Pregnancy is both universal and unique. No two pregnancies are the same, but there are commonalities you can expect. We’ve compiled a list of unexpected ways your second pregnancy is likely to differ from your first.
1) You Will Be More Exhausted
There is nothing inherent about a second pregnancy itself that makes it more taxing. Your extra fatigue during a second pregnancy is a direct result of your first. Growing a baby is tiring. Parenting is hard work. With your first pregnancy, you only had to do one of these things at a time. But with a second pregnancy, you have to do both and parenting while pregnant is flat out exhausting.
2) You Will Embrace Good Enough
There’s a saying that perfect parents exist, right up until their children are born. During my first pregnancy, I did a bunch of research. I imagined how I would approach difficult topics like sex and war. Little did I know, the questions I would truly struggle with were, “Why can’t I lick the cat?” and “Why is purple?” Any illusions I had about being a perfect parent were shattered by the reality of my first child. But so were any illusions that I needed to be perfect to be a good parent.
3) You Will Not Love Your Second Child The Same
I was overwhelmed by the intensity of my love for my eldest when he was born. When I got pregnant again, I didn’t think I could love anyone as much as I loved him. I am my mother’s second child, so I asked her if she had felt this way. She told me that she had worried, up until I was born. The moment she held me, she felt her heart expand. Yet she was adamant, she did not love me the same as she loved my brother. A mother’s love is as unique and individual as her children. Like my mother, I do not love all my children the same, I love them all more than I ever imagined was possible.
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Ali Smith-Poe is a freelance writer and mom.
Other posts by Ali Smith-Poe
http://achildgrows.com/2017/10/29/raising-confident-girls/