With over half of this pregnancy down I've been already noticing differences and similarities between this one and my pregnancy with Ava.
You hear it all the time how different each pregnancy is, and for that matter how different each kid can be. We've yet to experience the second but already at 24 weeks along in this pregnancy there are some notable differences already in this pregnancy compared to when I was pregnant with Ava.
Let's start at the beginning and the most obvious for me. The Sickness. Ah, the first trimester sickness, yes I had it. But in a different way than when I was pregnant with my first. With Ava I was sick for about 15 weeks. I mean nausea, throwing up all the time night and day sick. Being my first pregnancy I was really worried that I was going to be sick the whole time, and it being my first pregnancy it was so horrible. And the fast that we weren't telling anyone about our news till the 10 week mark being sick made it even harder to hide when I was constantly not feeling well. I couldn't eat, I didn't want to eat much either since I was sick.
This time around no throwing up but completely nauseous the entire first trimester. Everyday I felt like I was going to vomit but only I wouldn't I would just continue to feel like it. And very, very tired. Which may or may not have a lot to do with the fact that I am working full time and I have a toddler to chase after. With Ava I didn't work full time outside of the house besides my photography business. I could make my own hours with that, schedule appointments when I wanted to and most importantly I could nap when I wanted. This time around I'm working full time and I'm not able to do any of those things.
Thankfully the tiredness and sickness have let up now and I'm feeling a bit more myself and have more energy now. Another difference is that I've noticed regular pregnancy symptoms that I had with Ava make their return much earlier than they did with my first pregnancy. Case in point; heartburn. Oh, how I loathe you. I've had consistent heart burn for weeks now. Not run. With Ava I didn't experience heartburn until my last trimester.
Another thing I've noticed is that my feet and hands have swollen some. This never happened with my first pregnancy, I was very lucky. I wore my wedding rings till the day I delivered I never took them off or found it hard to. These days I take them off right when I get home or else my hands swell so much that I have such a hard time getting them off. My feet are also swelling some, and then going back down. I can't wear some of my fave shoes which is sorta interesting getting dressed considering my work has a dress code about shoes and the types of shoes you can wear.
Another great benefit and difference is that I've been able to feel this baby move much earlier than I did with Ava, and in turn so has my husband. I didn't feel Ava kicks till I was around 19 weeks along. This time around I felt the baby moving little flutters right around 10 weeks. They say all those things are quite normal to feel them sooner and more evident in your second pregnancy than you did with your first, this is an exciting perk of being pregnant again.
On another note, the sugar/sweets cravings have been out of control. When I was pregnant the first time I didn't really have consistent cravings of anything. I went through periods of craving certain types of food (mexican, chinese, etc.) for weeks at a time and then they would pass. But this time around I'm craving sugar and I've been baking a lot. Cookie, brownies mostly. But I've been able to keep it all in moderation so that makes me feel a little better.
And another obvious difference so far is that we're having a boy! This is already the most exciting difference in this pregnancy. I'm excited to add a little boy to our family. For Ava to have a brother. To be a mom of both a boy and a girl soon. Having one of each makes life really exciting. I'm having more fun than I thought I would buying little boy clothing, and dreaming up ideas for a boy nursery.
