If you're new to hampersandhiccups.com, let me catch you up. I have a 17 month old Sweet Girl, and we just welcomed our new bundle of joy – Pipsqueak. You probably don't want to do the math, so I'll tell ya – that equates to me being pregnant for roughly 18 months out of the last 26. 69%! While both pregnancies were relatively uneventful and, dare I say, easy, they were still pregnancies! As I'm sure you've heard, no two pregnancies, births or babies are the same. I can agree with this and I'm going to share with you 7 of my pregnancy differences.
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Pregnancy Differences – Heartburn
My first pregnancy can be summed up in 3 words: enjoyable, active & heartburn. Right around the start of the second trimester, I began having mild to moderate heartburn or acid reflux. Being something I've always struggled with, I didn't think anything of it. I was always able to eliminate the feeling with antacids. Until I couldn't. And then it got worse. And worse. And worse. To the point where I had to sit up to fall asleep at night and drinking even a glass of water would trigger severe pain and discomfort.
I finally caved and got a prescription for ranitidine and OHMYGAHHHD how that changed my life. My only regret is not starting it sooner!
The second time around, I still had heartburn, but it was nowhere near as severe. I only took a prescription pill maybe 3 times as a preventative measure if I was going to be out for a while. Otherwise, I was able to control it with regular antacids, but most days it was nonexistent.
Pregnancy Differences – First Trimester
The first go 'round I barely felt pregnant. I would even forget that I was growing a little human. I was actually concerned that I didn't have any morning sickness or serious symptoms. The only real tell-tale sign was my sore boobies. And my how they were tender!
Occasionally I would get tired in the afternoons, but nothing a little sit down wouldn't manage. I vomited a grand total of 2 times – once because Hubby didn't wash a container properly!
While my second pregnancy didn't leave me bed-ridden in the beginning, there was a noticeable difference in my energy. Now, this could be due to the time of year or having to chase around a crawling little one, but my productivity level plummeted! I needed an afternoon nap to be able to function! I was also generally more nauseous and weak, but only ended up getting sick a few times.
Pregnancy Differences – General Discomfort
When we were expecting Sweet Girl, I was enjoying every minute of being pregnant! As I mentioned above, a lot of times I would forget I was even harbouring such a special gift. Once we announced our news I was flaunting that little belly everywhere! I didn't get uncomfortable and “ready to be done” until the last week of my 40 week journey.
The second time? Different story! It wasn't long after the half-way mark when I started feeling huge and needing frequent breaks. Yes, it was summer (and a hot one!) and no, I hadn't regained my pre-baby body before we decided to have a second little one, but man was I uncomfortable!
As someone who is used to doing a helluva lot in a day, I was knocked on my ass. If I did “too much” (anything physical, really), I was laid up for a day or 2 trying to recover from the serious back pain I caused myself. I experienced sciatic pain like never before to the point where I had to have Hubby stay home from work to help out one day.
Walking down the street and back had me sitting on the couch for an hour or two just to settle down.
I couldn't carry a load of laundry up the stairs without gasping for air like a recently freed suffocation victim.
Right around week 30 I starting having some serious cervical pains. Not from anything I was doing, just because Pipsqueak decided it was fun to punch me and try to escape. Lordy, was I not expecting that until closer to 38-39 weeks.
Pregnancy Differences – Baby's Movements
The way Sweet Girl moved around on the inside I would have bet money she was a boy. Everyone told me the more active the baby, the higher chance of it being a boy. HA! I would not want to experience the “boy version” of that baby. Since it was my first pregnancy it was really cool and exciting to feel and watch that little thing moving around and distorting my belly. I even got some pretty good videos of it.
Once she got a little older, it was clear as day why she moved around so much on the inside. She is a go-er, that's for sure. She hasn't stopped moving since she started rolling over at two and a half months old. It will be interesting to see if Little Pip is relatively as active as he was in the womb.
Which wasn't nearly as much. To be honest, I was pretty worried when I didn't feel him as soon as I did Sweet Girl. I've heard that the second one you feel sooner. This wasn't the case for me. Pip did move around enough that I knew he was healthy, but it was nothing compared to my orangutan daughter!
However, Little Pip did pick it up near the end with his cervical pressure and punches and bum pushes.
Pregnancy Differences – Excitement
It took us 18 months to conceive our Sweet Girl. We were over the moon with excitement when those two pink lines finally appeared. After all the struggles, emotions and testing we had done it felt like a miracle to be carrying our baby.
Fast forward to Sweet Girl being about 7 months old. I had a feeling I was pregnant, but the tests were telling me different. Eventually I did have a positive test after a few weeks of peeing on sticks. I had only had ONE period since having our first baby. Yes, I got pregnant on the first “try”! Talk about exciting!!
While we waited until week 17 to tell anyone about the first pregnancy, I was ready to shout the news of our second from the rooftops! Sweet Girl was going to be a big sister and we didn't even have to try! We told our parents at 8 weeks, but decided to wait until the end of the first trimester, after a better dating ultrasound, to make the big announcement. I had serious trouble keeping the secret, but I did.
In the end, I do wish we would have waited longer to announce the second time around, but the excitement was too much to bear!0..
This content was created by original creator of this website, Katelynn Hegedus.
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