Pregnancy Redux

A few people have asked me how the second pregnancy compared to the first.  And, likewise, how the second baby has compared to the first.  Tim and I are amazed every day at how different each child is. 

Pregnancy.  It was much harder on me physically the second time around.  And I don't know if that's because of my age or just a precursor to Lucy's acid reflux issues.  I had the same bouts of all-day sickness and aversion to water. But the nausea was much more...productive this time around.  I didn't ever have to pull over the car during any of my hour long commutes, but there was at least one morning when I had to run to the side of the house and revisit the blueberry Special K I'd had that morning.  Hello, Neighbors!

So, yes, I had issues with water until well into my second trimester.  And I tried everything this time.  Those little Crystal Lite packets were too sweet.  The addition of lime only helped occasionally.  The best I could do was straight up Koolaid mix.  Not the tubs because that already had sugar, but a little of the packet added to each glass.  It needed to be more sour than sweet.  My doctor was baffled by it as well.  Weird pregnancy issues: One; Me: zero.

There was also the aversion to corn and corn products, again.  Just the thought of having Fritos made me green.  And add to that the aversion to potatoes.  I mean, what sane person doesn't want to eat mashed potatoes? 

The only cravings I really remember were McDonald's french fries and a strawberry shake (thanks, Mom) and a chopped beef barbeque sandwich - and I mean a gas station barbeque sandwich.  Oh, and beer.  Beer. Beer. Beer.  So I'd sneak a swig of Tim's occasionally.  Yep, I'll own it.

I had the same general hip and pelvic pain that required me to sleep with a pillow between my knees.  And walking 30 minutes a few times a week would improve the pain - although it was generally worse while I was walking.

The belly showed up earlier this time around.  Probably by about 2 months.  And I remember thinking that you are supposed to "show" earlier in subsequent pregnancies.  But then there was the realization at about a month later when I really started to show that the "bump" that had been there for a while was really just belly fat.  Woohoo!

I felt movements earlier this time around.  Mostly because I knew what to feel for.  There was one night pretty early on that I was sitting on the floor and bent forward at the waist.  The baby kind of jerked to let me know I was squishing her.  That really surprised me because it was way before I should have been able to feel anything.  But what other explanation is there?  Okay, maybe gas, but my version is much more endearing so I'm sticking to it.

I was also much more relaxed about the whole thing.  Toward the end I got a little freaked out because I was afraid I hadn't prepared enough.  I still feel that way to some extent.  Starting solids is freaking me out because it's about two months earlier than we started them with Ainsley and I think I did a lot more research then to figure out what, when and how much.  I feel like I'm winging it this time.  Poor Lucy.

I think that's all.  A little bit about second babies - or, at least, our second baby - coming up.  And a six month recap...in pictures!