Red Cape, Novelty Print Dress, and Life Lately

Well, my friends, as you can safely assume from the above picture, we’re having another baby! We are extremely happy about this. Mr. Owl and I both want at least five kids, if not more, and we’ve had baby fever for a few months now. I debated sharing with you all so early this weekend; I am not due until August 28th (this makes me six weeks pregnant), but as with most women and their second child — and especially with me, who carried large and showed early with Asa — I’m already popping out.

I knew I wouldn’t be able to hide the belly for long, especially not if I ever want to wear a form-fitting skirt or dress. Besides which, someone had googled “Eccentric Owl Pregnant” a day or two after I published this post (the first collage, totally looks like a baby belly, but it wasn’t at that point), and I’ve been feeling especially tired and occasionally sick, which will be affecting how much I blog in the next month or so… and I have felt like since I hadn’t announced it on the blog yet, I didn’t have anything else to talk about. You know, when you have a secret you really want to tell, and then that becomes all you can think? That’s me and pregnancy. While I’m very excited and looking forward to having baby #2, it’s also… incredibly daunting and sometimes scary to think about. I’ll be honest: I was not as baby-fevered as my husband going into this. We planned for it, talked about it, and were able to conceive when we chose to rather than having it be a surprise — with Asa, we talked about it and then four or five days later, before we’d even started trying, found out I was already pregnant. So he was somewhat ahead of our plans — and even though I definitely wanted to embark on the journey again, I also felt, and feel… just scared.

It’s a fear of the unknown, for sure. I just don’t know what I’m going to do with two kids. Not in a “this is going to overwhelm me” kind of way, just… I am not sure I can explain. I don’t know how it will be, other than knowing for sure I’ll be getting much less sleep and having to find the strength (and coffee) to get through some days taking care of a newborn and a toddler on four hours of sleep or less. It’s going to be hard in some ways, and definitely emotional… but it’ll all work out.

And I think it also didn’t help that I had this sudden realization: if we want at least five kids that are all two years apart, I will either be pregnant or nursing almost constantly for at least ten years. It’s a daunting thought. After I told my husband that, he had this stunned look on his face, and he considerately asked me, “are you sure you want to do that?” to which I responded with a resounding “of course!”
Just because I’m afraid of what new changes are going to bring to life does not mean I will just avoid them altogether. And since I was able to quit my job, I won’t have to worry about juggling two kids, housework, and job-work. I’m incredibly thankful that, while we have much less than we used to, we are financially stable enough to work this out even without my income. I foresee many pregnancy, motherhood, and budgeting posts in the future. I’d love to incorporate more of living on a budget into the blog, and especially living on a budget and eating Paleo, and Paleo in regards to pregnancy and toddlers. I know many people think eating healthy is more expensive, and perhaps some of you — like me, at first — wonder what to feed a toddler if you don’t have sandwiches and macaroni and cheese.

Most of all, though, just expect a lot of pregnancy posts. So far I’ve already had a few interesting things happen. I knew I was pregnant before we even took a test; I could feel it, and I swear I knew the minute my belly started to get bigger. My husband didn’t believe me at first, but now it’s definitely out and he can’t deny I was right. I’ve had cravings for mayonnaise– homemade, Paleo mayo — by the spoonful (yes, I indulged), and potato chips, and so much sugar right before I started my Whole30; I’ve had the start of the same weird first-trimester insomnia I had with Asa, and I have been so. incredibly. emotional. I cry for Winnie the Pooh music. Cape, c/o Oasap | dress, New Old Fashion Vintage | belt, gift | shoes, Modcloth | glasses, c/o Firmoo

I’m also excited to get into Maternity Style again while sticking to a more vintage/retro theme! Before we started trying again, I kept looking at old posts of my being pregnant and really, really missing it. I think I felt most beautiful while pregnant. Aside from these first few weeks where I just feel like sleeping and throwing up most of the time. Ha!

Are any of you moms heading into your second pregnancy, or learning how to live with two kids instead of just one? What has helped you the most in the transition? You know, besides “take naps while they do!” because that’s what I do anyway.

Happy Monday!