Welcome back to Part 2 of my 3-part series on Navigating Pregnancy As a Full-time Entrepreneur!
I want to share my real-life experience as I move through each trimester of this journey. Btw, if you missed the first blog of this 3-part series, you can check that out HERE.
The second trimester of pregnancy was a breath of fresh for me as I got my energy back, my morning sickness completely vanished, and my skin troubles cleared up too!
However, everything wasn’t peachy keen!
As my belly grew (it popped around week 21), so did the reality that this child is coming SOON.
I started to think about the fact that my mother and family won’t be close by (they live 7 hours away in Long Island) and I moved through layers of grief knowing she won’t be here as often as I’d hoped. Eric and I started to look at daycare centers because he works from home full time and I’m a full-time entrepreneur. Yes, there is flexibility in my schedule, but I will need dedicated time each week to focus solely on the business.
Here’s my (rough) plan for working + child-care –
- Our baby will go to daycare two days per week and on those dedicated days, I will have clients, have hypnosis sessions, record videos, and do anything else that requires peace and quiet.
- On the other days when she is home with us, I will be focused on other tasks that don’t require me to be on camera or video (talking to team, content creation, etc).
- Eric works 7AM-3PM on most days and is off on weekends, so if I need to do anything else, I know he will help out and I can focus on work.
- I’m also planning my sales cycles for the first half of the year way ahead of time so that I can be present with my family. I don’t get a ‘Maternity Leave’ so I have to create my own, selling past on-demand programs, workshops, and courses during that time.
- My support coach, Katie, and I are working behind-the-scenes on something BIG that we’ll be launching in January that will allow me the flexibility to work intermittently, too.
- I’m grateful that I have so much support (support coach Katie, social media assistant Iris, and Executive Assistant Priscilla) to help keep my business running.
As I said, this is the ROUGH plan and I know that our child will throw tons of curveballs at us as we all get adjusted in those first 6 weeks.
During the second trimester, I also started gaining more weight. As the scale climbed and I gained weight (which is HEALTHY for baby), I have to admit that I had flashbacks of being heavier in college with my binge eating disorder. Yes, I cognitively know that I have to gain weight in order for this child to be born, it was triggering to my 20-something self who was struggling to love herself. Fortunately, I work with my nervous system coach and was able to work through some of these triggering situations (like being weighed at every doctor’s appointment.)
Boundaries also came up as big theme for me as I found I was even more sensitive during pregnancy and needed to protect my energy. I started to set more firm boundaries around my time and when I take social media apps off of my phone (after 4PM each day and on weekends.) I’m prepping for the times when I won’t be available due to Lindsay’s arrival and taking care of a newborn.
What Eric and I did to prep during the second trimester –
- We took a few classes at the hospital including a breastfeeding class and two classes on Infant Care + Safety, where we learned about diapering, feeding, safety precautions, sleep, and more. This was extremely empowering because…we have never had a baby!
- I had my anatomy scan at 20 weeks and learned that we are having a girl!! Eric picked the name Lindsay Ann and you’re probably asking where her name came from. He liked the name Lindsay and Ann is my middle name, so we were decisive and loved the name.
- As I’m writing this blog, I’m in week 25 and I am dreading the glucose tolerance test at week 26 that tests for gestational diabetes, but I know it needs to be done. I hate the idea of drinking that much sugar and don’t want to get sick from it!
- My mother-in-law started to plan the baby shower, which is happening in January. Katie and I made invitations that clearly shared that I have plenty of blankets, clothes, books, and trinkets (we have tons of that already!) On the invitation, we directed people attending the baby shower to my Amazon Baby Registry and/or to purchase Amazon, Target, or Old Navy gift cards because I know we can ALWAYS use that for diapers, wipes, or clothes as Lindsay gets older.
- We also had a Gender Celebration party (not Gender Reveal) because I thought it was more intimate to learn our baby’s sex with just Eric and I. When we learned she was a girl, I cried with tears of joy. We would have been happy with a boy, too!
I’ll be posting my 3rd blog on the third trimester in early 2024 so keep an eye out for that!
In the meantime, if you’re an entrepreneur and are thinking about getting pregnant, please know that I am here to support you to answer any questions you may have! From fertility to pregnancy, I will happily share my experience while holding a safe space for you. <3
With love,
Christina
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Bio for Dr. Christina –
Dr. Christina Fontana, AKA The Pharmacist Coach, is a pharmacist, holistic healer, rapid transformation business coach, speaker, and 5-time author. She helps spiritually-driven women to ‘Reignite Your Light’ and shine in your brilliance, confidence, and true essence.
She started her entrepreneurial journey 11 years ago being disempowered, homelessness, broke, with eating disorders, PTSD, and anxiety and has since transformed, turning her pain into purpose, empowering women all over the world to step into more purpose, power, and prosperity.
Over the last 11 years, Dr. Christina has been providing uplifting, transformational content through her Youtube videos, books, courses, programs, and Conferences. Her mission is to empower more healers and business owners unlock their innate gifts to create a domino effect of healing on the world.