For those of you seasoned moms, you’re probably going to know the feeling of what I’m sharing in this blog post. So many feelings come with Baby #1: excitement, anticipation, uncertainty, doubt, joy. The emotions are endless.
The planning is endless, too: baby registry, baby shower, decorating the baby room, picking out the perfect name, etc. There is SOO much planning with Baby #1. I spent a good amount of time on Amazon and Pinterest, trying to find the best registry items and how to decorate baby’s room.
It’s been a bit different with Baby #2. There have been differences in first trimester sickness. Emotions have been different. My body has been different. My thoughts are different. Priorities are definitely different.
It’s a whole other ballgame chasing a one-and-a-half year old while being pregnant.
I’ve always heard that every pregnancy is different. I didn’t really believe them. My hope was that the difficulties with my first pregnancy would go away for my second pregnancy. This wasn’t the case. I also hoped that my second pregnancy would be all rainbows and sunshines. This isn’t the case either.
So, for you moms who are embarking on Baby #2, here’s what I’ve learned so far:
MORNING SICKNESS
Why do they call it “morning sickness” when it lasts all day? Hopefully that’s not what you are experiencing.
During my first pregnancy, I was so very sick during the first trimester, but when that three month mark hit, it was like I stepped into another world with no sickness. During pregnancy with Baby #2, I had that same sickness during the first trimester. However, the really bad weeks weren’t as bad as they were with Baby #1 (thank goodness!). Regardless, it was bad enough, and I plan to never touch ginger ale ever again. My goal for this pregnancy was to make it to that three month mark because, surely, all of the sickness would go away at that point. NOPE! The sickness continued, and it felt like forever. I’m currently 23 weeks along and I can thankfully say that I feel 90% back to normal. Phew.
EMOTIONS
All morning sickness aside, my emotions during my pregnancy with Baby #1 were what I would consider pretty normal. There was a period of time early on when I “hated” my husband (I read in a pregnancy book that this was totally normal…. who knew?!). Lucky for him, I got over that hump. Second trimester was definitely the honeymoon phase. No negative emotions. All excitement and LOTS of planning (like I mentioned above). During my third trimester I felt especially close with my little one. We named him early on and I felt really bonded to him. I mean, he was with me all the time.
The word “emotion” is an understatement for this pregnancy. I have been full of every emotion imaginable. There have been lots of tears, mostly for no real reason. One of the very first emotions that I experienced early on was this feeling of, “How will I love another baby as much as I love my John Paul?” To me, it was just unfathomable. I was worried. I’ve slowly gotten over those feelings as I’ve been able to grasp the idea of John Paul growing up with a sibling. He’ll love it and so will I.
BABY NAMES
John Paul’s name was picked out before we were even pregnant. Actually, his name was picked out before we were even married! It was an easy decision for us since both my husband and I look up to Pope Saint John Paul II (a Catholic pope from 1979-2005 and now a saint). It was very helpful to me in my pregnancy to be able to connect with John Paul and call him by name even though he was still inside of me.
Baby #2 is a girl (yay!) and we haven’t been able to come to any agreement on names. For me, it’s a bit of a stressful situation. Even though we have plenty of time to think of a name, I feel the pressure. There’s worry that we will be holding baby girl in our arms at the hospital and she won’t have a name. Girl names are hard in general but this feels especially hard. This is a whole new situation for us since John Paul had a name way before he was born.
From the sickness to the emotions to baby names and beyond, there have been so many differences with my two pregnancies. What hasn’t been different is coming up with a clever way to announce the pregnancy. So, same clothes and all, I announced both of my pregnancies at the pumpkin patch. Creative, right?
Regardless of the announcements, the sickness, the emotions, and picking out name, baby will be here before we know it!
