5 Differences Between My First and Second Pregnancies

Being pregnant with your second baby is completely different from the first time around. During your first pregnancy, you are beside yourself about every single thing and detail going on in and outside of your body. You are forming a special bond between you and your new baby; you record every moment, every heartbeat, every movement; you anticipate what he or she will look like or be like, and on and on. Being pregnant for the first time is a glorious time in a woman’s life. But then round two comes along…and by no means am I not in awe of this little guy inside of me, or excited about my growing family, or even to see my little Luc become a big brother. I am so in love with baby number two, solely from the ultrasounds, and will love him more than life itself, however, my second pregnancy has been completely different from the first. And not in a “bad” way, just different.  I’ve thought about it a little bit and here are my top differences between my first and second pregnancies.

1. Pregnancy Knowledge 

First Pregnancy 
Throughout my first pregnancy, I read nearly every book, blog, and article about pregnancy and giving birth that I could make time for. I religiously read What to Expect When You’re Expecting every week, word for word, page by page, reading the chapter that coincided with whatever week I was in. I signed up for Babycenter’s “October 2014 Babies” group and checked it every other day to see what other mamas in the same stage of pregnancy were going through. I even knew exactly what fruit or veggie my baby’s size could compare to at any given time. 

Second Pregnancy 
Books?! Ha, unless reading Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Little Blue Truck 10 times in a row with my toddler, daily, count, then I have not read a single book or article about pregnancy this time around. I am 33 weeks pregnant now, so I guess I still have time, right? LOL who am I kidding, I have no time to read right now. I’ll just take each day as it comes when I become a mom of two. 

2. Eating Habits 

First Pregnancy
During my first pregnancy, I was very conscious about what to eat while pregnant.  I started off eating healthy foods, until about halfway through when I got permission from my doctor to have a burger every day and fried chicken whenever I wanted! I gave in to almost every craving I had “because I was pregnant” and ended up gaining about 45 pounds!! (YIKES!) I did not, however, dare to touch the “what not to eat while pregnant” list, which was so difficult.

Second Pregnancy

“I could really go for sushi right now!!!”

LOL, okay so I haven’t done that, BUT I have had a cup of coffee every morning, the occasional turkey sandwich, and an over-easy egg because runny egg yolk is just too delicious to pass up. It’s not going to really harm me or the baby, right? Turkey sandwiches have been a real craving this time around and so I have given in more often than not. This time, however, I have really watched my eating, making sure to drink plenty of water, and have, so far, only gained half of what I gained during my first pregnancy. This could be due to my awesome eating choices OR it could be because I am running after a 2.5 year old day in and day out.  

3. Birth Preparation 

First Pregnancy 
I thought about what it was going to be like to give birth to my first baby daily. I dragged my husband to birthing classes, toured the hospital, read everything I could find about giving birth, and I downloaded a “labor” music album to play in the hospital during delivery. I even typed up a detailed “birth plan” for my doctor (of course she laughed while she was reviewing it); none of which went according to plan when Luc came surprisingly one week early via C-section!.

Second Pregnancy
This pregnancy, I haven’t actually thought about the actual birth at all (at least yet). I’m sure having a scheduled C-section has taken some of the anticipation away, but now I know what to expect and haven’t thought about all of the unknowns of labor and delivery. The only thing I have been truly concerned about is planning when I am going to get my hair, nails, and waxing done, prior to my scheduled date, and of course childcare for my son while my husband and I are in the hospital.  

4. Baby Necessities 

First Pregnancy
Pregnancy with Luc was so exciting that I researched and registered for everything imaginable that lists, blogs, and friends said I would definitely need for baby. I was fortunate to have two massive baby showers allowing me to receive nearly EVERYTHING on my registry, only to learn that I didn’t need certain things and I had to make multiple trips back and forth to stores, returning and exchanging items.  

Second Pregnancy
I’m a pro, right? Okay, maybe I am not the perfect mom, but I do know my habits and now I know exactly what I need and don’t need on a regular basis to help make life easier with a newborn, infant, and toddler. This knowledge helped me purge my baby boxes and get ready for number two in a practical way. Of course, I have picked out a few new, and probably unnecessary, items for my new little fella; I am human, after all. 

5. Rest 

First Pregnancy 
Even though I was working full time and commuting, I made sure to get plenty of rest every day. I slept in on the weekends, and was very careful to not over-extend myself and my body during my first pregnancy. I made a point to get tons of sleep every month for nine months (oh wait, that’s right, 10 months; pregnancy is TEN months, ugh).  

Second Pregnancy
What is “sleep”?  I have a 2.5 year old, I manage my house, I work part time from home, and not to mention the enormous amounts of travel this summer in preparation for my sister’s wedding. Who in my world has time to sleep these days? I’m not going to lie, I am utterly EXHAUSTED, but when 10pm rolls around and I have put my son to sleep and finished everything else for the day, I have two options:  go to bed early to get some sleep…OR have a little me-time and binge watch my latest Netflix obsession (yes, please)! 

Like I said, the second time around has been very different than the first. It’s been amazing, yet exhausting, and I am counting down the days with anticipation to meet my little guy. And maybe also anticipating having a delicious plate of sushi, paired with a beautiful glass of wine! Let’s face it, mamas, we all know I am going to need that soon enough (10 months is 10 months too long).