Then vs. Now: Pregnancy

Since this is my second pregnancy, there are definitely some differences between this time around versus the last time. I thought it would be fun to put together a little list and point out those differences. Mommas of multiples: did you notice any of these differences too?

 

Photos of me (of course, that’s what we had to start out with!)

Then: I took pregnancy progress photos every few weeks (if you want to see them, check out this post and this post). We weren’t as good about it as we had hoped, but we have several tracking my progress. I also made some chalkboard notes to go with the weeks. We took an entire weekend trip to Disney World to take maternity photos at 2 of the parks and then even took some down by the coast when we got back.

Now: I have taken 1 progress photo (in this post). ONE! That’s embarrassing. But, I’ve said it before…I did not feel beautiful those first few months…I was sick and was getting bigger much faster than the first time and just didn’t feel like putting myself out there like that. And since we didn’t start any ritual, there wasn’t anything forcing us to take them later on in the pregnancy either. Our maternity session at Disney World was a last-minute thought. We already had a trip planned and then one day we remembered we should be taking maternity photos one of the days. It was too dang hot to do much, but at least we got some done.

Well, here’s a 37 week progress photo!

Photos of baby:

Then: We were so excited to see Trent, that we booked a 4D Ultrasound session. We ended up going twice in order to get the best photos, as stubborn little Trent didn’t want to show us his face.

Now: I have had a few more in-office ultrasounds, so we have seen Aubrey more that way than with Trent, but we didn’t book a 4D ultrasound this time, as every doctor ultrasound proved she was even better than Trent at hiding her face, so we didn’t want to do that again.

 

Morning Sickness/Aversions:

Then: None really. There were a few weeks I felt nauseous and icky, but I only ever threw up once, and that was because I choked on my huge prenatal vitamin (go figure). For what little yuckiness I felt, I used Preggie Pop Drops and mints. I tried ginger candy and ginger ale, but I didn’t like them very much (and I normally don’t mind ginger ale). I also wondered if I was pregnant before I actually took a test because I could not stand the smell of microwave meals any longer. I had a Healthy Choice and couldn’t take one bite all of a sudden. I haven’t eaten one since.

Now: Oh boy, I know I didn’t have it as bad as other people can get it, but this is what really made me glad I was having a girl because I never wanted to be pregnant ever again. Seriously. For several weeks, I didn’t want to eat or drink anything. Coffee made me nauseous, water made me nauseous…it was so weird. If we ate out and then drove home, I would have to clutch my vomit bag just in case because I felt terrible. Oh, and then there was the cruise. That last day of the cruise was one of the worst days of my life…and I’ve been through some childhood crap you wouldn’t believe. If you want to read about it, you can go to this post, but me? I’d rather forget…luckily, it went away after the first trimester. I still haven’t eaten a microwave meal

 

Complications/Issues:

Then: I had slightly elevated blood pressure throughout the pregnancy and was sent to triage once (by a doctor that wasn’t my normal doctor and obviously didn’t read my chart that I normally have a slightly elevated number). I never had to take any medications for anything though.

Now: I was put on blood pressure medication (a low dose) almost immediately. Then, I failed my glucose tolerance test and was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I had to take my blood sugar 4 times a day, go to a 2 hour education class, bi-weekly follow-up appointments and really watch what I eat. It sucked. I was just a walking mess of problems this time around. Luckily, they weren’t life-threatening during the pregnancy, but geeze, what a pain in the butt.

 

Stretch marks:

Then: NONE! Woo-hoo!

Now: Yep, they’re there. Just a few and mostly because of how fast I was gaining weight in the beginning from the gestational diabetes (at least that’s what we’re blaming it on as I hide the empty cookie packages behind myself hehe).

 

Gender announcement:

Then: We did 2 things, one for family and one for Facebook. For the family, we made gender announcement cupcakes with blue icing on the inside. Everyone took a bite at the same time…it was so fun and one of my favorite things we did to surprise people!

Then we posted an announcement photo on Facebook after our family knew.

Now: We shared one photo on Facebook for all friends and family. Sure, I’m sad there were no cupcakes involved (only because I would want to eat some cupcakes) but I love our announcement photo

 

Pregnancy Announcement:

Then: We posted a photo of the positive pregnancy test, along with a photo of me with a chalkboard quote that said “I’m 9 weeks old”.

Now: We let Trent be the star of the show and had him wear a “Big Brother” shirt during one of our birthday gatherings. It was fun, although the grandparents were the last ones to figure it out (those slow old people! haha love you guys!) and all the commotion freaked Trent out and made him cry, but we made a video out of it to enjoy forever.

 

Nursery:

Then: Trent’s nursery was a long thought out and debated process. We couldn’t decide what theme to go with! His room is much larger than Aubrey’s (although she has a much bigger closet, which she will thank us for in about 13 years), so we had a lot more to work with. Many craft projects were involved as well as the biggest IKEA haul we’ve ever made. His room was finished way in advance.

Now: I knew I didn’t want to overdo it, so there was only one craft project and we went with a general theme and slight focus on Disney (with several of Brett’s photos hung on the wall), similar to what we ended up deciding with Trent’s room. We were very late getting it done, since her room wasn’t empty to begin with (Trent’ was) so cleaning out everything took a few weeks and lots of Craigslist listings. Now, we are just waiting on the baby shower to see what else we get that can go in there, some more purchases from us and some Etsy orders to arrive and her room will officially be completed. Don’t worry, I will share photos soon!

 

We totally are aware of the fact that we did much more for Trent, but that’s also because we actually had the time and energy back then. We have agreed that we will need to do more photos of her once she makes her arrival, maybe a weekly photo project of some sort? I do look forward to them taking photos together, so let’s hope that we can get Trent to sit still long enough to do so!