It’s been a while, so for those of you who don’t know, I decided to take the plunge and try for another child.

I feel like God must have thought I was going to chicken out, because we were immediately successful, and I am now 32 weeks with our second daughter. Bug, on the other hand, needed some time to adjust.

This pregnancy has been rough. At first, the morning sickness was so severe I lost weight. This went on for the first two trimesters. Now, in the third trimester, that has morphed to heartburn and other not-so-fun gastrointestinal maladies. This has resulted in very little overall weight gain, but so far honeybee (that’s what I’ve been calling her) is measuring appropriately*, and that’s all I can ask for.

I’m also just a lot more uncomfortable than I remember being with bug and ladybug, but it’s entirely possible that I just blocked that out.

If it is worse, though, I’ve been telling myself that it means my postpartum period will be better.

Now, rationally, I know that this time HAS to be better.

I mean, last time I didn’t even know what I had was OCD. Now, I not only know what to look for, but I have a freaking ton of CBT behind me and a group of very talented mental health professionals I see regularly. I am still on the sertraline.

While we did phase out the risperidone–slowly, and under my psychiatrist’s supervision–before trying, my medical team and I are all confident enough in the sertraline’s safety during pregnancy and breastfeeding. I feel that the potential risks are minimal, at best, and having the OCD under control during the pregnancy is an important piece of our entire family’s continued well-being.

I feel as prepared as possible for the postpartum period. More on that in another post.

Keep challenging the intrusive thoughts,

Kate

*We do have a follow-up ultrasound today, so we’ll have more information after that.