Last year at this time I was entering my third trimester and while I’m happy Chip is now on the outside, it’s still fun to look back on my pregnancy with him. If I look even farther back I can remember what it was like to be pregnant with Crumb too. The biggest difference for me was already having a little one and not being able to focus as much on caring for myself. I also had way more time to obsess and plan during my first pregnancy than during my second one, and although I had similar symptoms for the most part, they still felt very different.

Here are 10 major differences I noticed:

1) First pregnancy you think about being pregnant daily; second pregnancy you forget you’re actually pregnant at least once a day.

2) First pregnancy you avoid all caffeine; second pregnancy you try to avoid having more than one cup a day, but it doesn’t always happen.

3) First pregnancy everyone is really excited for you and asks you how you’re doing constantly; second pregnancy even your family and friends forget there is going to be another little one coming soon.

4) First pregnancy you can wear your regular clothing until the end of the first trimester; second pregnancy you barely make it three weeks before your pants won’t button and you have to switch to maternity.

13 weeks
13 weeks with Crumb  |  13 weeks with Chip

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5) First pregnancy you take a ton of bump pics and beautifully staged maternity photos; second pregnancy you’re lucky if you remember to snap a cell phone pic once a month.

6) First pregnancy you always know how far along you are when someone asks; second pregnancy you usually have to stop and think about it before answering.

7) First pregnancy you fear labor and delivery the most; second pregnancy you fear sleep deprivation the most.

8) First pregnancy you don’t think about how having a child will affect your marriage; second pregnancy you definitely imagine how a second child will affect your relationship with your first child, your partner, your career, and everything else.

9) First pregnancy you buy lots of baby items that you will later regret; second pregnancy you buy lots of things that you know will work better in the long-run. (And you also reuse a TON of stuff.)

10) First pregnancy you are achy, swollen, and exhausted by month 8; second pregnancy you are achy, swollen, and exhausted from almost the very beginning.

.  .  .  .  .

Despite all the differences, I do remember one big similarity…

First pregnancy you daydream about how your child will look, how they will feel, and smell, and as they move around in your belly you fall head over heels, madly and deeply in love with them. Your second pregnancy is exactly the same.

What would you add?