Hellobee

One of the most common questions I get when people find out I’m pregnant again is about my symptoms. In general, my symptoms are pretty similar to what I experienced the first time around with Wagon Jr., but to a much lesser extent. It may be that I’ve gotten so much more distracting me this time around; when I was pregnant with Wagon Jr., I was unemployed, childless, and sitting on the couch most of the day!

Here’s a comparison of what I felt last time vs. this time. Luckily I had an old blog entry to use to compare.

Frequent urination. Before having Wagon Jr. I used to pee maybe twice a day. I pee a lot more often now, and now that I’m pregnant again, I’m back to waking up every morning right around 5:30am to pee. But this time around it’s not nearly as annoying… I guess I am a little more used to getting out of bed in the middle of the night! I also pee 2 or 3 times before going to sleep because I think I so desperately don’t want to wake up in the middle of the night to pee.

Fatigue + cold sweats and nausea after a few minutes of walking. This is definitely gone. Before I took the pregnancy test, I felt it a few times and chalked it up to food poisoning or claustrophobia, because I didn’t really believe I was pregnant. But I haven’t felt it since that first two weeks after conception.

Nausea. This time around definitely was not as bad, but this was again my most prevalent symptom. I was able to curb the main nausea times (morning and evening) by eating good protein before I started feeling nauseous. We make eggs for Wagon Jr. every morning, so I would grab a few bites of those, and made sure to eat dinner before Wagon Jr. goes to bed. But I also had to make sure I ate something substantial around 10am and 3pm. Thankfully, at almost 20 weeks now the nausea is completely gone. It was just starting to go away at this time during my first pregnancy too.

Cramping/lower back pain. There have been a few days when I felt some sharp pains in the uterus area, but it’s been nothing compared to what I felt with Wagon Jr.

Breast tenderness. This has definitely been a problem this time around too, but I think after all the craziness of breastfeeding, my boobs have seen and felt it all and it’s not really that big of a deal.

Mood swings. I have felt a little moody with some uncontrollable anger or blowing up at times, but only when I’m pushed over the edge. I haven’t really felt sad or clingy this time.

Bloating. Again, I’ve had some, but no big deal this time around.

Breakouts. With Wagon Jr. my skin was up and down, and at its worst I was pretty badly broken out, which is unusual for me. I usually get one big zit. This time around my skin had been ok until the end of the first trimester when I started to break out, but I’m clearing up again now.

Heartburn. This time around I got horrible heartburn again. It started before I even confirmed my pregnancy, and it was one of the dead giveaways– I almost never get heartburn in regular life, so when I felt the fire vapor traveling up and down my esophagus, I knew something was up. It faded with the arrival of my second trimester, but it still pops up every now and then if I’ve eaten acidic foods. Last time around it came back full force in the third trimester so I’m pretty much expecting it to happen again. At least it’s an old wives’ tale that my baby girl will have great hair just like Wagon Jr.

Swollen extremities. This didn’t happen until towards the end last time, so again, I’m expecting it to happen again, but nothing yet. In fact, I’m still wearing my wedding rings at 20 weeks, so yay! I remember I had such pain in my hands towards the end last time that I could not curl my fingers into a fist. I’m not looking forward to that happening again, especially with everything I have to do around the house with Wagon Jr.

Nasal congestion. This hasn’t been a problem just yet but for the past two mornings I’ve woken up feeling like my head is underwater. I think I may have some fluid behind my eardrums, but I don’t feel sick at all, and my nose is pretty clear. Strange.

Sciatica. I had it pretty bad with Wagon Jr and I’m hoping it won’t happen again! That shizz is PAINFUL and there’s nothing you can do about it until the baby moves off of your sciatic nerve.

I think one good thing about all the loose skin and pudgy middle section that I had left over from Wagon Jr. is that when I started to “show” around 12 weeks, my body didn’t look that different. It helps that I only wear leggings or skinny jeans/pants with elastic waistbands. I was able to stay in the same clothes until about two weeks ago when I had to switch to maternity pants.

What are your symptoms like? And for second-time-around moms, how have your symptoms compared to your first pregnancy?