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Life After Pregnancy: The Fourth Trimester Hits Different
On March 9th, one day before her due date and in a whirlwind, we welcomed our beautiful daughter to this world, and just like that, our little wolfpack became a family of four. This moment felt like millennia in the making, especially as I muddled through the final weeks of pregnancy, yet nothing could have fully prepared me for the wave of change that followed her arrival. The love? Instant and overwhelming. The transition? Beautiful, brutal, and everything in between. This blog series will be my space to unpack it all—the unfiltered realities of postpartum life, the quiet (and not-so-quiet) struggles, and the slow unfolding of this new chapter in…
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Second Trimester Recap: Navigating New Emotions and Familiar Challenges
How are we here already? Sometimes it feels like time is flying and other times I’m asking “Are we there yet?” We will officially say goodbye to the second trimester on Sunday, and it feels like the perfect time to reflect on the past few months of this pregnancy journey. From surprising symptoms to emotional revelations, this trimester has been a whirlwind and a window into the complex layers of second-time motherhood. Here’s how things have unfolded—the wonderful, the challenging, and everything in between. Second Trimester Symptoms: Same Ride, Different Stops Every pregnancy is unique, and this one has certainly proven that point. While some symptoms mirrored those I experienced…
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The 2024 Baby Registry Checklist: Essentials for Baby (and Gifts for Moms, Too!)
When I found out I was expecting my second child, I thought I’d have everything figured out—I mean, I’d done this before, right? But as the weeks went by, I realized that even as a “seasoned” mom, creating a registry (and deciding whether to have a shower) can still feel overwhelming. This is why I decided to create my personal 2024 baby registry checklist and share my tips with all of you. The truth is, no two pregnancies are alike, and deciding what’s right for you and your family is incredibly personal. After a lot of thought, and some nudging from my mom, friends, and sisters-in-law, I decided to create…
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Building our Next Chapter: A Q&A with my husband on partnering and parenting with a widow.
Hello friends. I cannot tell you how excited I am to share this blog. You have spent years following this story from my perspective as a young widow. Now, I’m bringing in a different perspective– one from the person on the other side of the love after loss chapter- my second husband, Paul. As we prepare to welcome our baby girl, Paul and I sat down to reflect on the journey that brought us to this moment—one woven with love, resilience, and a shared commitment to building a life together. So much of my story has been about navigating loss, healing, and finding joy again, but there’s another side to…
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Balancing Joy and Grief in my Second Pregnancy after Widowhood
Navigating Complex Emotions: Joy, Fear, and Grief Hi friends– coming to you live, 19 weeks pregnant, and in this blog post, I’m bringing you all deeper into my psyche and experience, as I balance joy, grief, and a slew of complicated emotions during this second pregnancy after losing Matt and beginning this next chapter with Paul. Before we get into that, I’ve had a lot of questions about how things are going right now. Physically, the second trimester has been much easier. My nausea has subsided, I have more energy (most of the time) and, now, it’s just a matter of watching my belly grow and my body rapidly change.…
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Advanced Maternal Age: Something to Celebrate
Hello all! Coming at you live, at about 16 weeks pregnant with my second baby by the time this publishes, and I am ready to talk about all of the positive things around “advanced maternal age.” For those of you unfamiliar with the term, “advanced maternal age” is the language used by researchers and medical professionals to define pregnancy at or after the age of 35. This term has been around since the 1950s, with some variations including “elderly pregnancy” and “geriatric pregnancy.” If those are the alternatives, I’ll stick with advanced maternal age (or AMA). The threshold is somewhat arbitrary in that, it signifies a gradual decline in fertility…
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Bump Diaries: The Sequel
Baby number two is on the way! I am so excited to document this pregnancy in all of it's uniqueness.
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MY LABOR AND DELIVERY BLOG
Our son was born on January 14th, and this is my labor and delivery story.
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36 Weeks Pregnant: The Final Month of Pregnancy
Well friends, we are in the ninth inning of this pregnancy, and I’m looking forward to closing it out for the win. Seriously. I just surpassed my 36 weeks pregnant marker, and I’m now officially in my 37th week of pregnancy. I can 100% verify that I am ready for things to get moving. To be fair, I’ve had a relatively easy pregnancy. Yes, there have been aches, pains, fatigue, nose bleeds, and swelling…but it could have been a lot worse. I dodged Gestational Diabetes, I only threw up a few times, and I’ve had a normal, healthy weight gain. Most importantly, Pistachio is looking like a healthy little cherub. It’s…
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Baby Boy Names I Love But Won’t Be Using (This Time)
It is on friends. We have about six weeks (give or take) left of this pregnancy and then we meet our baby boy! Of course, we have a million things left to do. Like what, you may ask? Like pregnancy classes, hospital bag packing, nursery prep, and all of the other fun things that I’ve saved until the very last minute just so I can, naturally, panic during my last few weeks. Probably not the most effective way to manage my anxiety, but it is what it is. At least we have a name picked out. I finally ordered the first piece of clothing with his name (the cute little…
