Top Ten Reasons Why Pregnancy #2 Isn’t Quite as Fun as Pregnancy #1

Well here we are, pregnant with baby number two!  It happened later than we expected, but nevertheless we’re finally on the road to parenthood one last time.  As I approach the halfway mark, I’ve decided that being pregnant this time isn’t as fabulous as it was last time.  There are several reasons why:

  1. I’m older. 5 years older to be exact. So I’ve lost some energy and patience since 2010.
  1. I have a 4 year old to wrangle. Last time it was just me, hubby, pets, and plenty of down time. Not anymore.
  1. No cocktails. This isn’t new obviously – I didn’t drink last time either. But there’s something about the aforementioned 4 year old running around that makes me REALLY crave my wine…
  1. “Oh don’t worry. You’re always bigger the second time around.” Enough said.
  1. The setup. We moved into our current house when I was approaching my ninth month. As hard as it was to move that late in my pregnancy, we started with an empty house – a blank slate.  It was so easy to set things up.  Now that we’ve hunkered down for almost 5 years we need to do a lot of rearranging and purging.  More work for sure.
  1. My two boys will be 5 years apart, so I’m waaaay out of the “baby stage” of life. Sometimes during a quiet moment I look around and think, “Oh crap, we’re going to have to change diapers. And wash bottles.  And buy baby food.  And not sleep through the night.”  Now please refer back to the first item on this list.  It’s all related.
  1. Maternity clothes. I think I borrowed a lot of stuff from my friends last time, because when I pulled down my box of maternity clothes from the attic I had no pants. Lots of shirts, but no bottoms.  And I distinctly remember covering my rear end regularly when I was pregnant before.  Most of my friends are done with the breeding portion of their lives so I have nobody from whom to borrow, which means I’ve had to spend money on stupid maternity clothes that I will never wear again.  I’m literally scraping by with like 3 outfits.
  1. All the stuff. It’s so much fun to get all new baby gear the first time around. It’s sparkling and pristine and magnificent.  But pretty soon we’re going to have to trudge up to the 1000-degree attic and start pulling down the old stuff, wiping it down, washing it, and probably finding out that some of it has dry rotted over the years.  Can’t wait.
  1. My dad’s not here for this one. I’m so grateful that he was able to spend a couple of short years being the best grandfather on Earth. But we lost him unexpectedly in early 2013 and it kills me that he isn’t here for round 2.  I’ll never forget him walking into my hospital room for the first time carrying a McDonald’s double cheeseburger and sweet tea.  THAT is the best dad known to man.  I miss him terribly.
  1. I’m sure every mother wonders if she has enough love to share with a second child. Right now my little boy consumes every ounce of my heart, even when he’s being a terror.  Is there room for another?  I know deep down the answer is YES, and he’s coming one way or the other so I guess we have no choice but to make room right?

I’m thrilled to be pregnant of course, but it is a little different this time.  A different mindset I guess.  I know what to expect for the most part so it’s not unchartered territory.  Maybe that takes a teeny bit of the fun out of it?  OK who am I kidding…  No cocktails all summer is really what’s taking the fun out of it.

Cheers to all the preggos out there.  I wish you the best!

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