Hellobee

I look back on my pregnancy with Chloe with such fond memories. It had its share of ups and downs, but I can say with certainty that I truly enjoyed being pregnant and tried to savor every single moment. When we finally got our sticky baby this time around, I was looking forward to the same type of pregnancy I had with Chloe. It came as a huge surprise that both my pregnancies were vastly different, even though I’m pregnant with a girl again!

Nausea
With Chloe, the nausea kicked in well before I had a positive pregnancy test. I recall telling my husband on Saturday that I  just knew I was pregnant. I didn’t get a positive test until the following Wednesday! My nausea lasted well into week 16 of my pregnancy with Chloe and once it was gone, it was gone. This time around, my nausea started the day before I got a positive pregnancy test. It was so severe that I couldn’t fully enjoy Christmas dinner and it was the first sign of us wondering if this was the real deal. It tapered off though and I thought I was in the clear until I hit week 8. Ohh, week 8… it hit me hard and I couldn’t find a remedy quick enough. I didn’t have to use Zofran in my first pregnancy, but I did this time around. While it really curbed the nausea, it came with its own host of special side effects.

Food aversions
I don’t recall having any food aversions with Chloe, though I’m sure my husband would say otherwise. Instead, I had intense cravings and could not eat enough Chinese food. We must have had General Tso’s Chicken every night for weeks… or at least, I did. Once spring rolled around, I couldn’t stop eating watermelon and cauliflower. This time around my sense of smell seems to be in overdrive and there have been times where I couldn’t even stomach opening the fridge. You can imagine how much this affected Chloe since I stay home with her during the day!  My husband fried onions one night and the smell permeated for days. I usually love onions, but this time around I can’t stand the smell.

Weight gain and the bump
I lost a lot of weight in my first trimester with Chloe, due to morning sickness. Even still, I was pretty bloated but not quite enough to warrant maternity clothes until I was about 15 weeks along… though I probably could have gotten by without them. I gained quite a bit of weight with Chloe — over 60lbs — and got really wide. I gained a lot of weight in my face, arms, hips, legs and butt. I didn’t lose any weight in the first trimester this time but was showing so, so early. I had a noticeable bump by 8 weeks. At week 29, I am up about 18 pounds and while my butt seems to be getting larger, I don’t think the rest of me has.

Left, Charlotte at 26 weeks // Right, Chloe at 34 weeks

Fatigue
I was exhausted during my first trimester with Chloe. I was easily in bed by 7 every night and took a nap every chance I got. I admit that Chloe has had more iPad time than I am willing to admit during this pregnancy. My first trimester was absolutely brutal between nausea, vomiting and feeling sleepy.  It was more difficult in the sense that I couldn’t rest when I wanted to, but otherwise I’d say the exhaustion was equal.

Pregnancy brain
I forgot this even existed until I put my keys in the fridge, and ran a load of laundry without putting the clothes in the washer first. I’m normally a very organized and an on top of things kind of person, but I’ve been slacking majorly in the remembering things department. Even a few weeks ago, I forgot I had a dentist appointment and was almost late getting there! This is very similar to my pregnancy with Chloe. It’s frustrating being so forgetful and disorganized when you normally aren’t.  I still use our calendar in the kitchen and plug reminders into my iPhone, but somehow organization and scheduling seems to escape me.

 How did your pregnancies compare?