Pregnancy Faves: Something New

Sippin' on Red Raspberry Tea

Red raspberry leaf tea is supposed to be a lady's wonder tea.  Every box I've bought proudly declares itself to be the great "[supporter] of the female system." So whatever that means, it sounds like an awesome best friend for my female system currently in hyper-drive.  I read about red raspberry leaf everywhere, and so I first checked with my midwife, then started drinking it as often as I could remember. I'm currently remembering to drink it once a day, and I'm going to check again with my midwife to see if upping my daily dosage is advisable as I approach the big birthing finale; the tea is supposed to help tone the uterine muscle, decrease labor pain, and ease the entire birthing process. I'll drink as many cups as I can if it's good on its promises.

Sleeping with the Boppy Total-Body Pregnancy Pillow

I've been loving this pillow because it's three separate pieces that velcro together, so I can take them apart, rearrange them, or only use the piece I need-and it's pretty awesome.  I stuff it under my tummy, wrap it around behind my back, or snuggle up to the whole thing.  And possibly most fun of all, it helps me stake more territory at night, so for once in our lives, Jeff is the one sleeping on a sliver of the bed.


Just a collection of things I've noticed with my second pregnancy:

• it hurts more.....surprise! I thought it would hurt less since my tummy had already been stretched out and my body had been through all the changes before, but not so.  I've got a fire behind my belly button that will not be snuffed, my hip flexor muscles ache, and I'm one 10-second tidy away from snapping my back.
• some of my symptoms started sooner and lasted longer. Like the nausea, and the big belly growing, and the heartburn.  At first I thought I was just being wimpy since last time I was a year out from cancer treatment and numb to the drudgery of daily physical pain, but apparently this rise in discomfort is a widespread occurrence with second pregnancies, and I'm not just slowly devolving into a ninny.
• more contractions, more often.  I have a ton (in comparison, that is)!
• in some ways, it's easier.  It's so since to know what's going on and what to expect.  Even more so than with my first, I feel more in control and involved with not only my medical care, but day-to-day pregnancy stuff.
• I know I can I do this, and not simply because I've done it before.  It's almost as if confidence has bloomed within me along with my dear baby, and though the pregnancy has been hard and the experience at times trying, I am wonderfully, courageously, at peace in my strength.