It is said that every pregnancy is different, which I can definitely attest to at the moment.
I am just a few months into my second pregnancy, and it is already a totally different story to last time around. This time, I am battling near-constant nausea while last time I barely noticed I was pregnant for the first few months.
Even more pertinent than the different symptoms attending each pregnancy, is the different ways we ourselves approach them. For the first baby, we have all the time in the world to focus on our burgeoning bumps while the second time around things are a little different…
10 Truths About First Time Pregnancy vs Second Time Pregnancy:
1. The Book
First-time: You read THE BOOK religiously.
Second-time: You’re not quite sure where THE BOOK is…
2. R&R
First-time: You REEEEEALLY look after yourself and make sure you get a little lie-down each day.
Second-time: You sneak away periodically to get a lie down but invariably the toddler finds you and sits on your face or tries to stand on your belly.
3. Non-stop Nausea
First-time: You take to the bed at the tiniest hint of morning sickness.
Second-time: You might spew in a bin at the park, toddlers do not understand or tolerate maternal sickness. If you do get to be sick in the actual toilet, it’s likely you might have company – The Child came in for a look-see as I spewed my guts out the other day and provided encouragement by repeatedly smacking my bum and laughing.
4. Maternity Style (not an oxymoron)
First-time: You may have ambitions to look nice during your pregnancy. Exploring the Maternity section and experimenting with cute oversized polka dot blouses in the quest to nail your bump style.
Second-time: Everything is elasticated to the MAX. A pair of once-black maternity leggings that saw you through the last pregnancy and the 8 months afterwards when you couldn’t face an actual waistband have been called out of retirement and are once more grafted onto your body. Oh yeah AND the crotch is now completely see through.
5. The Big Reveal
First-time: You’re DYING to tell everyone and the wait until the customary 12 weeks feels interminable.
Second-time: You’re so distracted that you may perhaps forget that some really key people haven’t been told yet when you strut an obvious 5-month bump to confused reactions. You may find yourself saying, “I’m sorry, did I not tell you I’m pregnant?” more than once.
6. Pinteresting The Nursery
First-time: You spend many happy hours planning the baby’s bedroom.
Second-time: You wonder vaguely where the hell you’re going to keep the new baby in the tiny house, but then remember that YOU will basically be the baby’s bedroom for the first few months and immediately stop fretting.
7. Due Date
First-time: You know your gestation date in weeks, days, hours and seconds.
Second-time: You know that you’re due some time in October.
8. Essential Baby Gear
First-time: You spend a long time researching the myriad baby essentials for the forthcoming arrival.
Second-time: You spend a moderate amount of time chiselling dried Weetabix off the old carseat. Baby prep done.
9. Nutrition is Paramount
First-time: You carefully pour over your food choices aware with every bite that this is Baby’s first taste of raspberry and this is Baby’s first taste of kale.
Second-time: Baby’s first taste of a crisp sandwich happens around the nine week mark and it’s downhill from there.
10. Nesting
First-time: You may at some point near the end of the pregnancy decide to clean the house from top to bottom.
Second-time: Cleaning the house from top to bottom is the absolute LAST thing on your to-do list, which looks something like this:
1. Wait till family is distracted, sneak away and lie down.
2. Repeat as needed.
