Nope.
This pregnancy has been different in two major ways: physically and emotionally.
Now there are no outrageous physical changes, but this pregnancy is progressing quite differently from my first. When I was pregnant with the Bean, I didn't really start to show until around 18 weeks (and even then, it wasn't very obvious). This time around? Hello 9 weeks. You've heard of muscle memory? Apparently my abdominal muscles remember being stretched out. Okay, I could hide it until about 14 weeks, but this is vastly different from pregnancy #1. I remember that I couldn't wait to have a bump with my first pregnancy... this time when I started showing I was almost embarrassed because it was so early on.
This other physical difference has been the nausea. oh the nausea. I experienced virtually no nausea with my first pregnancy. Sure, I had some food aversions from weeks 6-9, but nothing major. This time around I got queasy around week 6 and felt like I didn't step off the boat until week 15. And food aversions? Oh there were plenty. Basically anything healthy (especially raw vegetables) was out. My clean eating diet went out the window. Anything that sounded good to me (and there wasn't much) I ate. This consisted mostly of items containing sugar.
Then I got a cold.
Let me just say that I haven't puked in about 10 years. I never throw up. I hate it. I'll do anything to avoid it. This cold came with a cough. I started coughing one morning. And promptly lost my breakfast. This happened on 3 occasions. I know, it could be worse. There are a lot of women who are sick every day for their entire pregnancies (or at least the first 4 months). So I'll count myself blessed that this is where it stopped. But it was awful. And reaffirmed how much I hate throwing up.
But I'd like to talk more about the emotional difference this pregnancy compared to last time. Because this is where I've noticed a real contrast.
The first time I was pregnant I remember the first trimester as being filled with excitement and anticipation. My husband and I had a secret that was ours to keep and dream about. We read pregnancy books and every week talked about what our baby was doing and developing. Everything was new and there was a kind of magic involved. Waiting until 14 weeks to tell people we were expecting a new addition to our family didn't seem like that long to wait.
This time around, that first trimester draaaaggged on and on. I felt more apprehension this time. I wouldn't say that I was worried, but I didn't feel that same sense of excitement as last time. This is probably partly due to the fact that I have recently had a few people close to me miscarry. The reality that not all pregnancies are viable was in the background of my brain. I also kept forgetting that I was pregnant (still sometimes do). With a 15 month old to chase around and the Doctor busy with residency, I just haven't had the time to dwell on what's happening inside my body like I did that first time. And it's not new. I know the changes that are going to take place and this time I found myself repeating "hurry up already"! Now don't get me wrong, the Doctor and I were (and are) both very excited to be pregnant again. But I couldn't wait to get past the awkward first trimester.
Because lets face it: the first trimester is awkward. You don't really look pregnant yet (maybe just bloated). You don't really want to tell people yet that you're expecting (at least I didn't) so you have no excuse to give for why you keep forgetting things, are falling asleep on your desk at work, are unable to eat vegetables, or why the smell of your co-worker's lunch causes you to leave the room.
Let's just say that I'm glad I'm through the first trimester; that we can now tell people our news. And that the nausea seems to have passed.
If you're going through your first pregnancy right now, enjoy every minute. Soak it up. It's just not the same the second time around.
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| 12 weeks pregnant |
And since this is a pregnancy related post, I though I'd mention an awesome Jules et Jim maternity wear give-away that is happening over at Elena's blog. If you're pregnant and like free stuff, check it out! (and check out her blog too... it's great)!
