8 ways being pregnant the 2nd time is different than the 1st

As I slyly mentioned in my last post, I am once again knocked up. Due in early September in case you wanted to add it to your calendar. 

You probably gathered from my plethora of bitchy/satirical pregnancy posts with my first that I'm not a fan of pregnancy. I despise it, in fact. Luckily it all pays off in a matter of 9 months, but the wait to get there is really quite horrible. 

Now luckily not everyone agrees with me. Some people LOVE pregnancy. That's probably because they don't get the vomiting, migraine, swelling symptoms. 

And for that I say to them [in the rudest way possible]: "I hate you, please either shut up or pretend pregnancy sucks when you're around me." 

Luckily the second trimester has hit for me so I'm anticipating that "57 minutes of glory" to come along any minute. During those precious seconds in time, I will not feel like complete garbage and will make it a point to write a positive pregnancy post.

Having been pregnant once before, I've noticed a lot of differences the second time around. Like many things, there are pros and there are cons. Mostly cons. But I still get a baby at the end of the deal so I do feel pretty good about it.  

8 Ways Being Pregnant the 2nd Time is Different Than the 1st

1. That whole "other kid" thing.

The first and most obvious difference for your second pregnancy is that you have another kid running around somewhere. Hopefully you have tabs on them. If not, you might want to check that situation out. 

In my case, I currently have a 16 month old to deal with on top of growing a human. This takes the exhaustion symptom to a whole new level. I also bring said toddler to work with me every day, so on top of working full time, I'm chasing around a now incredibly-mobile wild child. 

2. Working out? No.

With Addi, I continued my workout regimen strictly until I got too uncomfortable to do so [around the 3rd trimester]. I was running, I got up at 6 am to do yoga, I even did weights. 

You wanna know what my workout routine consists of now? Having a toddler. I run after her. I stretch when I'm picking up her tornado of toys every 5 minutes and I carry all 24 pounds of her around with me when I'm too impatient to let her lolly-gag [walk]. 

As for those "no excuses" moms who claim that they always make time to work out, good for them. But I'm not one of them. I get home from work between 4-5, make dinner, clean up the house, chase my kid around, try to stop her from throwing fits, do the laundry, prepare food/drinks/clothes for the next day at work, help with jammies [dad gives her a bath] and we put her to bed. I go to bed around 9 and then I get up and do it all over again. I hardly have time to eat dinner, let alone sit and watch TV. Or work out. 

I wish I had time, I wish I had the energy, and I wish I had the motivation. But keeping the house in line is higher up on my list of priorities at this point [nesting] so the cardio can wait. 

3. Less freaking out.

As a first time preggo, it's in your genes to be terrified every time something weird happens to your body. Anything and everything will make you fear the worst. It's biological. 

Now that I've been around the block once, I feel much more confident when something weird happens. Unless you have unusual bleeding or recurring pains, you're probably fine. I kept my OB on speed dial with Addi, this time around I couldn't tell you their number if I tried. It's a calming feeling.

4. Symptoms are different with each kid.

I'd heard this before, but it never really resonated until it actually happened to me. On top of the additional fatigue, I also vomited my entire first trimester, whereas with Addi I only had nausea. And I've had migraines. It's been peachy.

I didn't do the progesterone shots this time around but I am taking a supplemental pill. This, I believe, seems to be causing the migraines. The vomiting is nearly gone, so that's comforting. Still holding out for those 57 minutes of 2nd trimester bliss. 

5. Appointments seem to come a lot quicker.

With your first, every doctor's appointment is SUPER exciting. But they also felt like a million weeks apart. I remember counting down the days until the next one! It was so fun to ask my doctor questions and get to see the little squirt on a sonogram. 

Now? I can hardly remember when my last appointment was. I just know that I have to go again next week and we find out the gender and I'm all, whoa...where did the time go, dude? 

This is also enjoyable for me because I hated waiting for my next appointment. Being this busy makes it feel like they're only a week apart! Talk about convenient. 

6. People seem to forget you're pregnant.

I don't know if it's because the first was SO glorified but I feel like this baby isn't getting as much attention as our first. It could also be because I just started showing and people seemingly forgot I was even pregnant [this included myself some moments].

It's kind of a bummer but it's also nice not having people ask you how you're feeling every 10 minutes. 

7. You show a lot sooner. 

I'm going a different route with my pregnancy updates this time around [meaning I won't be doing a weekly, just because you've heard it all before] but trust me when I say that I'm showing a lot more than I did the first time around.

This is likely because I was only not pregnant for a year and 3 months before I got knocked up again, therefore my lady innards didn't get a chance to shrink back to their normal size. [You're welcome for that detailed bit of information]

8. People stop asking how many kids you're going to have.

Apparently it's not enough to just have one child anymore because from the minute I got pregnant the questions started rolling in regarding when we were going to have a second. At that point, I was all, "hey, yo, I just got pregnant, give it some time" but it didn't stop when she was born. It felt like the minute she came out people were asking when we were going to have a second. 

Now that we're having our second, people don't really ask. And if they do, I quickly say, "we're done at two." and that's it. No more questions. We're done. It's a freaking miracle. Because there are no negative Nancy's out there telling you that you can't have an only child. Two seems sufficient to most people. Halle-freakin'-lujiah. 

It's the same principle, pregnancy, but it's much different if you've done it before. I know I've said it before, but I really am trying to get better about writing in my blog more frequently. I do have a lot going on these days so I have a lot to write about! I'll keep you abreast of the pregnancy situation, whether you want to hear it or not. 

Peace out, homies.