I’m Pregnant with Baby #2!

I’m so happy to finally be sharing that I’m pregnant with another baby girl! We are so grateful and excited to become a family of four and to see Maddie as a big sister!

I’m 20 weeks along, due in March, and had my 20-week ultrasound yesterday. I can’t believe I’m already halfway through my pregnancy, it has been flying by since I’ve been so busy with work and chasing after a toddler! Some days I even forget I’m pregnant (other than being completely exhausted all the time, of course!).

This pregnancy experience has been very different than last time, not so much in how I’m feeling, but basically everything else haha. Let’s dig into it with some of the most common questions I’ve gotten so far…

How did you find out you were pregnant?

We had been trying for a while. I know our journey to become pregnant was short compared to so many others, but those months of trying were really hard. Month after month of negative ovulation and pregnancy tests were so discouraging, frustrating and heartbreaking. It was hard on our relationship (we didn’t always agree on infertility next steps, etc.), it was hard personally as a planner and someone who likes being in control, and it was really hard being a newborn/family photographer during that time.

In the Spring, my OB-GYN referred me to an infertility specialist who, after an initial appointment, performed a bilateral tubal patency and mock transfer, which was our first step before moving on to IUI. Basically this initial procedure (and don’t quote me on this, but this was my understanding of it all haha) took a look at my uterus and ovaries, flushed out my fallopian tubes (which sometimes can get blocked) and gave them information about how a transfer would go. According to my Googling, the procedure in and of itself can increase fertility and I think that was the case for me because nine days later I finally ovulated for the first time.

I had already sworn off ovulation sticks because they were so discouraging. But when I woke up that Friday morning I was convinced I was ovulating and cautiously hopeful. In the evening of Day 30 of my cycle though, I got what I thought was my period. It was July 1st and we had just gotten up to the lake for the holiday weekend. I was so bummed. I called my doc the next morning (you’re supposed to call on Cycle Day 1 to start an IUI cycle). But then the rest of the day my “period” disappeared. I hadn’t had implantation bleeding with Maddie so that hadn’t even crossed my mind the night before. It was a long seven days of waiting until I could take a pregnancy test. There were a couple of days of texting my sister photos saying, “Is that a line?” … and then finally on July 7th a very clear positive appeared!

I know we are one of the lucky ones. And my heart goes out to all the couples going through infertility. I see you and you are not alone.

Does Maddie know and how does she feel about it?

We’ve told her she’s going to be a big sister and have started to talk about it more and more but she usually doesn’t acknowledge us when we do hehe. Just yesterday though she said, “Pops do you want to see my little sister?” referring to the new ultrasound picture. I’ll take that as a good sign! Haha. She loves caring for her baby dolls: tucking them into bed, rocking them when they’re “sad” and giving them a kiss. I know she’s going to make an amazing big sister! And I’m sure there will be an adjustment period for us all : )

How do you feel about having another girl?

We are so excited for another girl! I went into the pregnancy feeling like I would be both happy and a little sad no matter if it was a boy or a girl. Both Dan and I wanted a girl. I think we just obviously love Maddie and you want more of what you know, you know? A girl felt somewhat safe since we’ve been there before, we already have all the clothes, we know how to do girl (so far haha). I LOVE having a sister so I’m super excited Maddie will have a built in best friend for the rest of her life. I tried to talk up a boy in my head though too. I loved having a younger brother growing up and I feel like he shaped so much of who I am. Without him I don’t know if I would have played hockey, been as competitive and tomboy-ish, spent as much time outside playing, been as comfortable around boys, etc. There’s a relatively high chance this is my last pregnancy and the idea of not having a boy is a little sad, though I have two boy nephews I’m super close with and can always get my boy fix at their house! So I guess that’s what I mean “I would have been happy and sad either way” (just being honest).

How has this pregnancy compared to the last?

So far it has been a very different experience mainly because I am due in the complete opposite season (Maddie was born in August, you can read about my last pregnancy here). Last pregnancy, my first trimester was in the winter during the slowest part of my season. All I had to do every day was rest and take care of myself. My third trimester, however, was crazy busy and I had weddings every weekend. This time around, resting during my first trimester was nearly impossible and I think I was more nauseous as a result. I was (and still am) in peak busy season and when I’m not working, I’m chasing after an active toddler. I honestly am not sure how I got through the summer. A lot of help from my parents and going to bed right after putting Maddie down at 7:30pm. Alternatively, I will have my entire third trimester to relax, soak up solo time with Maddie and prep for baby this time around so I’m definitely looking forward to that!

How will this affect my business?

I’ll be addressing this much more here on my blog, via email and on Instagram but why not jump right in now with some preliminary ideas since this is my business website haha. I am going to be taking December though April completely off except for a few newborn sessions in January and a wedding I already had booked at the end of April. I am trying to be even more strict with my boundaries this time around since I’m not sure what it will be like juggling not just one but TWO kiddos. Between the end of April and the beginning of September, I have 15 weddings already booked. My plan is to just focus on these 15 weddings and not book much beyond that for the baby’s first 6 months. Right now, I’m planning to accept no additional sessions in May and early June and then possibly one family/newborn session a week max in July and August. Next Fall, I don’t have as many weddings so I hope to be able to take on more newborns and family sessions again. The only sessions I’ll be taking on in 2022 will be those of past clients and I am planning to open booking for next Summer in January. So if you’re a past client and you’re hoping for a family session next summer (in the Boston area or the Cape) email me in January!

As always, thank you for reading and your continued support over the years!

(And THANK YOU to the amazing Andrea for the photos in this post!)