Believe it or not, this pregnancy is halfway over already. We just had our 20 week ultrasound yesterday and I feel like this whole baby thing is finally official. I’ll be honest, it’s mostly due to the fact that I had an irrational fear that our initial gender ultrasound would be proven incorrect at our mid-way scan. I kept imagining having to return all of the sweet baby boy clothes I have been collecting (or hoarding if you ask my husband) and my heart would sink. Well, our sweet ultrasound technician made it very clear that we are in fact having a boy! So now I can finally relax a bit and hope that the rest of this pregnancy will fly by and be super blissful. I mean, a girl can hope!

What to Expect When You’ve Already Expected

Man, I know I’ve said it before but this pregnancy has really been the complete opposite of my last. Well I take that back, there is one thing that has stayed true to my expectations, heart burn. I had never dealt with it prior to my last pregnancy, but right around 16 weeks with baby boy it was back with a vengeance. I blame my husband. I know that sounds harsh, but I was bald until the age of two so the fact that I’m producing babies with John Stamos hair right out of the womb is totally his fault. Also, who knew that being a stay at home mom to a toddler while pregnant would be more physically exhausting than teaching full time? Not this girl. Luckily, being at the halfway point means that I have started gaining back some much needed energy. I could go on with the list of the lovely ailments and such but I’ll save you from the drama.

Treat Yourself, Mama

One thing that I’m doing a lot differently this pregnancy is making time for self care. Two weeks ago I got my first massage in 3 years and it was life changing. My husband happened to spoil me rotten on my birthday this year with a “pampering fund” and it could not have come at a better time. Honestly though, even the small things I’ve been doing for myself have made a huge difference. Like getting out of the house by myself or with friends, which is something I’ve not been intentional about since Elouise was born. I’ve also been taking her nap times as “me” time. Rather than trying to clean or do housework, I journal or do my yoga. Sometimes if its been a particularly crazy day I’ll just zone out and watch tv or simply sit in pure uninterrupted silence.

I’ve come to realize that whoever came up with the phrase “If mama not happy, nobody’s happy” was probably a genius. I used to think of it as an awful sentiment that made mothers look selfish and needy. Boy was I wrong, because happiness is so much more about a healthy and positive home and family than it is about having your nails done and the most stylish clothes. Try telling 19 year old me that and you’d probably get severe eye rolls. Instead its more about the mother being fulfilled and healthy in order to take better care of her sweet little family, keeping them happy as the cutest little clams. Speaking of cute little things, I’ll end this post with the cutest little baby boy profile I ever did see.