Exactly Like The First Time, Except Completely Different

Here we go again!

I am in the process of making Jackson a sibling, from scratch. I spent some time reading my posts from when he was born. This is the reason I started this blog; to document the joy and pain of having a child.

I am confident we have made the right decision.

Pregnancy is a funny thing. I had a lovely pregnancy with Jackson. Other than some fatigue in the first trimester, a small bout of nausea around dinner time for a few weeks, a broken leg, excessively swollen feet, and some random pain here and there, I really enjoyed being pregnant.

They say (whoever "they" are) that each pregnancy is different. I concur.

I actually knew I was pregnant early in the morning on Friday, February 27th. Actually, I take that back. I initially thought I had the flu OR I was dying. I woke up with the chills. I literally felt them run up and down my spine. I dragged myself out of bed to get a sweatshirt and I felt like I might faint. For a second I considered sleeping on Jackson's floor knowing his space heater had that room nice and cozy. I kept waiting for the fever to come.....

I woke up feeling nauseous, icky, and overall very fluish. The fever never came so I schlepped Jackson to day care and got myself to school. I sat in a fog wondering what I had done to deserve this. I have a toddler, isn't that hard enough? Now I am going to die and leave my family behind?

Then it hit me.

I am pregnant. I have to go get a pregnancy test, now.

As a family, we had tentatively decided that maybe we could do it all again to give Jackson a sibling. Well, to be fair, Jackson really didn't have a choice in the matter. Our tentative plan was apparently a go. I got the very faint positive and I knew this was it.

Then it hit me.

This does not feel good. How am I going to pull this off?

I find that looking at the humor in an otherwise difficult situation is the easiest way to get through. So here is the raw and honest truth about a second pregnancy (so far).

Your Second Pregnancy: Exactly Like The First Time, Except Completely Different

Thinking about having another little angel? Here is the honest truth.

• Your friends who had lovely, easy, glowing pregnancies multiple times are the exceptions to the rule. Next time they tell you they would consider being a surrogate because it was so easy, throw up on their shoe. It will make you feel better. Promise.
• Taking care of a toddler while you are pregnant is a large part of your new challenge. Gone are the days when you come home from work in your first trimester and take a nap. A word of advice: go to bed immediately after them. It is your only hope.
• If you have nausea, gagging, and vomiting, be prepared to be mocked by your toddler. Don't take it personally when they mimic your constant gagging sounds.
• *Be prepared to show immediately. It won't really be showing; you are most likely bloated. However, you will look pregnant. Good luck hiding it.
• **Your spouse has "been there, done that". He has seen you through your first pregnancy and you made it through. Do not expect to be treated like the fragile, glowing, pregnancy princess that you were the first time around. He will be much more relaxed and less worried. In fact, you may need to remind him that you are pregnant sometimes. 
• Suck it up; complaining isn't lady-like. I find that the disclaimer "Please assume I feel like a hangover married a flu and I am carrying their child until otherwise notified" gets the point across. No one wants the play-by-play of your physical discomfort.
• Breathe through your mouth when changing dirty diapers. There is no other way to survive this.
• Did you have clear skin in your first pregnancy? Hope you enjoyed that! Welcome to adult acne. Bloated with acne. Good times.
• Pregnancy brain is magnified this time. Yes, it is possible to be even dumber that you were during your first pregnancy. Now you are constantly thinking about your pregnancy while taking care of your first child, working, and trying to hold an adult life together. Good luck, idiot.

Don't worry! It's not all bad!

• The first ultrasound when you see that little heart beating the first time is just a magical and still a huge relief.
• Apparently you CAN love another person as much as you love your first, so don't worry about that.
• Your family will make an effort to act excited even though this isn't the golden child (aka: the first grandchild).
• There will come a time, several years down the road, when your children will play together. I hear you can sometimes sit for 30 minutes at a time doing nothing while they entertain each other. Hopefully this is not a myth.
• You have a lot of the baby gear that you will need (and a lot that you know you don't need). Some of it is even assembled.
• You MAY get to decorate for and dress the opposite gender. That could be a fun new adventure.
• You kind of know what to expect/what you are doing. I don't necessarily think it will be easier, but at least it is not your first rodeo. 

*It is a medical fact that you show earlier (about a month earlier to be exact) in the second pregnancy for two reasons:

1. Your uterus did not shrink down to its original size after your first pregnancy.
2. Your stomach muscles are already stretched out, so they cannot contain your growing uterus like they did the first time around.

**To be fair, Colin has been great. He tries not to laugh at my constant gagging and he has been really helpful with Jackson and housework. I am a lucky gal. 

There will be more to come on this subject. I am sure I am just getting started. 

Here we go!

Our gummy bear four weeks ago (we are officially 12 weeks today):