6 differences between first, second and third pregnancies
Here at Healthy Mummy HQย we have a wealth of pregnancy experience. Everything from first time to fifth time mummies and beyond.
While we areย all about helping you have a healthy pregnancy, we also love to have a laugh at the lighter side of brewing a baby.
1. Maternity clothes
1st pregnancy:
You excitedly shop for maternity clothes and desperately hold out for the day you can wear them and show off that bump.
2nd pregnancy:
You desperately try to squeeze into your non maternity clothes for as long as possible before giving in at about 10 weeks.
3rd pregnancy +:
Maternity clothes? They are basically your normal wardrobe these days.
2. Morning sickness
1st pregnancy:
To start with that queasy feeling is quite reassuring. Then it justย sucks. Luckily you can take sick leave and go to bed as soon as you get home. Your partner dotes on you.
2nd pregnancy:
Juggling a toddler and feeling like rubbish sucks. You try to nap when the toddler does. Your partner dotes a little less.
3rd pregnancy +:
Two or more kids at home often means school drops off and nursery pick ups. Spewing into a container in the car becomes a regular occurrence. Naps? What are they? Your partner barely notices.
3. Baby clothes
1st pregnancy:
Everything is perfectly folded and brand new. Youโve probably got a storage system and everything is sorted meticulously. You wash, dry and fold (maybe even iron!) every little piece before it is placed delicately away for your precious new arrival.
EVERYONE buys gifts for the new baby and they have more clothes than you before they are even born.
2nd pregnancy:
You pull out the newborn baby clothes box and sort through to find things that you can reuse. After giving everything a quick wash youย pack itย into the drawers.
Close friends and family buy new clothes for bub to add to your collection.
3rd pregnancy +:
You sort clothes based on โtoo stained to wear out of the houseโ and โsuitable for public outingsโ. Nothing gets washed (youโreย pretty sureย you did that before storing them).
No one buys new clothes for bub, but everyone offers their three time hand me downs, which you gleefully accept. Theyโre just going to get spewed on anyway.
4. The nursery
1st pregnancy:
You spend hours onย Pinterestย planning out the perfect colour scheme and layout and then layby all your furnitureย as soon as you hit the magic 12 week mark.
The nursery is completed by 20 weeks and you spend the next 20 weeks gazing at it and sitting in the rocking chair daydreaming about your new baby.
2nd pregnancy:
You unceremoniously dump the toddler out of the cot and declare him a big boy now.
Decorating involvesย hanging a (second hand) baby mobile, pulling out the change table from storage and attempting to locate the baby toy box from the shed.
3rd pregnancy +:
The nursery is the corner of your bedroom. If youโve got a spare room itโs probably functioning as a playroom/office/dumping ground.
Your partner sets up the bassinet while you are in hospital.
5. Your worries
1st pregnancy:
Everything!
Is that blood on the toilet paper? Are those cramps normal? When will baby move? Can I eat that? What will the birth be like?
Worrying is basically a full time job for a first time mummy and youโve got plenty of time to indulge it.
2nd pregnancy:
Your older child.
After spending the last pregnancy worrying about the pregnancy and impending baby, this pregnancy is likely to be spend worrying about how your older child will adjust to the new baby.
3rd pregnancy +:
Most days you forget you are even pregnant!
When you do get a chance to think things through you mostly worry about your sanity and whether you are scarring your older kids for life by the amount of CBeebies they are watching while you lay exhausted and sick on the couch.
6.ย Preparationย for the birth
1st pregnancy:
You own every book onย preparing for labourย available at your local bookstore, plus several you needed to ship from overseas. You google everything and read birth stories on forums.
Your birth and hospital bag is packed from 30 weeks and youโve written a birth plan and discussed it in detail with your midwife or doctor. You practice breathing and meditation daily.
2nd pregnancy:
You arrange someone to look after your older child for when you go into labour and give your partner strict instructions on what you do and donโt want him to do during labour.
Youโve written a list of things to go into your birth and hospital bag. You pack half of it by 35 weeks and the rest when you realise you are in labour. Breathing, ha!
3rd pregnancy +:
Preparation for birth? Ummmโฆ
You pack a hospital bag when you realise youโre in labour, but forget half your stuff so have to send your partner home for breast pads, socks and toothpaste after baby is born.
Youโve given up on birth plans and are planning on getting home as quickly as possible, possibly making a mental list of things you need to do when you get there.
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