Ahhhhh, I feel like I’m going to be doing these posts a little backward since I’m 26 weeks pregnant now, but I have so much to talk about that includes the first trimester, what we are doing differently this pregnancy, and even though I’m nearing the end of the second trimester – I’m going to include a post about that as well!
If only to “journal” this experience with my 3rd baby, but MOSTLY to share my experience with others who are first-time moms or even those who have had babies before but want to learn new tips/tricks.
Third Pregnancy
This pregnancy we are actually doing a home birth with a midwife (my top reasons for using a midwife are shared here) and I’m so excited about a whole different experience with this labor and birth. I honestly went back and forth about home birth with Zoya, but we ended up having her at the hospital with an amazing OB. It was 99.99% an amazing experience in the hospital and I loved my OB so much.
I’ll do a full post about why we are going with a midwife/home birth soon!
This pregnancy has been SO SO different than my pregnancy with Zoya. I honestly thought the more pregnancies I had and the older that I got that the harder they would be on my body, yet this pregnancy has been a complete 180 from hers. I was constantly having some sort of pain in my body with her – I had really bad pubic bone pain with her. Even just walking was really painful with her.
- I never slept at night and had the worst insomnia.
- I was counting down the weeks with her at like 20 weeks.
- I was so over pregnancy at that point.
This little bean has surprised me in so many ways, but the biggest blessing has been being pain-free so far! I’ve been able to work out 3-5 times a week, walking doesn’t hurt (I do waddle though lol), and I’m mostly able to sleep at night (we are night potty training Zoya so that kinda interrupts sleep a bit).
It truly is incredible how pregnancies are so different from each other!
We know the gender, which is also something different we did this time. Not knowing with Zoya was the ultimate surprise and I loved that moment that Jose and I got to share when they placed her in my arms and we found out that she was a girl. It was a very beautiful, special moment that I’ll never forget.
Naming the baby
I didn’t want to be surprised this time around (been there, done that) and Jose wanted to know too, so we found out at our anatomy scan 6 weeks ago. We have two names that we have agreed on, but we won’t decide on the name until we actually meet the baby.
Honestly, there’s something sweet and sacred about meeting the baby, laying your eyes on them, holding them, and just knowing by that interaction what they should be named.
We went in with two girl names and two boy names when I was pregnant with Zoya since we didn’t know she was a girl. And although I LOVE the name I picked out… once I met her, I just knew that she was meant to be Zoya.
How the other two are doing
Speaking about Zoya… ahhh Zoya. She is our little firecracker and we’ve started calling her tornado sometimes because she truly just comes into whichever room she is and takes over and leaves behind a mess when she’s gone. It’s quite impressive…
She is also so sweet. Literally never forgets about the baby in my belly and the first thing she usually does in the morning is make me show her my belly so she can kiss the baby, “squeak” my belly button, and then give my belly a big hug and say “I love you, baby”. It melts my heart every time.
I can’t wait to see her interact with the baby and although I’m nervous because Zoya has only one speed – I just know that she’s going to be the best big sister. The fact that they are going to be 2.5 years apart is also super exciting to me since Brody and Zoya are 7.5 years apart. I’m very grateful that they are going to be close in age and have each other as they grow up.
Brody on the other hand… will feel the baby kick every now and again, but is not as obsessed with my belly as Zoya. He will continue to be the best big brother ever though.
I’m so excited to be using a midwife with my third pregnancy! If you’re interested to read why I’m using a midwife this time I share all the deets here!