There are a few things you realize after your first pregnancy. There are certain things you will implement and change in your next pregnancies. Most mothers wish they’d known these beforehand and not wait until their third or fourth pregnancies. Here are some things that you’ll learn with each of your pregnancies.
1. The Announcement
When you get pregnant for the first time, the excitement knows no bounds. You may see women flying across the country to tell the family in person about the news. You may want to record everyone’s reaction and make a video. In your second pregnancy, you may still take the effort to click some professional photos and post them on social media. However, when you’re pregnant for the third time, you simply broadcast a text message about the news to your family.
2. Concern
During your first pregnancy, the whole family comes together to take care of you, pamper you and make you feel special. You almost get a royal feeling when you have your husband, mother, sister and just everyone by your side. Anything you ask, you get it. The second time, you do get foot massages and prenatal massages but only because your friend gifted you a gift card at the spa. And when it’s your third time, nobody really cares. Your family will still care for you, but still, it’s not like the first time.
3. Prenatal Vitamins
During your first pregnancy, you’re very organized, you buy the prenatal vitamins well before your OB appointment. And you may even take them every day on time. In your second pregnancy, you buy the vitamins late in the pregnancy and pop them every now and then when you feel like it. Worse, in your third pregnancy, somewhere in your 4th month when your husband asks you about the vitamins, you buy them. Taking them is a whole another story. They’d probably lying around in the bathroom cabinet all forgotten.
4. Baby Shower
The baby shower is a huge deal in your first pregnancy. You make invites, thank you cards, personalized stationary and do so much more to make it grand. The second time, it’s not that big of a deal, you simply thank everyone through mail. The third time though, you make a group with everyone who was at the shower and send a common message thanking them all.
5. Vacation
When you have your first baby, you’re craving for a few peaceful nights by the beach at a luxury resort somewhere along the coast. You want to catch up on sleep and take a break from the long nine months. After your second kid, you can maybe squeeze in a weekend if your mom agrees to babysit your kids. Once you have your third kid, vacation means your own bed. And moreover, nobody wants to babysit your kids.
6. Nursery
You spend months picking out the lights, the paint colors, wallpapers and the crib for the nursery. You spend hours on the internet looking for the best ideas during your first pregnancy. During your second time, you simply wash the crib sheets and make do with what you have. There is no nursery when you’re pregnant for the third time. Seriously, you just want to get done with it as soon as possible.
7. Books & Blogs
You do extensive research, read books and blogs by pregnancy experts and follow what’s written like it’s the Bible. In your second pregnancy, you occasionally open the book when you’re bored or want to kill time. The third time, the only thing you want to do is sleep.
8. Prepping For Labor
When you’re in the last month of your first pregnancy, all hell breaks loose. You clean the car, install the baby seat in the car, make sure the house is spic and span. In your second pregnancy, you install the car seat just before you get to the hospital. On your way back, you realize you need a much bigger car. In your third pregnancy, you own a Suburban and re-install the car seat from your previous pregnancy.
9. Staying Fit & Exercise
In your first pregnancy, you follow the diet and do exercise every day, staying away from junk and eating only healthy foods. In your second pregnancy, you have more cheat meals and tend to binge eat at times. And unless someone points out you’ve gained, you don’t really have the will to exercise. In your third pregnancy, all you do is eat and sleep.
10. Alcohol
Alcohol is like poison for your baby in your first pregnancy. You don’t even sniff alcohol or any foods that may contain alcohol in them. When you’re carrying for the second time, you have your urges and gulp a glass of wine occasionally during social gatherings or recreation. But when you’re pregnant for the third time, you hang out with your friends at a brewery by your street or ask your friends to get a bottle fo wine to the hospital.
