 So, how are you all holding up? It’s dawned on me that a previous coronavirus post of mine may have come across a little preachy, and if that’s the case I apologize. When you are cooped up with your kids all day, trying to juggle homeschooling, work, and everything else going on in life… Lord, I can only imagine! And the last thing you need is to feel like some pregnant lady you don’t even know is telling you how to 'make the most of this time!' I definitely wasn’t trying to minimize the monumental stress that we’re all under. I’m a turn lemons into lemonade kind of gal. I always try my best to take a bad situation and find some sort of silver lining. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t know what a struggle this situation is. For everyone in their own way.  Stress hits everyone differently. I tend to deal with it by going into project mode. I have that "luxury" right now--if you want to call it that--because I'm furloughed. I have nothing but time. For some, having nothing but time would be a curse in and of itself.  Meanwhile, others DREAM of having that sort of free-time! They are so bombarded by kids and spouses and work... they don't get a second to themselves... This quarantine is hitting us all differently and we all react in our own ways. It's okay to feel overwhelmed. It's okay to not be okay. We are all swimming in unchartered waters. While I cope through keeping myself busy, others might need to hibernate through this proverbial winter. And, others still, feel they don't even get a chance to cope. There's no rule that you HAVE to be productive or that you HAVE to, well... anything! There's no right or wrong way to get through this. These are unprecedented times! Just because I might deal with stress by going into project mode, doesn't mean I think that that's better than the way you might deal with stress. My point is that no one coping mechanism is better than another. We’re all just doing the best that we can. We have to take it day by day. What have you been doing to cope?  It’s been a struggle over the recent days not to stress about this pregnancy and the virus and the baby once she’s born… I’ve read now about two infants, one in Connecticut and one in Illinois, who have died from the coronavirus. It was a lot easier not to worry when there had been zero infant fatalities. I try to tell myself that this is only two out of the nearly 100,000 confirmed cases and 50,000 deaths worldwide… but still! That’s two too many! It’s terrifying to think that there is little I can do to protect her. I can shelter her as best as I can, but even then... Either I give birth at my midwifery clinic—which is IN a hospital—or I have a home-delivery with my midwife who regularly works IN a hospital! I know I have until late July, so in a way I’m biting off more than I can chew right now… there’s no sense obsessing about this yet. Especially, since it is completely out of my control. Worry and stress will only make things worse. But it is hard. So, what have I been doing to cope? I’ve been taking this time to write a lot. Not just here on my blog, but on a novel I’ve been working on. I’ve also been working a lot on the nursery! I will confess I’ve gotten way more into it than I predicted I would. Here are some photos of the progress that’s been made. Bear in mind, it's still far from finished... What do you think? As a young girl, when my grandma would offer to teach me how to cook, I would balk and say, “Why aren’t you asking my brother, too?” Completely incredulous, I rejected every offer to learn to cook or sew or do anything even remotely domestic… Of course, now as an adult, those are skills I definitely wish I had taken the time to learn! Not because I'm a woman. But, because when a button falls off of your work uniform and the only way you can sew it back on is in a way that looks like a toddler's done it… it’s pretty embarrassing! So it might not come as a surprise to learn that I've never been much of a chef. I used to joke that my idea of cooking was to throw a can of Chef Boyardee into the microwave. Over the years, I have perfected a few dishes that I’m good at making and that’s about it. Which is one of the reasons why I have gotten into cooking these past few weeks.  My mother and sister-in-law are excellent in the kitchen and I’ve always been envious of their delicious spinach pies... so I finally tried to make it myself! It wasn’t as good as theirs, but for a first try I was very proud!  Then, the chicken pot pie I made from scratch was an even bigger success! My husband says it was the best pie he’s ever had!  And, most recently, I took another page from my in-laws’ book and made shepherd’s pie. The pictures aren’t exactly Instagram-worthy, I know, but they tasted yummy! In other news… I am officially 23 weeks pregnant! That means I only have 17 weeks left to go until I meet my precious baby girl! I suppose the biggest change since last week has been in my appearance. I think I am definitely beginning to show now, even in the mornings before I eat! Maybe I have finally “popped,” as they say? I feel like she grows more and more every day. I took these photos exactly one week apart. Can you tell the difference?  At 23 weeks, I constantly feel full... even when I’m hungry! It's a strange sensation. And, when I eat, my stomach feels higher up than usual. But, the cravings have definitely not gone away! I don’t crave specific food—just food, in general. So I’ve been trying to make sure that the food I eat is healthy. All the food pictured above is CHOCK FULL of vegetables! Do I still have the occasional frozen pizza? Absolutely. But, I’ve also gotten super into steamed broccoli! In my head, at least, they balance each other out. (That’s totally how that works, right?)  My linea nigra has begun to show now, too! It’s that thin dark line that goes down your belly. Apparently, there's an old wives tale that says if your line stops at your belly button, it’s a girl and if it goes all the way down it’s a boy. But, mine goes all the way! Guess that just proves, yet again, that those old wives’ tales don’t mean much. Another fun part of being 23 weeks? Feeling those baby kicks! For ages now, I have been feeling our little girl flutter around in there. She felt like butterflies or gas bubbles. But, in the past couple days, I’ve finally felt those first few kicks! It’s incredible! It almost feels like when your heart is beating really fast, pounding against your chest… but inside your stomach. She is SO active! At first, she was just kicking around in the evening. But now, it’s from the moment I wake up, all day long! If her activity level now is any indication, my baby girl will never sleep!  One thing they all told me about the second trimester was that I was going to have to pee less… Ha! If they meant that instead of every 10-15 minutes, now I’d have to pee every 20-30 minutes, then yeah I guess they were right. But, honestly, it doesn't feel like much of a difference. Especially, in the middle of the night when I still have to wake up what feels like 50 times! When we take the puppy for a walk, I inevitably have to go pee at least once, if not twice! Even though I always make sure to go right before we leave. Thankfully, we walk her in wooded areas away from people (especially these days!) so I can usually find a tree to go behind. What was 23 weeks like for you?
As always, I’d love to have someone to compare with! People always tell me that I should ask my gal-pals for advice, but I’m the first of our friend group to get pregnant. So, I’d love to hear from you! What is your second trimester like? Your quarantine? Or, if you have already had your little ones, what do you remember from this time?
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AuthorI'm Kelsey! Proud Iowan native, world traveler, writer, wife to the most incredible husband, and now soon to be mother Archives
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