With us being less than two months away from my daughter’s due date, I’ve been thinking a lot about the differences between my first and second pregnancies. I know that pregnancy is different from woman to woman and even pregnancy to pregnancy for a woman, but I was not prepared for my second to be so different.
Morning Sickness
One of the biggest differences between the two was the morning sickness. When I was pregnant with Wylder, I was lucky enough to miss out on the morning sickness phase. The only time I ever felt a little sick was if I had too much sugar. Otherwise, I felt great! So when I saw that positive pregnancy test for the second time, I just assumed the same would happen again. Boy was I wrong! I wound up being sick for the remainder of my first trimester. What made it worse was that I had a toddler that I still had to chase and take care of. There were some days that I couldn’t even get off the couch. Luckily, Wylder is sensitive and sensed that I didn’t feel so great and spent those days cuddled up to me on the couch. I am so glad that those days are behind me!
One of the biggest differences between the two was the morning sickness. When I was pregnant with Wylder, I was lucky enough to miss out on the morning sickness phase. The only time I ever felt a little sick was if I had too much sugar. Otherwise, I felt great! So when I saw that positive pregnancy test for the second time, I just assumed the same would happen again. Boy was I wrong! I wound up being sick for the remainder of my first trimester. What made it worse was that I had a toddler that I still had to chase and take care of. There were some days that I couldn’t even get off the couch. Luckily, Wylder is sensitive and sensed that I didn’t feel so great and spent those days cuddled up to me on the couch. I am so glad that those days are behind me!
Weird Pregnancy Dreams
Starting pretty early this go around, I started experiencing the crazy pregnancy dreams. Most nights, these dreams would be so crazy and bizarre, I would wake up in the middle of the night from them. One night, I dreamed my husband was on the run from the police inside a hospital and even had to change his appearance. Another night, I had a dream that involved assassins. What in the world?!? I may watch too many crime shows I guess.
Bigger Belly Sooner
With my first pregnancy, my belly was so little and I could still fit into my regular clothes until I was 34 weeks pregnant. This time, I was early in the second trimester when everything for too tight. I’m carrying even lower than I did the first time around and of course, my muscles are not as tight in my stomach so my stomach got a lot bigger a lot faster. I knew that would probably happen, but I didn’t expect it to happen as early as it did.
Back/Pelvic Pain
I’m carrying my daughter even lower than I carried my son so there has been a lot more pressure on my pelvis than my first pregnancy. This has caused me to struggle to walk, get dressed, roll over in bed, and some days even pick Wylder up. Luckily, I have found that wearing a maternity support belt will help!
Less Time to Rest
Whenever I’m experiencing some kind of pain or discomfort and look for answers on How to ease it, the answer always seems to be to rest. That would be all fine and dandy if I didn’t have a not even two year old to look after every day. And while I can give him to grandparents when needed, I would have to give him away for the entire pregnancy for me to get the rest I need. I try to rest when I can, but the reality is that I’m not able to rest as much as the first because I have mom responsibilities already.
Eating Less Sweets
My first pregnancy, I indulged in eating a good bit of sweets especially ice cream. This time, I still indulge, but not as often because I have a toddler who will also want some. And let’s face it, I have a hard enough time saying no to that sweet little face as is and he does not need to be eating sweets as much as I would like to! This is one way being pregnant while having a toddler is actually a benefit.
Due to the differences in my pregnancies so far, I am anxious to see how my labor and deliveries will differ as well. You can never predict how things will go or fully prepare yourself. You just have to take things one day at a time and prepare as best as you can.
How about you? Tell me in the comments below how your pregnancies differed. I would love to hear your experiences!
