20 weeks!

We are officially halfway done with this pregnancy! Every day I'm feeling Lena more and more. She is turning out to be every bit as active as her older sister. Daddy and I will have our work cut out for us! 

With my first daughter, at 20 weeks, my blog discussed the things I chose to avoid for that particular pregnancy. I thought this one would be a good time to compare! 

Food wise, I haven't changed much. I still only eat cooked sushi, no soft cheeses, and only had one cold lunch meat sandwich. Still avoiding alcohol and anything with artificial sweeteners. That last one has been harder this time just because I'm used to taking a protein supplement after my workouts and I've yet to find a replacement for it that doesn't use artificial sweeteners. It sucks! 

This pregnancy, I've had some nasty headaches and my doc recommended tylenol along with a soda with caffeine. With Elise, I had NO caffeine at all. This time I just waited until the second tri, and now when I have headaches I allow myself a sonic drink. I definitely don't complain about it! Tasty and makes those damn headaches go away. 

Exercise. This is probably the biggest change. With Elise, I didn't do anything but swim, walk, and light calisthenics the whole time. This time? I'm doing crossfit 3 times a week, prenatal yoga once a week, and I run as often as I can. I've said before that this has been a huge mental hurdle for me to overcome, but it's been well worth my effort. And I have a doctor who applauds my efforts to stay active and healthy so it's been a rewarding experience. I only hope I can continue to do all of these things! 

I'm also seeing a chiropractor this time around. I've been told it's a good idea to see one when you're a regular crossfitter anyway. Even better to see one during pregnancy! Our chiro actually goes to our gym, and is pregnant also! She helped me a lot so far. At the beginning of my pregnancy, I was having quite a bit of back pain. Apparently I had done something that knocked my pelvis out of place. She told me if I hadn't fixed it, not only would it have been painful, but I could have wound up needing a c-section! Worth it! 

We are still doing bump pictures every week (obviously) and maternity pictures. But this go around, we are skipping a baby shower. As much as my sisters would love to throw me a big one, I just didn't feel it was necessary. We decided that they would come down and we would celebrate Lena's coming, with cake and good company. But since this is our second daughter, we don't need much and honestly we don't need any extra clutter with the move coming up. Diapers are always nice! But everything else we need for her are things that are expensive enough that we don't feel comfortable asking people to buy them for us. 

This time we have also hired a doula. This is a birthing assistant/coach. A lot of women feel this is the husbands job and if he was doing it, then a doula isn't necessary. This couldn't be further from the truth for us. My husband was an amazing support system the first time around. I couldn't have gotten Elise out without his encouragement. But this time, I'm planning to skip the epidural. And any extra help we can get we will take! She will be there to remind us how to relax and breathe, to give my husband breaks if he need to eat or rest. And to be an advocate for us if we need it. She's been so helpful so far. Lending me books to educate and prep myself for the big day. We are both already so glad we chose to hire her.

One thing that certainly hasn't changed is how much we already love this little girl. I'm dying to meet her. I can't speak for my husband, but I know I already feel even more connected with her because I know how much I love Elise, and I know Lena will make my heart swell even more. I can't wait to see Lena do all the things her sister has already accomplished. This being a parent thing is just incredibly to witness. I'll never get tired of seeing our girls conquer their world one day at a time. We can't wait to see what their futures hold!