I have loved looking back my the posts I wrote during my pregnancies with Dashiell and Cedric. In fact, I think I'm wearing the same dress at 22 weeks with Dashiell and 24 weeks with Cedric! I had given this dress to a friend and she returned it to me at the beginning of this pregnancy – love it.

As I'm sure is typical, I wrote several pregnancy posts during my first pregnancy and just a couple during my second but I'm so grateful for what I did record. Especially since it's been a few years since my last pregnancy, it's fun to look back and see what symptoms I reported and how my bump grew. I'm now 21 weeks along with baby #3, a girl! Here's what's going on lately...

Baby bump status: Popping out! Compared to my second pregnancy it's taken longer for me to have an obvious baby bump. I'm guessing it's because I was in really good shape heading into this pregnancy and have continued a very active exercise routine. I was glad that I didn't show too early but I am very much enjoying having a noticeable bump now. Our girl is now about 10 inches long and should be weighing close to a pound!

I really loved this outfit I'm wearing in the photo above which is a maternity style I spotted online and wanted to try: a maxi dress with a t-shirt knotted above my bump. I felt cute and, importantly, really comfortable for our date night: dinner + watching Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with the score performed by the symphony.

How I'm feeling: Amazing! I am so grateful to be feeling really, really good. Often I even forget that I'm pregnant. Although then I'll also have moments where my belly feels big, usually turning over in bed or reaching out of bed for something. The minor annoying symptoms that I have include heartburn and round ligament pain. I also feel that I'm getting winded more easily. The round ligament pain isn't bad and I think I'm doing a better job managing my heartburn during this pregnancy. I try to eat an early dinner and also try to avoid spicy or tomato-based foods too late in the day. I'm also taking Pepcid AC once or twice per day and papaya enzyme after I eat if I feel heartburn coming on.

One annoying symptom that has lessened a bit is having to pee allll the time as compared to the first trimester. I'm sure it will come back as the baby gets bigger! In my previous two pregnancies I experienced swollen ankles, as early as 24 weeks with Cedric. So far my ankles are maintaining their normal size and I'm curious if they'll stay that way. I'm both more active during my everyday life now that I'm not at a desk all day plus I'm exercising more vigorously in my workouts. Maybe those things will help?

Baby movement: Feeling kicks! I felt Cedric kicking really early in my pregnancy, by 12 weeks, and I was surprised that I didn't feel this baby kick until around week 18. Although that's a couple weeks earlier than I felt with Dashiell. I'm now enjoying the daily sensation of little kicks and jabs and this week they seemed to get noticeably stronger. Chris was even able to feel them for the first time! I'm hoping the boys will be able to feel them soon too although they are infrequent enough that they don't quite have the patience to wait for them. For so long I was pretty sure we were done having kids which makes me especially appreciate the wild and amazing feeling of having a baby growing inside of me again.

Eating and exercise: The pregnancy tracking app I'm enjoying using (Ovia) keeps telling me that I should be super hungry but I think I just feel...normal hungry. No particular cravings to speak of. I'm just trying to eat nourishing foods: protein, fiber, vegetables, fruits, and lots of water (which feels harder now that it's cooler). I'm not having too much caffeine although I do have some. Over the past couple of years I've decreased my caffeine intake by switching from coffee to tea most mornings. Now my typical morning beverage is a cup of tea with one bag of green tea + mint plus one bag of mint. Usually I'll have a cup of coffee on the weekends which makes it feel like a treat. It's a lot less caffeine than the couple cups of coffee I used to drink daily and I like how I feel.

For exercise I'm continuing to go to High Fitness (high intensity cardio/dance class) once a week and Orange Theory (high intensity interval training class) twice a week. At High Fitness I'm modifying many moves because there's a lot of jumping and I don't feel as comfortable jumping. At Orange Theory I still feel okay running/jogging and am able to keep up a decent pace (10 minute mile base pace and around an 8:30 minute mile for push pace) and I feel good about that. I've started modifying some of the weight room exercises so that I don't lay on my belly but otherwise still feel that I can do everything. Using the rower is getting less comfortable as my belly grows. I'll keep it up for now but will swap out biking for rowing when it's no longer comfortable.

I'm also trying to add in one weekly prenatal yoga or pilates class as well as daily stretching. I went to a prenatal yoga class recently and it was at the same studio, the same time, and even with the same teacher as with Cedric! Unfortunately it's harder to fit the class in (9 a.m. on Saturdays – life is busier with two kids!) but I'll go when I can. My cousin also recommended a free prenatal pilates video series. I did one video this week and liked it!

Sleep: Sleeping well overall and really enjoying an early bedtime habit, often before 9 p.m. I started going to bed really early during the first trimester when I felt so lousy but getting 9+ hours of sleep feels so good I don't want to stop. I'm also reading a really fascinating book about sleep right now that describes how critical sleep is to basically every aspect of our health. It's making me feel even more motivated to get great sleep. I also keep thinking about how in the near future my nights will be really wakeful. And even before that I'm sure I'll become less comfortable as my belly grows and sleep won't be as peaceful. So I'm enjoying good sleep while I can!

Preparing for another baby: It feels like we have lots of time to get ready before March so although we have lots to do I don't feel stressed about it. Mostly I'm just savoring being pregnant, the fact that we're having a girl, and feeling our baby kick. I've been enjoying the sweet gifts from a couple of friends like adorable clothes and little feminist board books. I also had to order this sweet cloud dress which I had wishlisted before we even knew we were having a girl. Conveniently, I also have generous friends who are done with a lot of their baby stuff. I've already been the recipient of a few bags of baby clothes, post-natal supplies like breast pads, etc., and crib sheets.

On my to-be-done-soon list is planning out the boys new room (we'll move them across the hall) as well as our baby girl's room. I have lots of ideas but we need to make decisions and start talking specifics. The plan is to start on the rooms after Christmas.

Looking forward to: My sister having her baby! Not directly related to my pregnancy per se but so cool to be pregnant at the same time as my sister and watch her experience something that I'll go through in a couple of months. It will be fun to be reminded of all the newborn happenings as she goes through it as well as to get to be the sage older sister with lots of good advice.