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The Difference Between Your First and Second Pregnancy

by Julie Nealon | November 27, 2018

No two pregnancies are alike, but you may notice a few differences between your first and second pregnancy.

There’s a “Mother Earth”-like quality to the first pregnancy, even with morning sickness and a thickening waistline, you glide around in all your “I’m making a human” glory.

You read all the books for every scrap of advice, sign up for a yoga class and play soft music to your bump. You’re going to be the best mom ever, breastfeeding will be a breeze, your sweet little one will be sleeping through the night in no time and you’ll squeeze back into your skinny jeans within a few weeks.

difference between first and second pregnancy

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The big difference between pregnancy no 1 and no 2 is knowledge. Firstly, you have none, and then you have too much.

Here are some of those big differences you may notice between first and second pregnancy

1. Sleep

When you’re pregnant with no 1, there’s no demanding toddler to entertain – so you can take a daytime nap whenever you feel like it. With pregnancy no 2, life is a little more chaotic when you’ve already got a toddler to keep alive.

2. My body is a temple

With no 1, you are sooooo careful about what you put into your body. You have a list of banned foods taped to your fridge and you recoil at the thoughts of drinking a cup of coffee. By the second bump, you eat pretty much whatever you want, whenever you want it.

3. Birth plan

First time around, you plan a water birth with a doula and hypnosis – second time, you ask if you can book an epidural on your first doctors visit.

4. You wear it well

You’re so excited to wear maternity clothes with your first pregnancy. You buy cute belly hugging tops and crazy expensive maternity skinnies. Second time: husbands sweatpants and t-shirts for the win!

5. Planning

You’re extremely organized the first time, from decorating the nursery to stocking up on diapers. With the second, you’re lucky if your hospital bag is ready when your waters break. Well to me this is the most remarkable difference between first and second pregnancy!

6. Advice

First time around, you want everyone’s opinion, from the baby books to your neighbor. For the second baby, the books are gathering dust on the bookshelf and go by your own gut instinct.

7. Fear

You worry you’re going to drop the baby or smother it with a boob. The second time around you know what you’re doing so well that you can change a diaper in the dark without even dropping the butt paste.

8. Time

You have lots of it the first time around and little to none on the second run. But even though it’s more of a cluster f**k, it’s still wonderful when no 2 comes into the world and, for the most part, you feel a lot more confident about your parenting skills.

Do you notice any other difference between your first and second pregnancy? Do let us know in comments below.