The best thing about becoming a mom a second time? You basically know all the things. Easy, peasy.
KIDDING.
Honestly, when I think of doubling the number of tiny humans in my house, I have concerns. Big concerns. Look, I know lots of people have two kids. Three kids. Seven kids. My grandmother had 10 kids! 10! 4 of which are not even a whole year apart. I still haven’t figured out how that’s physically possible.
But for us, just managing one tiny human is quite a challenge. If only I could get him to sleep past 6:30, that would really be a good start. So, while the parenting part I’m still figuring out, as far as this second pregnancy goes, well, I have some thoughts.
All the things I’m doing differently for pregnancy #2.
1. Bring on the stretchy pants
You tell me what could be better than a pair of jeans minus the zipper and buttons, and in their place is a panel of panty hose with capability to stretch around the entire moon?
Nothing. That’s what.
Last pregnancy I waited until some week 21 or 22 before donning a pair of these magical pants. But this time, bring on the stretchy pants. I have no shame in panty-hose waist bands. In fact, I welcome them to my wardrobe…possibly forever. Who knows?
2. Goodbye scale
I had a thing with weighing myself every day last pregnancy. I was afraid I would become the actual cookie monster, blue hair and all. The only problem was, this weighing myself everyday stole joy. I let a number dictate if I was doing well in my pregnancy journey or if I was growing blue hair.
At some point, after I had Ray, my scale battery died. I had intentions of replacing it immediately, when a crazy thought came. What if I didn’t? What if I was a scale rebel?
Do you know what happened when I stopped weighing myself daily?
Well, the world kept turning. I didn’t grow blue hair. I became more in tune to how healthy I felt. I decided to work out more so that I could rely on feeling healthy rather than a number.
So, this pregnancy? Well, I still haven’t gotten around to replacing that scale battery.
3. Curbside Epidural
Now that coronavirus has taken over, we are all familiar with curbside takeout. This is a fantastic opportunity for hospitals to steal a good idea. We can simply call ahead, and the nurse and anesthesiologist can have that giant needle ready, curbside! Who’s with me?
Last pregnancy I was committed to laboring as long as I could without an epidural. And I did. I labored long and hard at home until my water broke. Then we made it to the hospital and I stuck to my guns. Three puke sessions in, well, I abandoned my guns. This was fine, because I was proud of how far I had made it with out the epidural. I was sure it was 9.5 cm dilated.
According to the nurse it was actually just 2 cm.
What?
Excuse me?
This time, I relate more to the scene from the movie Baby mama, where the birth class instructor asks, “And how many of you are planning to use toxic western medication to drug your baby for your own selfish comfort?” Angie, who is played by Amy Poehler, replies by yelling out, “whoo whoo!”
4. Books lie
Being a first-time mom and feeling like I knew nothing, I relied on all the books to teach me what I needed to know. But guess what? They lied! One of the biggest lies is that in active labor, I wouldn’t be hungry. Well guess what? All I could think about during labor was food! However, after all the puke sessions I experienced while heroically attempting to labor without an epidural I dared not eat. And look, this is just one example.
All I’m saying is I’m going to listen to my body a lot more than books this go round.
5. Anti-nausea meds
Sorry parrots of the world, I’ve eaten all the crackers at this point. Ritz crackers, Saltine crackers, Graham crackers, Cheez Its, Cheez Its, and Cheez Its. You will not find me without crackers. They’re stuffed into my pockets, sitting on my bedside table, and tucked in the console of my car. They are one of the very few things that seem to help (ish).
I didn’t realize how great my pregnancy was with Ray until I was glued to the toilet bowl with this one. And we’re not just talking “morning sickness.” We’re talking noon sickness, 4 PM sickness, 7 PM sickness, 10:30 PM sickness, and on three occasions, 3 AM sickness. But, who’s counting?
One day it got to the point that even water wouldn’t stay down, which is when a friend of mine encouraged me to get meds. Having a smooth pregnancy last time, I didn’t even know meds existed for “morning sickness.” But I was desperate and would have even tried hydroxychloroquine if it would’ve helped! So I called my MD and got meds. Currently, I am 14 weeks along and STILL dependent on these meds to keep my head out of the toilet bowl.
6. More Sleep
Just kidding, I own a toddler.
There are also a few things I’m not doing differently.
We are still leaving the gender a surprise until he/she makes his/her debut, so don’t bother asking. Your guess is as good as mine. Ray, however, feels certain he is having a baby “seester” who shall be named, “Ray, ray.” So that won’t be confusing at all.
Yoga was a lifesaver in helping me relate to my body as it expanded like a hot air balloon last pregnancy. I intend to return to doing lots of yoga. (You can find my favorite yoga girl, Adriene, HERE.)
Despite the sickness and basically feeling like a walking game of Jenga each day, I’m trying to enjoy the miracle of growing a tiny human, because that is pretty cool.
Until Next Time,
Cheers!
P.S. I’ve been working on a pretty cool project, that I cannot wait to unveil at the end of this month! Sign up for my newsletter to get in on the deets!