Hellobee

This is actually my third pregnancy; my first pregnancy ended early in a miscarriage at six weeks.  And even those symptoms were different from my last two pregnancies.

With my very first pregnancy, I did feel some nausea very early on and was particularly sensitive to smells.  I wasn’t pregnant long enough to have many pregnancy symptoms, but I remember losing them as soon as I started bleeding, and I knew I was having a miscarriage.

My last pregnancy and this pregnancy could not have been more different. Last time I had a girl, and now I’m pregnant with a boy. Here are some of the differences:

Morning sickness:  With Toddler Checkers, I started having nausea and was vomiting from about Week 7 until Week 17.  It was horrible.  While I wasn’t vomiting all day long, I usually started to feel sick (like clockwork) around dinner time every night until I went to sleep, and would sometimes vomit multiple times in the span of a couple of hours.  With this pregnancy, I think I might have thrown up twice in the first trimester.  I was so thrown off, I actually thought something was wrong, and I almost didn’t believe I was pregnant at times!  I was relieved when I finally was able to see the baby in an ultrasound at my 12-week NT scan.

Frequent urination:  This happened when I was pregnant with Toddler Checkers in both the first and last trimesters.  Towards the end of the pregnancy, I remember getting up two to three times a night.  So far, I have not really experienced this in this pregnancy either. I am almost 34 weeks, and the most I will wake up is once a night, and that is still not every night.

Taken around 29 weeks; currently at 33.5 weeks

Gestational Diabetes (GD):  I failed both the one-hour and three-hour glucose tests with Toddler Checkers.  And so I had to prick my finger and check my blood sugar levels four times a day and stick to a strict diet.  With this pregnancy, they checked my blood sugar levels at my very first prenatal appointment and told me I was “borderline” for GD and recommended that I stay away from white carbohydrates and fruit until after my glucose test.  I passed with flying colors, and was able to experience the joy of being able to indulge in cravings and EAT!

Amniotic Fluid Level:  When I was pregnant with Toddler Checkers, the anatomy scan showed very low fluid levels.  While my doctor didn’t order me to be on strict bed rest, she did advise me to stay off my feet as much as possible and to drink plenty of fluids. With this pregnancy, I did not have any issue with fluid levels.

Food cravings/aversions:  I didn’t experience many ridiculous cravings during either pregnancy, but had strong food aversions when I was pregnant with Toddler Checkers (probably because I was vomiting all the time).  With Toddler Checkers, I couldn’t stand chicken, Thai food (which I normally love), and raw onions.  With this pregnancy, I can’t stomach steak.  Go figure.

Leg cramps:  This is one pregnancy ailment that I’ve had in both pregnancies in the last trimester.  Searing pain.  I just experienced some epic ones last night.

Insomnia:  I don’t recall really experiencing this in my last pregnancy, but I have been more with this pregnancy.  Even though I am exhausted, my normal bedtime for the last several months has been around 1:30 AM, so I am usually sleeping anywhere from four and a half to five hours a day.

Mood swings:  My husband might remember differently, but I don’t think I experienced many mood swings with the last pregnancy.  This time?  Everyone is mean, stupid, and annoying.  Are these mood swings?

Fetal movement/kicks:  I was vigilant about fetal kick counts with the last pregnancy.  And I don’t remember Toddler Checkers being as active as the baby in my belly now.  Baby Boy Checkers moves around ALL DAY LONG.

Braxton Hicks Contractions:  I never knew what these felt like until this pregnancy!  My doctor has been asking me for the last few weeks if I have had any contractions yet, and I said, “I don’t know what contractions feel like.”  My water broke when I was pregnant with Toddler Checkers, and my contractions were not regular or painful by the time I received the epidural.  This time around, in the last week I have been experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions more regularly.

Overall, I felt like this pregnancy was a lot smoother and easier than the last one . . . until now.  After all, I didn’t really experience any morning sickness, and I didn’t have low fluids or gestational diabetes this time around.  But once I hit 32-33 weeks, I started feeling more uncomfortable than ever. I can’t stop waddling around, my butt hurts for more reasons than one, I am exhausted beyond belief, and I feel like I can’t breathe half the time. When I was pregnant with Toddler Checkers, I never hated being pregnant; in fact, I relished it.  This time around, I don’t think I would mind very much if he decided to make his appearance a little bit early!

To the mommas of more than one – how were your pregnancies similar or different?