How Is A Second Pregnancy Different From The First?

Being pregnant is one of the most important periods of a woman's life. After all, it is in this period that she is blessed with the most precious gift of humanity; the ability to give birth.

Not everyone is as fortunate as that. Half the human race (the male part of it) can never go through this bliss. Even among the women, not all of them are fertile. Hence, it is very important that those who are healthy and fertile should enjoy this privilege.

Now, it is obvious that women who are pregnant for the first time have a surrounding excitement that engulfs them. They are nervous because of the simple fact that they are unaware of what is happening to their body and all of it is very new to them.

However, when this happens for the second time, they feel they know it all and that there is nothing new about it. But this is far from being true.

The second pregnancy is way different from that of the first, in matters more than one. This article explores the different ways in which it is different and how a second-time mother should deal with the same.

1. You Will Show Earlier

This does not mean that your baby will grow any faster or that he will grow any bigger than your first child. What actually happens is that your ab muscles are now much more loosened than what they were at the time of your first pregnancy. Thus, they don't hold the pregnancy as efficiently and you end up showing much earlier.

2. Food Choices

During your first pregnancy, you must have noticed that you were paranoid about having just the correct food. You also had a lot of cravings and things like that. You cannot expect any of that this time around. With a baby in the house to run after, chances are that there will be times when you will even forget that you are carrying. Although you will be careful about the main food restrictions (like no alcohol and smoking for months together), chances are that you may go for that red meat which was unimaginable for you during your previous pregnancy.

3. More Aches And Pains

While some people attribute this to the fact that by now you have to run greater number of errands (as you already have a child at home), the fact is if you have experienced pains with your previous pregnancy, this time you can only expect it to be much worse. The only way to avoid this is to indulge in a lot of exercises. Also, try to make it a point to bend your knees and lift from a crouching position (if at all you need to do some amount of lifting) to lessen the stress on your back.

4. Greater Awareness

During your first pregnancy, your universe revolved around the fact that you are carrying a baby in you. You would indulge in a lot of pregnancy websites and videos. This time around, the only time when you remember that you are pregnant is when the little one in the belly hurts you or when you are taking your pre-natal vitamins. You really do not have all the time in the world now to think about your changing body.

5. Dressing Up

Chances are that during your first pregnancy, you did all the dressing up and that entire appropriate makeup. You must have invested in a lot on your maternity wardrobe outfits as well. Now that you have done all that and know how useless they are, chances are that you will not even consider doing any of that again. With the second pregnancy, being comfortable is what becomes all the way more important.

6. Not Investing In Documentation

During your first pregnancy, you must have been super excited about it and invested a lot in documenting the same. From cute pictures of your first baby bumps to documenting your midnight cravings, you did it all. But now that you are pregnant for the second time, chances of you doing the same are pretty bleak. This time, all you want is to be done with it and hold the little one in your arms.

7. Lesser Emotional Drama

Remember the first time when you were pregnant and how you turned out to be an emotional bitch? Well, chances are that this is not going to happen again. This can be partially attributed to the fact that you are older now and partially because you have to be more responsible, now that you have a child at home. However, the fact remains that this pregnancy is going to be much easier than your last, at least at an emotional level.

8. Announcement

Chances are that during your first pregnancy, you were overly excited to tell this news to your near and dear family. They were also elated to hear the same. This is particularly true in the case of your parents and in-laws, the soon to be grandparents. In most cases, during the second pregnancy, parents are not that excited to tell the news.

9. Preparing The Room

When you are pregnant for the first time, you are overtly conscious of all that is around you and you try your level best to ensure that your house is ready for the baby by the time she or he decides to arrive. You invest a lot in shopping and make sure that everything is in place. With your second pregnancy, since most of the things are already present in the house and will be passed on to the younger sibling, there isn't much for you to do. The excitement level is naturally less.

10. Realistic Expectations

Considering the fact that quite a lot of content is easily available about pregnancy and child birth, chances are that during your first pregnancy, you had some naïve expectations about the same. With your second pregnancy, you are armored not with what you read on the internet but with the wisdom of experience. Thus, it is obvious that your expectations will be much more realistic this time.