Pregnancy #1 Vs. Pregnancy #2

Let the pregnancy comparisons begin!

My cousin, Laura, told me awhile ago that just as each of her children have been different, each of her pregnancies were different. I think most moms of multiple children would agree. This pregnancy has been the same and been very different from my first pregnancy.

Similarities

• Getting pregnant right away. We know a surprising number of people that have struggled with this.
• Elated at our wonderful, exciting news.
• Summer conception, spring due date.
• Feeling like I have two bricks strapped to my chest instead of "tender breasts" as the books call them. Come on! Start telling ladies what's it really like wouldya!? Ouch! And they just keep getting bigger.
• "Morning Sickness." Again, a deceiving term, as for many women it doesn't only happen in the morning. Take Exhibit A: ME! With Baby #1 I would get sick at any time of day and was sick for the first 20 weeks, with a few episodes even after that. It was the one thing I hoped wouldn't exist this time around. Why can't I be one of those women that never have nausea or vomiting and simply get to "enjoy" pregnancy? UGH!
• Extreme fatigue.
• Countless pee trips to the bathroom at night. I didn't think it started this early last time.
• Avoiding any glimpse of raw meat or fish if possible. Instant tummy trigger.
• Using a tiny amount of toothpaste, and switching to a plain flavor...I hate that this pregnancy tummy trigger has ruined a favorite part of my day...again.
• Super Smell...the tummy triggers caused by whifs of the dog food, the garage, and other various scents are back.
• As bad as it feels at times, I'm so thankful that we've been blessed to be able to go through this process and bring another life into this world...our world.

Differences

• I'm not working as a teacher, with a schedule to keep and responsibilities outside of the home to follow through on. Nor do I have the encouragement and sounding board to feed off each day from my friends and colleagues.
• I don't have to worry about sick leave and making sub plans for 6 weeks toward the end of the year. I'm not consulting my calendar nearly as much...sometimes I don't even know the date.
• With no said career outside the home, I don't have to face the smell of the garage each morning, which resulted in many vomiting episodes in our front yard around 7:15am last go around. (Now they just happen at other various times.)
• Much more abdominal pain and cramping this time. I feel a lot of discomfort and worry, but then wonder if I'm still feeling the pain, is that a good sign that life still exists in there? I also find myself questioning if I have gas, need to pee again, or go #2.  I can't tell if I've felt flutters over the last week or if it's just more puzzling feelings around the whole area.
• I have a toddler at home to tend to. I don't know which was more difficult...a classroom full of 3rd Graders or one 16 month old? One includes dirty diapers...a new tummy trigger, but the other carried all sorts of questionable smells.
• I can nap in the middle of a work day, if said toddler does.
• I feel like I itch more. I have very sensitive skin, and it's making me scratch more.
• I feel like I stink more. I don't remember thinking that I stunk during the first pregnancy, but I sure feel like I need my own bubble so nobody else can smell what my nose is picking up.
• I'm nesting a whole lot more.
• I'm blogging a whole lot more too.
• I've been known to zip through the cereal aisle on two occasions so far and pick up sugary cereal advertised toward children, along with my adult favorites. But who needs 10 boxes (all opened and used to varying degrees) in their kitchen?
• I never ate during the night during my first pregnancy. This time, at any point between midnight and 5am, you could catch me reaching for a breakfast bar or granola bar off my nightstand and hastily finishing it while trying to keep crumbs to a minimum.
• More difficulty sleeping at this stage than before. I can't seem to train myself to stay off my back and stay on my sides yet!
• I haven't set aside special time each week to read my Pregnancy Week by Week book. I seem to pick it up and catch up as I can.
• I haven't taken my measurements and checked my weight each week either. This was routine last time!
• The same goes for taking weekly pictures of myself! I only have one so far!
• I haven't had nearly as many moments of simple tummy touching and reflection as I did with Pregnancy #1.
• I just opened the Bio Oil last night and slathered some on. I had started this long ago (Palmer's lotion though) during the last pregnancy. I still got stretch marks at the very end and I still have them. I opted for the Bio Oil this time with the prompting of a coupon I came across.
• Jesse has been here much longer during this pregnancy so far. He's probably felt like he's had two kids to take care of at times. Although he heard about these things over the phone last time, he's gotten to experience them this time. He seems to think that the increased sense of smell is a farce and that I have a very powerful mind, because if I would just stop thinking about getting sick so much or stop thinking about having a headache (side effect of Zofran), then it wouldn't happen. I'm also not eating enough. I told him that I don't get through every other day of my life by not thinking about getting sick...I just don't. If you've never been pregnant and had the sickness (and other strange side effects), you may think the same thing. I don't blame him. Pregnancy does some crazy things to the body.

I'm sure more similarities and differences will happen along the way, but I think this just about covers it for the time being.