New Mummy Blog: Two Very Different Pregnancies

My pregnancy with Honor was a magical time. In amongst the constant nausea and the ballooning hands and feet, I’ve never felt so special or loved.

A first pregnancy is like a bubble where everyone, from your partner to complete strangers, treat you with a warmth and kindness like no other time.

The pregnancy became my entire world for those long months while we waited for Honor’s arrival. The comfort of having her with me everywhere I went, all the time, and in the latter half feeling her move, reminding me she was there, was something I hadn’t anticipated beforehand.

Our baby on her way was all my husband and I could think about or talk about when we were alone.

Every spare minute was spent planning for her arrival: what we would call her, what we needed to buy, which car seat is best, what our birth plan would be.

We were full of excitement, nerves and wonder. And a little apprehension about how our lives were about to change, if not forever then at least for the next 18 years.

Until this point, we had lived the typical carefree life or 20 or 30-somethings in London. Yes, we had a mortgage and careers, but mostly our day-to-day decisions were as taxing as where we’d go out for dinner that night or what our social plans were for the weekend. We rarely had a night at home in front of the telly.

And now here we were, about to swap nights out for a newborn, and our south London flat for a house in the East Sussex countryside. Which we duly did, and haven’t looked back since.

Pregnancy Number Two Is A Far Cry From The First Time Round
Pregnancy this time has been decidedly different.

We know a different reality – there is no chance to dwell on the baby to come or indulge in dreamy conversations about names and nursery colours when there’s a walking, talking toddler taking your attention at all times.

Between Honor, work, and a rapidly progressing pregnancy, I barely manage to ask Adam how his day was before taking myself off to bed, with a parting comment that we really must start talking about baby names... soon.

At least there’s not as much preparation to be done this time, as we have most of the baby equipment we need from when Honor was born. There’s certainly been no time for lists of things we need or for shopping around for the best prices.

As long as I remember to pick up some newborn nappies at some point between now and going into labour, I think we’ll be okay.

What a difference from last time, when the hospital bag was packed and repacked and waiting by the front door with weeks to spare.

But perhaps the biggest difference is that we know more this time, which has to be a good thing, because it means we’re more prepared.

Of course we knew first time that we’d be waving goodbye to a good night’s sleep, but we couldn’t quite imagine how it would really feel to survive night after night on nothing longer than 40-minute snatches between feeds. Now we can.

Okay, so maybe that isn’t such a good thing, but at least we know what we’re letting ourselves in for.

[New Mummy Blog: Preparing My Toddler For Baby Number Two]

[Mum's Toilet Paper Pregnancy Craving Explained By Doctors]

Have you found many changes between your pregnancies? Let us know in the comments.