Hello friends!

I realize I haven’t been the best at sharing updates about this pregnancy on the blog, but I know I’m going to appreciate reading through these later on… So trying to make this more of a priority. Plus, it’s just fun to share this journey with others, since it’s such a gift 🙂 

And I know I’m still in the second trimester – but there’s only 4 more weeks until the third trimester, and I figured now is as good a time as any to share a person update!

So let’s get to itttttt.

Also, totally going to share photos my sister captured in this post because:a) I’m obsessedb) It’s more fun to read through blogs that have photos to break up the text, anyways!c) I’m grateful to have some photos that capture this current seasond) Legit, obsessed with the photos and just so grateful!

Huge shout out to my sis, @alisanicholle for these fabulous captures. 

So they say that the second trimester is a glorious time in your life, but after a less than pleasant first trimester (even if it wasn’t half of what a lot of people I know went through) I was skeptical.

I had friends that were sick past the first trimester, so I wasn’t sure where exactly I fell in the spectrum of things, having, ya know, never been pregnant before (and I didn’t want to get my hopes up). TBH, I was hesitant in thinking that there really would be a shift in my second trimester, mostly because I just felt SO unlike myself in the first one!

However, I am *super* grateful to say that there T-O-T-A-L-L-Y  W-A-S a major shift!

In fact,

the second trimester has been AMAZING!

Legit, I went from not feeling myself, having 0 energy/motivation to do anything, feeling nauseated all of the time and basically like I was sea sick 24/7 in my first trimester…. to feeling like the energizer bunny!

I remember *to the day* what the shift felt like.

So like I mentioned, I had previously been feeling extremely low energy and unlike myself. Totally in this weird funk. It also didn’t help that literally I felt like I hadn’t seen the sunshine in 6 months! We were going through this weird weather thing in Georgia where literally it felt like it rained from August-March non stop. 

So. Much. Rain. And. Literally. NO. Sunshine.

As a woman who’s definitely solar powered, I felt like I was lacking some major vitamin D. I even started taking a supplement for it, because I hadn’t seen the sun in so long and felt like it was literally missing from my bones (and I read that it’s good for preggo ladies to take anyways, so double bonus). 

Then, one *glorious* Tuesday, I woke up AND THE SUN WAS SHINING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Legit, this felt like SUCH A big deal because I felt like I hadn’t seen the sun in SO long! We even traveled to California for a week for a work conference, and good ole sunny California was cloudy and overcast the entire time we were there. #bummer

So needless to say, I was ready for some sunshine in my life.

On this Tuesday, I remember excitedly jumping out of bed and going outside immediately, singing praises to God and thanking him for the beautiful sunshine.

While I was happily dancing around the house, something weird happened – I got a headache. Which isn’t totally uncommon, but this felt different. It wasn’t just any kind of headache, but it felt like a caffeine headache. 

Which was strange, because the biggest aversion I had in the first trimester was coffee (so sad, I know). 

So at this point, I hadn’t had coffee for nearly three months. 

I literally remember thinking to myself,

“Well, this is weird. I feel like I have a caffeine headache, even though I haven’t had caffeine since we found out we were pregnant. But I suppose I can make a cortado and worse comes to worse, I’ll dump it down the sink if that’s doesn’t help.”

So I made my homemade cortado. And man, it smelled sooo good! Which that in itself felt like a good sign.

I hesitantly took my first sip, figuring it would just bring on more nausea and that I’d still have a headache…

But to may surprise, it tasted good! SO SO GOOD!

During my coffee aversion in the first trimester, not only did drinking coffee give me the jitters like I had drank 5 cups (and I really only had a few sips of one), but it also tasted AWFUL to me! So the fact that this coffee tasted good again, well, it just plain gave me hope.

So needless to say, I drank the whole thing. 

And y’all, it was literally the BEST cup of coffee I think I’ve ever had in my life!

It tasted was sooo delicious and totally did get rid of my headache.

It was super weird, but I totally counted it as a blessing from God. 

I had missed my morning cup of joe, sipping slowly while I cuddle Jace and hang out with the Lord during my quiet time. It just wasn’t the same without my favorite morning beverage. 

But coffee was now back in my life, and I was sure grateful!

Anyways, this Tuesday isn’t over yet, friends!

So, after my delicious cup of coffee, I got this HUGE burst of energy!

I’m not sure if it was the fact that I had caffeine for the first time in months, or the fact that the sun was shining and the weather was perfect outside or what, but I had the STRONGEST craving to get outside and go workout. 

Which, that was shocking, cause again, my energy levels had been so low that I had to basically drag myself to workout – and even then, had a hard time giving it my best. 

But in this moment, the kind of energy I had, I was like,

“I have to go for a run, like, NOW!”

So I put on my workout gear and running shoes, and went for a 2 mile run.

And y’all, I’m NOT a runner.

Like I can maybe do a 30 second sprint and then a 2 minute walk, at best. But today, on this Tuesday, I basically ran that entire 2 miles non-stop. The only time I stopped was every 1/2 mile to do about 50 squats. 

I remember one of my neighbors driving by, looking at me like I was a crazy person, but also smiling at me for getting at it…. Little did he know why I was so hyped :p

And just so you know – I am a generally fit person… I work out regularly, but I’m far from a super fit and hardcore fitness person. Just your regular gym goer. So this was totally not like me and not a common thing that I do to be this energized and hyped up.

But like I mentioned, this was the day of change!

This was the first day that I started to feel like myself again in a couple months!

I remember coming home, literally SOOO hyped and energized like I had just drank 47 cups of coffee (don’t worry, I just had the one), and coming into my studio to tell my husband about my run and how much energy I had!!! (legit freaking out)

Daniel literally was like, “Girl, you need to calm down. You have a runners high!”

And I think I did (my first ever – seriously, I don’t ever run). But it was such a great feeling to have energy again! I truly can’t express how much of a shift this was. 

Needless to say, it was a beautiful and encouraging day.

I definitely felt a huge shift! After that day, I slowly started to get out of the low-energy, sea-sickness funk that I was in, and started to feel like myself again.

And thankfully, ever since then, I’ve felt like myself – full of energy again! 

Basically, a week or two after that game changing Tuesday, my morning sickness and weird-funk went away and I felt like a normal functioning human again. Such a gift!

Here’s a few of the other changes that happened from the first to second trimester:

I went from needing 1-2 naps (for at least an hour) every single day, on top of my 8+ hours of sleep, to just needing my regular 7 hours of sleep.

I actually can’t nap now, or I won’t sleep at night!

Not complaining though – I don’t regularly nap/don’t enjoy napping (except on Sunday afternoons after church). So again, I felt grateful to have my regular energy levels back enough to just let me evening sleep be enough!

Overall so far in this second trimester, I haven’t had any trouble sleeping (unless I nap during the day). I have added a pregnancy pillow into my sleeping routine (thank you to my dear friend Angelle for letting me borrow hers) and that’s definitely really helpful for getting comfortable!

Things in my body definitely started to majorly shift early on in my second trimester, even before my belly popped, and that did affect my sleeping – but the pregnancy pillow helped fix that.

Also, since the second trimester, I’ve been trying really hard to sleep on my left side. It’s supposed to be optimal for baby, and even though it’s not my fave, it’s not too bad and I think my body has adjusted quite well. I’m normally a right side sleeper – so even though it doesn’t seem like that different compared to, let’s say, a stomach sleeper, it felt like a big shift to me.

But again, I think we’ve figured out something that works well for us!

And just in case you’re wondering (or haven’t seen my Instagram coffee stories) I no longer have my coffee aversion that I had in the first trimester, and I’ve been able to drink coffee again, which has been such a sweet gift!

I’m not sure what was happening in the first trimester, but I’m very grateful to be able to drink coffee again. 

Now don’t worry, I drink only 1 cup a day, and even then, I usually only drink about half of it.

It’s weird how baby let’s me know how much caffeine is enough – I’ll start to get a headache usually if I have more than about 6-8 ounces in the mornings (which is smaller than a regular sized coffee mug), or my stomach will start hurting.

But that’s fine with me! Again, just grateful to be able to drink coffee most days. 

So so far, this second trimester I haven’t had any negative symptoms.

Which has been amazing!

I don’t have any aversions – food or smell wise. Which I’m thankful for!

Honestly, second trimester has been “boring” as far as symptoms. I haven’t had any real cravings – if anything, it’s just amplified things I already love… fruit, salad, fresh veggies, lots and lots of water, etc.

Daniel always makes fun of my love of what he calls “rabbit food,” but I’m just so blessed that I enjoyed eating healthy before baby, and that my natural rhythm has been maintained (for the most part, don’t get me wrong – we still have pizza now and again) during pregnancy.

Probably the best thing about the second trimester?

Starting to feel baby kick!

It was only a few weeks ago that I started to feel baby kick regularly! I started feeling his kicks consistently during our Babymoon is Yosemite (recap coming atcha next week) and it was such a special treat.

Before that, I would feel kicks every now and again… but they were super soft and super rare. And like most first time moms (from what I’ve heard anyways) I wasn’t sure if those really were kicks or not. 

People describe baby kicks as “bubbles” or “gas” or “butterflies” – well our little mister moving around definitely felt like he was twitching. Like a quick spazz attack. Or popcorn popping. So since that was different than what people described, I figured that was just something else in my body (seriously, pregnancy body does all sorta unique things that you’ve never experienced before). 

Nowadays, I feel him regularly dancing throughout the day… and it’s become one of my absolute favorite things. 

The evening before Mothers Day, I felt him kick on the outside for the very first time… And THAT has easily become my absolute favorite thing ever! It’s seriously one of the coolest and weirdest things to feel him on the inside and on the outside.

I loooooooooove it.  

ALSO, on Mothers Day morning, Daniel got to feel our son kick for the first time! Good job, son. Best Mothers Day gift ever. 

Y’all, seeing Daniel’s face light up when he felt baby kick for the first time – such a beautiful moment that I’ll never forget. Literally my heart just about melted seeing Daniel feel our son for the first time EVER!!!!

It just made me all the more excited to meet baby, and even more excited to see Daniel become a dad!

Speaking of Mother’s Day – I wrote a blog post recapping the day and our sweet gender reveal party (where we found out that baby is a boy). You can read more about that here. Such a special day!

Anyways, that’s the update of the second trimester so far!

Like I said, I’m feeling SOOO grateful that I feel so good! I know that it’s super rare, so I’m soaking up the fact that I’m feeling so good. 

I tell people that honestly, I sometimes don’t even realize that I’m pregnant cause other than the growing belly bump and feeling baby kick throughout the day, I just feel like me.

Which again, compared to how I felt the first trimester, it’s been a very welcome and thankful change!

Now I’m just getting more and more excited to meet our son and hang out with him in the fall! Hitting the six month mark tomorrow (Friday) and I’m so jazzed.

Daniel said it well today when he said, 

“In January when we found out, it felt meeting our baby was a lifetime away. Now it feels like the next few months are just an arms reach away!”

Definitely excited to meet baby and stoked that the third trimester is just around the corner! It’s gonna be an adventure going through the southern humidity in the third trimester… But it’s going to be SO Worth it, because that means I’ll have a fall baby (so thankful for this extra special detail from God).

Soaking up my favorite season with my (soon to be) new favorite little human.

Can’t wait!

Until next time loves ~

Blessings, xo

Rosalynne 

P.S. All the photos in this blog post are by my beautiful sister, Alisa of Alisa Nicholle Co. So grateful for these sweet memories she captured for us! Definitely photos we’ll cherish and look fondly on for many, many years to come.