Sunday, January 26, 2014

A Tale of Two Pregnancies

Just as all babies are different, I'm learning so are pregnancies.  The first trimester was very similar...exhaustion.  I have never been so tired in my life during the early weeks of both pregnancies. Thankfully, I had no major morning sickness with either pregnancy, just a little nausea here and there.

The differences began as I entered the 2nd trimester.  I started to feel Baby 2 move a lot sooner than I did E, probably because I knew what it felt like already.  But Baby 2 is a lot more active.  I feel like he or she is constantly doing flips.  If this is any indication of what's to come, we're in for a treat!  Baby 2 must be sitting right on my bladder, I pee way more than I did with E.  In fact there's times when he or she kicks and I'm afraid I'm going to pee my pants.

Heartburn, oh the heartburn.  I normally like spicy food and don't have issues with heartburn.  With E I craved spice and could handle it.  Now the mildest of salsas or pepperoni pizza cause me to reach for the Mylanta.  Spice wasn't the only thing I craved with E, glazed doughnuts and coleslaw were my go to foods. I would stop every Friday morning on my way to work for a glazed doughnut.  I haven't had many cravings with this pregnancy.  My one craving with Baby 2 is beer and wine.  I didn't miss the adult beverages with E, but this time around I find myself smelling Mike's beer and ogling over wine lists at restaurants. I know a small glass of wine now and then isn't the worst thing for pregnancy, but I'm playing it cautions and resisting. Only 3 more months to go and that Sam Adams summer pack will be mine.

I'm much more hormonal with Baby 2.  My mom even commented on how sensitive I am to everything.  I'm usually not a big crier but I find myself crying at commercials, TV shows, and I don't dare look at baby pictures of E for fear the water works will come on.  A few months ago, I was watching the movie Bridesmaids and I found myself crying through nearly the entire movie.  Was Bridesmaids meant to be a drama?  In my defense, there is some pretty deep friendship issues in the movie, it's not all raunchy comedy.

Now to the bump.  I thought I had a cute baby belly with E all the way to the end.  Baby 2, not so much. It's more like a lump, several lumps to be exact.  It's my second pregnancy and things are already stretched and let's face it, I didn't lose much of the baby weight from the first time.  So instead of a cute tight bump, I have squishy lumps.  I'm very thankful for leggings and that I can wear jeans and fleece pullovers to work.

With this pregnancy, I find myself overall feeling better.  At 6 months in with E, I was having trouble sleeping, bending, and just felt uncomfortable.  Thankfully, I've been feeling great with this pregnancy. I'm sure lugging a 30 lb toddler around has helped my body feel better this far along.  It's certainly not due to time spent at the gym.

In the next few weeks, I'll enter my third trimester and it's finally starting to feel real to me.  With E, I was reading everything I could to prepare for pregnancy, birth, and bringing home a newborn.  I had weekly emails updating me on what was going on in the womb and Mike and I took several classes.  With the second pregnancy, I find myself losing track of how far a long I am.  But with only 3 months to go, it's game time.  These next few months will be a whirlwind of getting ready for Baby 2.
                 

No comments:

Post a Comment