From the moment I found out I was pregnant in 2019, I was excited – but anxious. I am aware of everything that comes along with pregnancy, as well as all of the things that can happen. I Googled almost everything. Every symptom, every kick and before every meal to ensure what I was eating would be ok. The wait between finding out you’re pregnant and your first doctor’s appointment/first ultrasound can feel like an eternity. The anxiety surrounding the ultrasounds made me nervous and throwing a global pandemic in the midst of my first pregnancy only added to my stress. But since Jaiden’s arrival, our lives have never been the same.
Fast forward to my second pregnancy: I barely had time to think. When you have a child already, it is a pretty good distraction. I ate well and had a lot of exercise chasing Jaiden around (who was a year and a half old when I got pregnant); however, my pregnancy with Nova was shrouded in nausea and low blood pressure. I had morning sickness with Jaiden, but it was nothing compared to my morning sickness with Nova. Almost every single day of my pregnancy with her, I threw up. Food aversions were much more intense with Nova as well. It also didn’t help that the rest you were able to enjoy with your first pregnancy is out the window when you already have children.
The wives tales for gender prediction rung true for the most part – aside from the heartbeat. I carried lower with Jaiden than with Nova (which is correct in terms of the gender prediction wives tales); but Nova’s heartbeat was slower than Jaiden’s (opposite of the wives tales). I had more morning sickness with Nova (correct), and I craved sweets with Nova, opposed to craving salts with Jaiden (correct).
Despite the pregnancy differences, we could not be more happy with our two amazing kids. Once Nova was born, our family felt complete and we feel lucky to experience the best of both worlds with a boy and a girl – their personalities are very different, but their love for each other continues to grow.
