Pregnancy #2 Update! (finally!)

WOWZA! It has been much too long since my last post and for that, dear readers, I apologize.

I'll cut straight to the chase: I am expecting #2! Which is great news and all, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I had a TERRIBLE first trimester, and this partly accounts for my absence on the blog. I pretty much didn't cook (or eat) anything for about two months. Well, I ate some, but it was mostly pre-made soups and frozen chicken nuggets (first time in my life I bought frozen nuggets... and it felt strange, but necessary). I'm not sure why the nausea felt so bad this second time around; I had it with Emi but it was much more manageable. Maybe I'd forgotten how to be pregnant or maybe I was just too busy running around with a toddler to take good care of myself. Either way, it was a mess and compounded by the fact that both J and E were also sick for a good chunk of that time. My advice to myself if I ever experience another first trimester: MAKE FREEZER MEALS AHEAD OF TIME. BEFORE YOU GET PREGNANT. LOTS OF THEM.

But, we made it through and I am now happily in the second trimester. Yay! I am still exhausted but at least I can eat. And, oh boy, CAN I EAT. I must be having a huge baby or something because I am loading up on calories like there's a famine coming tomorrow. I am not exaggerating. If I don't eat a protein rich snack (more like a “mini-meal”) every TWO hours on the dot I am pretty much screwed for the rest of the day. And by that I mean, I become irreversibly nauseous, tired, and cranky...and you might want to stay away. Let me give you an idea of my typical morning:

- Wake around 6:00 or 6:30 a.m.

- Eat breakfast around 6:30 or 7:00: two pieces of whole wheat toast with peanut butter and honey, a piece of fruit, a cup of herbal tea, and half of a bagel with cream cheese

- Snack at 9:00: a fried egg over rice, some chips and salsa

- Lunch at 11:00: a HUGE salad (lettuce, spinach, feta cheese, croutons, sunflower seeds, and my homemade dressing with olive oil and vinegar), baguette with cheese and/or butter, chocolate or something sweet for dessert

All of this before noon! Every. Single. Day. And you better believe that I am having another huge snack about two hours later, at 1:30 p.m. Needless to say, our grocery bill has skyrocketed and though I like to blame it on E, I know she's not the culprit. I think part of the reason I am loading up on fat and protein so much this time around is because I was slightly under-weight when I got pregnant. For some reason, after having E and breastfeeding for so long, I never quite regained my pre-pregnancy weight; as in, I eventually weighed less than before I got pregnant with E (which is weird to admit because most women don't have this problem after having kids). It was an issue for me because I don't feel like I was at a healthy weight for my height and no matter what I did, I couldn't seem to gain it back. So, anyways, I truly believe that our bodies are wise and know what they need. I'm just listening and obliging.

Oh, and before I forget, THIS happened too:

16 Weeks (Pregnancy #1)

16 Weeks (Pregnancy #2)

 They say it's normal to show much sooner the second time around, but this is kind of ridiculous. I am trying hard not to imagine what I'll look like at 40 weeks this time around. Yikes.