Second+ pregnancies

[BonBon]

Anyone have any encouraging words you want to share with me? The all-day sickness has started already, even though I was *convinced* that it would be different this time. :disappointed: I've got my dog nose back, which I actually find intriguing. It is amazing the smells I can pick up. (no jokes about my car, please )

Worst of all, I had an extremely difficult time buttoning my pants today. Is this because my ab muscles are flabby and useless right now? So when my uterus grows even a little bit, my entire gut expands?? This is happening a lot sooner than I thought. Now I know why Gap sells those maternity pants for the first trimester.

Seriously, how soon did you start expanding? The baby is only the size of a grain of rice right now, certainly shouldn't be causing too much chaos in there.

Funny how you get pregnancy amnesia...until you get pregnant again.

[mommax3]

I think it is normal to show earlier the second time around, (and all times after that!) so don't feel bad. Frankly, I started wearing maternity clothes the second time (even though my regular clothes still fit) because anything even a little bit tight around my waist made me feel even more nauseous than I was already. Sooooo, the crotch of my maternity pants was almost dragging on the ground, and I had to keep hiking them up, but they were NICE and loose. At least for a while.

I am sorry you are feeling sick. That is the WORST. Take it easy and be kind to yourself.

Sally

I am SO sorry you are feeling sick. That is just the pits. Made harder with having a little one to chase. Well, at least it is a distraction sometimes. I found that I felt worse with less sleep so be sure you are resting a lot! Have you introduced your little guy to the wonderful world of video entertainment?

I think it is normal to lose your waistline sooner with the second pregnancy. Certainly happened to me.

[houseelf]

Chris,

I have a six month old and I already have pregnancy and delivery amnesia. However, I have noticed that walking about the courthouse is 1000 times easier now that I'm not hefting around an extra 40.

To answer your question: Yes. With my first pregnancy, I wasn't in maternity clothes full time until week 22-24. Second time around, I was in maternity clothes in week 12 (and had outgrown maternity clothes by week 35. ). Morning sickness was much worse during my second and third pregnancies than my first. (Of course, this could be attributed to my first pregnancy being a boy and my third pregnancy being a girl. I'm not sure what gender my second baby was, but I have suscipicions). Also, the contractions after labor and delivery were worse the second time around. (I hear they get more intense with each successive pregnancy.)

The small silver lining: labor and delivery tend to go quicker and earlier. My girlfriend just had her third and she said labor and delivery was a breeze. Seriously, she has a super tiny frame but says that her third baby just slid out after 3 pushes!

Take care of you and nap when Gavin naps. I agree with the video suggestion. Here's hoping for a happy, healthy pregnancy.

Kelly

[SueC]

My girls watched lots of videos when I was pg with Mitchell--don't feel the least built guilty about popping in a video for Gavin if you are tired or feeling really yucky.
I showed much more quickly with each successive pregnancy. With the first baby, I wasn't wearing maternity clothes until 2 months before delivery--I think I showed or at least pooched out almost immediately with the other two.
Pregnancy is definitely harder when you have another child to look after--it made me kind of miss the days when I could come home and plop on the couch.

I think I started showing a lot earlier with my second. I was into maternity clothes by the end of the first trimester, and I wore my regular clothes well into my second trimester with my first.

Oddly enough,I didn't get nearly as sleepy with my second pregnancy as with my first, and I had no problem working out until my 8th month, and after that I walked 3 times a week. However, I did take a one hour lay down every afternoon while DS junked out on PBS, regardless of whether or not I was sleepy.

Sorry about the nausea, that really sucks.

[Rapunzel]

I began showing after about week 20 or so with my first child. I was extremely thin and I think that contributed to being able to see the baby so early on the first time.

With twins I started showing around week 10!!! But, that was the most insane pregnancy so I don't count it towards a normal experience (I "outgrew" maternity clothes by the BEGINNING of my third trimester with that one!).

When I began my third pregnancy I had whittled myself down to a size smaller than prior to the first pregnancy and I have to say my abdominal muscles were really toned (better than prior to the first baby as well!). BUT, that made absolutely NO difference in how quickly I LOST that muscle tone with the next pregnancy. I was easily in maternity clothes by week 14 or so!

The same thing happened with this fourth pregnancy. I lost any weight, worked like a dog to get things flattened out and tight again and BAM! all that work disappeared a couple of months into pregnancy (I was in maternity clothes by week 8.

So, in my experience it's perfectly normal to show fairly early with subsequent pregnancies. I liken it to a balloon that has been inflated, deflated, reinflated, deflated, and reinflated yet again. As you go along it becomes much, much easier to reinflate the balloon because the rubber starts "breaking down" somewhat. So, my own body seems to just fill out as if it has a "memory" of how it looked during the same event years earlier. I was pretty upset about this after my last pregnancy (the third one), but this one I've just reconciled myself to this reality.

The other thing I've noticed is that with each pregnancy it takes longer to get my body "back" (ie back to its original size and shape). With the first child I snapped back in under three months easily. Twins - the completely abnormal event- took about nine months, but I think it would've only taken six if it had been a singleton pregnancy. Sophia (third pregnancy) took me about nine months to get back down to my normal clothes as well. And, I'm giving myself a full year after this one is born before I try on my "normal" sized jeans again!!! Even so, I have found it takes soooo much work to regain the muscle tone I lose every time - never mind getting back down to pre-baby size!

As for morning sickness: I also had MUCH worse morning sickness with my daughters than my son. I don't know if this was due to birth order (with the first being a lighter case) or if it is because of the different composition of hormones in my body while a girl develops there. My strategies in the past were to: sleep TONS, eat many small meals throughout the day, have my husband do the dishes (the smells would just kill me), and whine A BUNCH!! This time, I did all of the following and took myself and the kids to my mom's house for seven weeks to be "taken care of" (which she was delighted to do, thankfully).

During my second pregnancy I occupied my toddler with videos and simple computer programs (try Jumpstart Toddlers - colorful, catchy, and teaches basic computer skills such as keyboard and mouse use in preparation for educational software that teaches the alphabet, numbers, etc.) while I slept on the sofa nearby (I could've slept through a train wreck outside my window to be honest).

Also, you might try sea-bands for the nausea. I used them this last time and they cut my nausea down significantly.

I have to agree about the pregnancy/labor/delivery/sleepless nights amnesia - it's part of the reason I'm pregnant with #5!

Jennifer

I was quite surprised to start showing MUCH earlier this time than with Ethan--it makes sense, because your body says, "Oh yeah, this again!" and you just expand...

I was so MAD when I got morning sickness again. I thought that I'd be able to handle it better the second time or something, but it was exactly the same. But, just like the last time, it stopped exactly at 12 weeks. I used to get so mad when people would say, "It'll pass..." but it really does.

Of course, I'm now in grumpy third trimester mode. 31 weeks on Thursday. I feel HUGE and I'm going to punch the next person that looks at me, winks and smiles, and says, "Oooooh, you're getting big!" Seriously, do you think I don't have a full-length mirror at home? I'm totally aware!

DH is slowly being driven insane by my incessant questions. He keeps telling me to ask my own doctor! What am I putting him through MS for if I can't use his skills? Brat.

I do keep hearing that labor will be easier this time around...now, to make a long story short, with 18 hours of labor, (2 of which was pushing) and coming out with a 3rd degree tear and a 9lb 11oz baby after being induced a week before my due date, it'd BETTER be easier!

Ok, I'm not sure how much help that was to Chris, but I feel better!

[Amiens]

As everyone has suggested- Have you discovered the wonderful world of Sesame Street on DVD or Video yet?

I was absolutely exhausted the first trimester when pregnant with Brigham. I have vivid recollections of getting a pillow and a blanket, taking Emma and locking her and myself in her room which was the only completely childproof place in our apartment, and sleeping for 2 hours. It wasn't straight, I would wake up occasionally when she would poke my eyes and say "Mamma!" Remember- my two are 19 months apart, under the 2 years apart category that you are in.

Have you read the book by Vicki Iovine- A Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy. It's hilarious. There is a comment in the, if memory serves me, Maternity Clothing section. She writes about how with your second and subsequent pregnancies, you conceive and the very next day you are showing.

For me and the expanding belly question- I am the abnormal one in the group. With Emma my clothes got snug at 13 weeks, and outgrew my maternity clothes at 36 weeks. With Brigham I was in my regular clothes until 16-18 weeks, and filled out my maternity clothes at 40 weeks. I got lots of comments on how small I looked, and I remember when Brigham was 2 weeks old, and I went to church, and an acquaintence said "Oh you had your baby, is he premature?? I ask because you looked like you were due in September or October." So I am not a good person to ask about the expanding belly.

I know for me and the second labor is much easier theory was true for me. Emma's birth: 8 hours (going off of when they gave me pit to augment my labor, because I didn't know when my water broke, and my contractions were pity little things more like BH) , lots of pitocin, almost 2 hours of pushing, 2nd degree tear VS. Brigham's birth: 3 1/2 hours (from when my water broke: 1 1/2 from the time they gave me pitocin) very small amount of pitocin to augment my labor, 10 min (or 5 pushes) of pushing, and NO tears.

Hope this helps!
Crystal

[Rapunzel]

I began showing after about week 20 or so with my first child.

That should read "after about week 15 or 16...." Sorry for the complete screw-up in the memory department. I was most CERTAINLY showing by week 20 with every pregnancy - especially the first.

Jennifer

[BonBon]

Thank you all for the advice! I am hanging out on the couch today. The poopy diapers got me this morning. Don't know if it was the sight or smell, but bleeeehhh.

Going to go wallow in my misery again. :|

[BonBon]

because anything even a little bit tight around my waist made me feel even more nauseous than I was already. Sooooo, the crotch of my maternity pants was almost dragging on the ground, and I had to keep hiking them up, but they were NICE and loose.

Sally, this is me right now!! It's embarrassing, but comfort is the name of the game now.