I planned to have him in the shirt when Eddie came home, but much like the last time I found out, I forgot that Eddie had a work event that night and Max would be asleep by the time he got home. Luckily for me, Eddie ran home in the late afternoon. Unluckily for him, my aunt had dropped by to see us, and I didn’t want to spill the beans yet, so instead of having Max IN the shirt, I followed Eddie upstairs like a psycho and threw the shirt at him once we were in our room! He opened it and immediately started to bawl his eyes out because he is the sensitive one in the relationship.
HAHAHAHA. It was perfect.
Speaking of Max, he kiiiind of gets it, but I think he also gets it confused with my SIL who is pregnant and due in July. I didn’t mention it to him much for the first few weeks because we hadn’t told our families yet and I didn’t want him accidentally mentioning it, but now he knows for sure that “there is a baby in mama’s belly.” If you ask him if it’s a boy or a girl, he ONLY says girl (but also might be confusing that with my SIL, who is having a girl!) and says he wants to name her Pink. Bahaha. No idea where that came from.
So overall, I am feeling great pregnancy-wise. For those first few months, I was petrified that I was on the verge of getting scurvy because it felt like I was surviving on saltines, the occasional pretzel and water.
Speaking of water! OMG. I know that I had a slight weird thing with water early on in my pregnancy with Max, but this was on another level. I drink water all day – in fact, it’s all I drink and really like. I don’t like soda or carbonated beverages, I don’t drink any sort of juice, the only thing I drink (asides from alcohol, ha) is kombucha. Around 5 weeks I was immedaitely turned off from water – it tasted terrible. This lasted up until around 2 weeks ago. The only water I could drink has to be freezing ICE cold and out of a straw. Normally, I prefer it at room temperate with no ice. Crazy.
And speaking of alcohol, obviously, no I haven’t been drinking all of the cocktails I’ve been sharing! I made a ton early on before our kitchen renovation, when I had multiple people here to test them out. I’ve made a few on other days when I have someone here to test them. But otherwise, I’m going to be taking an obvious hiatus from cocktail Thursday posts! I’ll be sharing regular drinks, mocktails and maybe a post on my Crumbs section instead.
I haven’t had a ton of other food aversions, besides, well… everything. I haven’t wanted to eat anything because I’ve felt so awful. Things that have sounded particularly terrible are chicken, oh and sweet potatoes! Back in January when I had this 48 hour flu bug, I had been eating a bunch of sweet potatoes before and couldn’t stand the sight of them after that sickness. Since then, the aversion has just become worse.
No real cravings either, other than tons of fruit. Smoothies. Ice cold things, but not ice cream. I don’t want anything sweet, like chocolate or dessert at all. See the above where I only wanted fruit-flavored froyo with no toppings! SO weird. Um and the only real embarrassing thing I’ve been crazy? The Pittsburgh-style salads. Like grilled chicken or steak salads with tons of iceberg, piled high with cheese and French fries and covered in Italian dressing. I mean, GROSS right. May as well just order a cheeseburger. But. I only had one once… last week. Ha! I think that got me over it.
ALSO. I have to tell you about this weirdest thing. I have been wildly… irritable. SO irritable. And not with people, but with THINGS! Like, what? For the first three months, I’ve hated having my hair down and having any jewelry on. If I heard certain songs and music, I basically LOST my mind. I couldn’t stare at a screen. I couldn’t watch TV. Gilmore Girls annoyed the heck out of me. The only thing that keep me from losing my mind and puking at the same time was READING.
Guys. I freaking read 13 books in a matter of weeks. It was ALL I would do when I wasn’t working. I could watch an hour of our favorite shows or something, but couldn’t watch Sunday night TV for 2 or 3 hours. On the weekends, I would spend about 6 to 8 hours locked in our room working on my manuscript, and the rest of the time when I wasn’t playing with Max, I’d read if we weren’t out and about.
From the time Max went to sleep around 630-730, I would start reading and read well until the night. One of the early signs that I thought I *might* be pregnant was because that crazy insomnia came back that I had early on with Max. For the first few weeks, I would go to sleep and wake up at 2am and be up until 5 or 6. So some nights I would just read from 7 until 12 or 1. Some nights I read entire books in one sitting after he went to bed and while Eddie was working or sleeping. It was crazy!
Once I finished reading so much and was spending time working on the book, there were nights when I was going to bed at, um… 730. Basically with Max. Sometimes 830. Pretty sure there was a Saturday night here and there when I went to bed at 8 after working on the book from 12 to 7. I WAS REALLY A BALL OF FUN! Max had a ton of dada time on the weekends while I finished up the book.
In more pregnancy clichés, I feel like I started showing a lot earlier this time around. And right now, my bump is around the size it was when I was 20 weeks pregnant with Max. Eeep. I love it.
The kitchen remodel has been a blessing and a curse. After so much cooking and recipe development over the last few months, it was amazing to just be OUT of the kitchen and away from all that food while I felt so sick. But also, coming up with dinner was torturous because nothing sounded good. I actually am still having a tough time coming up with dinner ideas each day (of course, since the kitchen is taking weeks longer than I was told), which is frustrating. But also, okay, since I have to make dinner and feed another little mouth in this house!
Okay! Other than all that jazz… I think I’m done. 1962 words later, per usual. Glad to know we’re right on track! Thanks for reading all my wordy rambles. You guys are the best. We’re so excited!
219 Comments on “so we’re having another baby!”
Congratulations! So exciting and I love the ramblings…I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for #2 so I’ll just enjoy reading your thoughts…
thank you jen!!
Congratulations, Jessica! What an awesome surprise! So sorry you’ve felt so terrible, and I hope you’re bouncing back! Max is going to be the most adorable big brother!
thank you so much jessica!
Congratulations! I am a week behind you, due 11/8 with baby #2. My pregnancy has been pretty similar to my son’s and we are in fact having another boy. Bring on the mocktails!
I am due with baby #2 on the same day as you, November 8th!! So exciting. 😊 Bring on the mocktails indeed!
congrats to both of you guys!!!!
Congratulations!!! So exciting.
thank you becky!
Congratulations! How exciting! I had such a lovely pregnancy (I was that super annoying girl who loved being pregnant) and know that if I would do it again, I’d be throwing up 24/7. Hopefully you’ll get into that blissful 2nd trimester where all the sickness (supposedly) goes away. I’m thrilled that you’re doing Mocktail Thursday. I quit drinking alcohol a few years ago and am always looking for something fun to have at happy hour.
thank you jen!!
Congrats! I legit squealed when I saw the picture of Max kissing your belly.
thank you robin!
Congratulations! Love the floral print!
I’m guessing that you’re having a girl. Can’t wait to see her photos. :)
thank you leah!
Massive congratulations!! I’m so so happy for you guys and was just waiting for this announcement- the lack of meet up photos and all the alcoholic recipes made me suspicious haha
I’m actually due our first baby tomorrow and have re-read all your pregnancy posts which I found so refreshing, since u don’t love being pregnant either and there are not a lot of women to admit that!
Also I cannot stand sweet potatoes, but I do have HG so numerous foods are out for me…
I hope you’ll have a great rest of the pregnancy and another quick delivery!
PS: one of my cravings has been creamy coconut whip whenever I saw you post a recipe using coconut cream! So random!
thank you so much michaela!!! congrats to you and all the good vibes on your labor!
YAYYYY CONGRATS!!! I’m 9 weeks preggers and not sharing it on the blog is sooo hard. I’m also still in the midst of nothing sounding good ever so I relate!
thank you!! and YAY congrats to you! xo
So so so excited for you, Eddie and Max! Congratulations on this babe and I look forward to more posts about it!
thank you simone!!
Congratulations! I am 37 weeks (today!) pregnant with #3 – my first two just turned 3 and about to turn 5. My oldest definitely understands what’s going on, my youngest knows there’s a baby in there, but I don’t think he totally gets that a baby is coming to live in his house and disrupt every single thing.
I got hit with a horrific sinus infection too – at 32 weeks. It lasted about 3 weeks. The best thing for me was gargling with salt water a couple times a day, drinking tons of water, and acetaminophen when I just couldn’t take it anymore. In the beginning, when my cough was really bad, I took cough medicine before I went to bed (dextromethorphan is ok while pregnant, pseudoephedrine and phenylephrine are not) which helped me sleep. My dr said I could take half a dose of sudafed. I tried it once, after a particularly awful string of a few nights on no sleep, and it did absolutely nothing for me. Good luck. Being sick while pregnant and chasing a toddler is one of the worst things ever. Daniel Tiger and Word World got a lot of play in our house those three weeks. :)
oh my gosh. thank you so much for that! i also tried the cough syrup and is has done NOTHING. this is just so crazy! congrats to you and i hope you have a great (and healthy, haha!) last few weeks!
Congratulations, how exciting!! So happy for you three! <3
thank you claire!
Congratulations!!!! I loved reading all of your pregnancy posts with Max (and re-reading them 8 months later when I became pregnant with our first) so I can’t wait to hear all about your experience with this new little love! Hope you feel better soon – that all day nausea business is the absolute worst.
thank you!! xo
Big congrats! I also couldn’t get pregnant until I 100% stopped breastfeeding. I’m on pregnancy #4 now, and can say that each one is different. My first was a boy, and now I’m on girl #3. Different pregnancy symptoms do not indicate boy/girl (alas). Relish the good days! I have been wondering whether you were pregnant (for some strange reason) for a couple months, but you kept posting cocktail recipes, so I figured I must be dreaming. Ha!
it is crazy how they are so different!!! thank you! xo
Congratulations!! I’ve been following you for years and was pregnant the same time you were with Max! I’m also pregnant again now and due around Thansgiving.
love this!! thanks stephanie! congrats!
Yay!!! Congrats mama :) My son is 2 years old and I had a daughter 2 months ago. Same as you with the nausea… virtually none the first time around… horribly sick with the second. Both pregnancies very different. I breastfed my son until he was 18 months old. I found out that breastfeeding while pregnant is insanely painful. Thanks hormones! Anyway, congrats again :) Thanks for sharing your life and for all of the wonderful recipes. You’re the best!
thank you liz!! thank you so much for sharing!
Yay!! Congrats!!
thans meg!
Congrats!!!! I’m glad you got past that sick-every-day stage. With writing a book and everything else, you’re clearly a supermom. worship hands emoji
thank you annie!
Congratulations! I totally get the million times peeing on a stick. Possibly the most frustrating thing ever. Glad you finally saw a plus sign!
thank you elisabeth!
Congrats! Long time reader, first time comment-er :-) Just wanted to chime in that I am a room temperature water girl too but I’m currently 31 weeks pregnant and can ONLY drink ice cold water. Also through a straw is ideal. The more ice the better. We are having a girl so I’ll be curious to find out what you end up having and seeing if that is some sort of weird girl pregnancy symptom! Wishing you an uneventful pregnancy <3
thanks for the comment! isn’t that so funny?! congrats to you!
Max is going to be the best big brother! I’m glad I’m not the only one who awkwardly told my husband the news. I’m cracking up that you threw the shirt at him. Also, my husband too is the sensitive one in the family! Congrats again! I’m so so so happy for you and your family!
thanks kristen!!
Congratulations! You had Max exactly year after we had our first boy and my first pregnancy was so much easier than my current pregnancy too (due December, again)! I’ve been so so very sick and zofran doesn’t always help. I also knew my first was a boy. But this time I’m really unsure. Luckily we’ll find out soon since I’m old and decrepid (I could never wait!).
Wishing you a happy and healthy 5ish more months!
thank you so much! and congrats to you!!!
Congratulations!!! I’m super extra excited because I’m due with baby #2 in October too, and my son is just a few weeks younger than Max. So fun reading when I’m at exactly the same stage as you! Hope you feel better the second half of your pregnancy!!!
oh yay! congrats to you!!!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I can’t imagine your excitement. I LOVE YOUR DRESS here. I am a long-time closet reader and LOVE your beautiful photos and of course first cookbook. This week for the first time I’m trying one of your meal plans. It’s more ambitious than my usual meal plan but I love the variety and am excited for the challenge.
On a more relevant front, were you and Eddie worried that your second kid wouldn’t be as fun or cool as Max? My hubs and I have a beautiful girl who is SO FUN and we’re worried about a second kid being more lame… just wondering if it’s only us??? Ha!
haha thank you so much cathy!!
not gonna lie, max is so chill and happy all the time, we do occasionally talk about that, hehe! but maybe this baby will actually… sleep?! max still doesn’t do much of that. HA.
When you posted that no topping fro yo pic, I thought you might be pregnant! Congrats!
hahah! thanks nicole!
Yay!!! Super big congrats!!!!! I’ve been hoping to hear news of another baby! 💕 I just had number 4….and it was my first pregnancy in my 30s and I felt horrible the entire time (when I never got sick once with any of my other 3)! My first two were opposite genders and Thise pregnancies felt exactly…but my last two were the same gender and I felt completely different! 😉 So glad you’re not spotting!!! Here’s to a healthy pregnancy and baby!
thank you laura!! i swear that maybe it’s because i’m older too! so crazy.
Yay!! So happy for you!
thanks ali!
So happy for you guys!!! Congratulations!!
thank you cait!
Congrats! I’m also due with baby #2 on Halloween! I’m so excited to follow along with you. I also *thought* that I had bad morning (all day) sickness with our first, but it’s been on a whole new level with #2. I’ve only started feeling better in the last week or so, but now I too have a massive sinus infection. Congrats again! :)
ahhh love!! that is so exciting – congrats! and seriously, are we twins?!
Congratulations!!!
thanks eliza!
Congratulations and happy happy Mother’s Day!!!
thank you brandi!!
omg omg omg omg, thank you for the ramble!!! loved ALL of it…especially the reveal to eddie. it made me laugh…then tear up because i’m a wienie, but also think about someday revealing to chris…he’s also the sensitive one so he’s going to cry his face off too. also, i die at max wanting to name a baby sis pink…gotta love that practicality!
congrats to your growing family!! so, so, so happy for you. xx
hehehehe yes yes!! thank you jess!
Congratulations! Long time reader and lurker here. I’m also pregnant (with my first!) and due the week after you. Selfishly, I’m super glad you’ll be posting mocktails, etc. I’ve been looking at your agua fresca recipes from when you were pregnant with Max, so I’m glad there will be more similar content in the future.
Also, that dress is gorgeous! Would you mind sharing where it’s from?
congrats to you liz!! and thank you so much. the dress is from ASOS, they have awesome maternity stuff! http://us.asos.com/asos-maternity/asos-maternity-deep-plunge-floral-strappy-midi-dress/prd/7482661?&affid=14174&channelref=product+search&mk=abc¤cyid=2&ppcadref=753857714|38363268406|pla-278481699096&gclid=Cj0KEQjwo-XIBRCOycL7hsuI_NoBEiQAuS6HtB1vcyWh5bzlBacjy3P5BNz0EzwR8idSHD9xgu0v7owaAv6Z8P8HAQ
(also as a note, i feel like this dress runs sort of big!)
SO SO happy for you guys! I hope you feel better soon. I had the same issue with water in my second pregnancy and I had to have ice…which I don’t even really like. So weird! xoxo
thank you love!!
OMG CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So happy for you!!! I’m currently preggo and was SO SICK at first. It was just aversions to everything. Luckily all that went away, but I still haven’t had a weird craving, I wanted it to be something insane lol, but sadly, it’s been nothing. Like you, it’s been cold COLD COLD water. So fun reading this, cannot wait to follow along, and again, biggest congratulations in the world!!!
thanks love!!! so excited for you too!
Congrats!!! So exciting! I had a feeling you were for some time now. I’m due with our first on October 29! My bump doesn’t look anything like yours yet, but I can’t wait until it does. I was obsessed with your first pregnancy posts and now I’ll be going through it at the same time so I’m even more excited!
congrats to you jess!! and thank you so much! it’s insane how quickly my bump popped with this one!
THIS IS THE BEST!!!!! So excited for you. This post was juuuuuust what I needed on a gross Monday morning! Can’t wait for more updates!
thank you maggie!
Congratulations!!! I was hoping that you would be posting about another pregnancy soon! Love how you told Eddie. Too funny!
thank you janelle!
This is so exciting!! I have been anxiously awaiting for this post and was so HAPPY when I saw your insta stories this morning. I was pregnant when you were pregnant with Max and now at almost 18 weeks, we’re pregnant at the same time AGAIN!! LOVE it and I can’t wait to follow your journey. Congratulation to you and your family!
thank you aimee!! how exciting!! congrats to you!!
AHHH!! Congratulations! I love how you told Eddie, I still remember reading about when you on I told him about Max, both stories are so great!
haha thank you brittney!
My sister is due with baby #2 on the exact same day, which is also my husband’s birthday! Yay for Halloween babies!! Your invisible internet friend over here is crazy excited for you :)
i love that!!! thank you so much melinda!!
Congratulations!!! I’m a long time reader and due with our first on November 3rd! Luckily I avoided morning sickness this time around but the weakened immune system thing is no joke, I’ve had so many colds!! Even though I haven’t had the nausea, all food is pretty blah and I haven’t had an appetite! So excited for you and love looking back at the old baby posts for ideas and tips!
thank you so much kaela!! congrats to you!!
That’s so amazing!! Congrats!! I have two boys and a girl and my pregnancy with my girl was only different in the way that, literally all I ate through my pregnancy was yogurt with fruit and granola. I couldn’t get enough. It was amazing. With my boys all I wanted was sweets.
I hope you’re feeling better now and continue To feel good :) congrats again! So exciting!
thanks sariah! and i love that, so funny.
Um hi, are we the same person? I just had our second baby a few weeks ago. I have a 2 year old boy and the first pregnancy, I felt kinda blah but this time knocked me on my butt. I also wondered if it was because I was older, but people kept telling me it was a girl. We didn’t find out this time (we didn’t the first time either) and it was a boy! I’m so glad my sons have brothers. Congratulations!! Also Max will seem like a giant compared to the baby :)
that is so funny!!! congrats to you sara!
SO MANY THINGS TO SAY!!! CONGRATS for starters!! We are only three and a half weeks apart- I’m due the first week of October!! And, I am super pumped (selfishly) that you’re having a Halloween baby – BECAUSE I”M A HALLOWEEN BABY!! All the fall babies!
This is so great, Jess! I’m so pleased for your new addition.
And let me just say – as soon as I found out I was pregnant, I totally flipped the switch and had no patience for anyone’s crap (and was not afraid to let them know it! Woah) , sounds people would make (like eating! BARF), and things touching my stomach. Full panel pregnancy pants are the devil. Side panel all the way!!
congrats to you girl!!!
Congrats! I’ve been reading your blog for years and somehow had a weird intuition you were pregnant again. I cried when I read this post-I’m also pregnant again. Ha.
I’m right where you were, first trimester and dying. Nausea started early this time and doesn’t go away for a second. How did you do it?!?
I seriously just want to sleep for weeks and wake up on the other side.
thank you so much nikki! and that is hilarious. i get so emotional too. that nausea was so insane. i just kept telling myself that it COULDN’T last forever!!! and the days go so fast that i had to make it through!
CONGRATULATIONS YOU GUYS!! This is such exciting news! Max is going to be the cutest big brother :)
thank you tanvee!!
I had a feeling! So excited for you! I swear there is something in the water…everyone I know is pregnant! Congratulations!!!
i feel that way too!! one of my friends said we will feel that way until we are 40. ha! thank you ashley!
YAY! I’m so excited for you all!
thanks chelsea!
Congrats Jess! I’m excited about all the crazy pregnancy updates. My hubs and I are on the fence about a second. Our daughter will be two in September so we feel like we want to make a decision in the next six months to a year. Looking forward to reading your thoughts along the way! ❤️
thank you so much carolyn!!