Now that I have made it through my first trimester with actually getting off the couch a few times, I’m ready to start thinking about the rest of these long 6 months ahead of me. Already this pregnancy has been very different from my first one. Though I wouldn’t say I’m a pro-pregger (whom which I would label Michelle Duggar), I do have 1 pregnancy under my belt, and I plan to do things a little differently this time around.
1. Sleep more! This is not so much a goal as it is a MUST! I have finally mastered the whole “sleep when the baby sleeps” which I never did when Kyler was a newborn. Now I have to take naps! I’ve been way more tired with this pregnancy and I literally cannot stay awake for the entire day. I’m hoping I can take a break from my mandatory naps in the 2nd trimester and pick them up again in the 3rd.
2. Go straight to the maternity pants. With my first pregnancy, I wore those belly bands forever with my non-maternity pants. I actually refused to buy maternity work slacks, so I wore regular ones with one these belly bands EVERY day! Going to the bathroom was like a 12 step process! Now I fully appreciate the amazingness that is maternity pants, so I plan to skip the belly band stage and go straight those sexy maternity pants 🙂
3. Take better belly photos. I made a poor attempt to document my growing belly the first time. What’s surprising is I love belly shots! I love the miracle of the woman’s body growing to accommodate a little baby. I want to be able to show each of my children just how they looked in mama’s belly. This time, I’m determined to get a good shot, with the same background (hopefully) each week to show the progression of my little bean! There is a possibility this will not be on my list with my 4th pregnancy 😉
4. Get professional maternity pics (maybe). We decided not to spend the money on having professional maternity photos with Kyler. We went over to White Rock Lake, my hubby snapped a few photos, I edited them (if you can call iPhoto editing) and we were happy. Well semi-happy. Now when I look back at them, I laugh. If we feel the need to get maternity pics done this time, I will definitely go with professional ones- no offense Cody Kimmel.
5. Consider NOT finding out the sex. I was just talking with some friends last night about NOT finding out the sex of the baby. I never even considered this. I’m not a crazy planner or anything, I just figured I would always want to know, and that it would make decorating way easier. Well after talking about it for a while, it sounds really fun. I don’t think I would dress my girl (if I had one) super girly girl, so having gender-neutral clothes would not bother me. I’m not sure if I could actually wait to know, though. This is still something I’m thinking about.
6. Be prepared for D-day. After having a complicated emergency c-section with Kyler, I have to have a scheduled c-section with this one. Sadly, I’m not a candidate for a VBAC. I’m not happy about the situation, but I know it is best for me and the baby, so I’m trying to make the best of it. This time I know there will be a hard recovery, I know I won’t get to hold my baby right away, and I know I will be in the hospital for a while. There is not much I can do to change my situation, but I’m going to do my best to educate myself and prepare as much as I can.
Did you do things different with your pregnancies? Any advice? Did you wait to find out the sex of your baby? So much to learn!
To offer a little encouragement on the last one… my second was so much easier with out all of the adrenaline, trauma, and unknown. It was really peaceful and I remember a lot more with Micah than I did with Sophia. I wasn’t as sick, was able to hold him sooner, and recovery was much better. It will always suck, but just so you know, its not as bad. 😉 And planning where Sophia would be was a bonus too!
Marcie,
That is super helpful! I keep hearing it is going to be easier the second time, but I have a hard time imagining it. I really hope I get to hold the baby sooner than last time! I didn’t get to hold him for 4 hours! It was awful!
4 hours!?! Wow. I don’t know how you did that. You poor thing.
The biggest difference for me with my 2nd pregnancy was how fast it went by! If someone asked me how far along I was the first time I was pregnant, I remember saying something like 22 weeks and 3 days. The second time, I had a toddler to take care of and I didn’t have time to sit back and count down the days. In my second pregnancy, sometimes I would forget what week I was on. 🙂