Pregnancy Differences – The first pregnancy and the ones after that!

• Exhaustion- If I thought I was exhausted during the first trimester with pregnancy number one, how wrong was I?! This time I couldn’t devote the whole weekend to lying in bed- oh no I had a toddler to contend with this time! My evenings with my first pregnancy used to be spent dosing on the couch, this time my bottom doesn’t touch the couch until my little one is in bed and by that time I just decided I needed my bed too!
• Pregnancy progress- I signed up for so many pregnancy week by week emails, and studied them every week. This time I signed up for one. But I still enjoy reading it; I guess I don’t have the time to sit staring at anymore!
• Pre-baby shopping - With my first pregnancy I was shopping and burning through my credit card like the world was ending tomorrow! I couldn’t resist buying wee vests, babygrows and little bits and bobs. And then came the big buys; the pram, cot, bouncers I wanted the lot NOW!! This time I waited to buy any clothes until I found out the sex and I have been far more sensible – buying only basics that I will need for the first few weeks. A great plus of pregnancy number 2 is that you have all the big things already so it’s really only restocking - new blankets, new pram (maybe) if like me the first purchase was a disaster!
• Pram shopping - The first pram you buy is influenced by hormones I think! You want the dream pram, it looks great, wheels great and you love it. So, why bother checking does it fit in the boot!? That was me, until the day I tried to fit it in and not a hope in hell would it fit!! I ended up with the carry/buggy part in boot and the wheels in the front of my car for up to a year!! This time round I had a list of requirements and I ticked them off one by one and I am very happy with my purchase this time – bonus points, it fits in the car!!
• Scans – Aww we love our scans. I think it’s the moment we realise 'yes we actually are carrying a little baby in our tummy’s'. It’s a special moment the first scan and we rush out and buy the first pregnancy scan photo frame the very same day. With my second pregnancy I got a frame finally around the 20 week mark. It’s not that I didn’t treasure the photo, been a mum already you are just so busy it might enter your mind one minute to get a frame and leave it as quick! It’s now sitting proudly on my fireplace finally!
• Bump watch – I was obsessed with getting a little bump first time round. I remember at my 20 week scan the nurse jokingly asked me was I sure I was pregnant because I was so flat!! This time eh I had a bump after 10 weeks!  I didn’t feel my little girl move until 22 weeks pregnant and even after that it was light kicks and thumps. This time I felt the little squirms around 17/18 weeks. And now poppet just kicks and tumbles all day. Definitely a positive perk of pregnancy 2nd time around, the baby has more room to play about and you can enjoy their wee kicks and elbow attacks.
• Maternity Clothes – First time around I hadn’t a clue how they worked, I was still unconvinced that my normal size would carry me through the full 9 months, so foolishly I did buy some items one size bigger. I also bought pretty dresses because they looked great on the models with their fake bumps, sadly on me they looked nothing the same! This time I am maternity style savvy! I bought the basics that will carry me and bump through the winter and this is mainly cardigans (God bless Pennys) maternity jeans and a few cute maternity tops.
• Caffeine intake- Ahhh this has been tough!! So with my first pregnancy I wasn’t coffee dependent, I had a Latte/ Cappuccino twice a week and never drank coffee at home. Well fast forward three and half years later, I need my coffee twoo plus cups daily plus a lot more coffee treats now. So imagine my horror when I read only 200mg of caffeine daily that includes soft drinks too, so needless to say it’s been quite a decaffeinated withdrawal!
• Healthy eating – oops and oh dear! Practical perfect springs to my mind when I was eating during baby number ones residency in my tummy. Fruit, lots of calcium, vegetables, water by the bucket and so on. I hang my head in shame, this time. My milk intake might be the milk at the bottom of my little girls cereal, fruit is generally gobbled before I realize what I am actually eating, and vegetables are from the frozen kind. I try like most mums, but busy lifestyles, looking after the other little people does take priority and if I remember to grab an apple instead of that yummy cookie I do, but it’s hard to be healthy completely.
• Aches and pains – like any first time mum any twinge or strange pain led me straight to google search. Like a woman possessed I would google every teeny cramp or false labour cramps that occurred!! Now I know its all ligament stretching and expansion and I probably don’t feel half of the ongoing twinges and pains now.
• The birth plan – I had this filled in around 12 weeks on my last pregnancy. This time at 29 weeks I still haven’t filled it in. Why? Because I think us mums know that nothing goes to plan on delivery day. My first birthing plan, nothing went according to that plan. I just wanted gas and air, but it didn’t want me so I puked it back up! This time I am just going with the flow, literally! This little poppet has to come out no matter what lies ahead during the labour and we can only remain calm and relaxed!

Thanks to Caroline for sending this to us. Caroline is an avid mummy reader ofwww.familyfriendlyhq.ie
Check out Caroline's Instagram page @eire_mummyand her blog eiremummy.wordpress.com