Lauren Ellis
Each pregnancy is different. Even your second will be different from your first. You may think that because you're done this before, you will know exactly what to expect. Well, you're wrong.
Not all wrong though. You will have an idea of what to expect, although do expect some changes. Your first pregnancy may have been a breeze and you may have loved every second of it. The chances of that being the case with your second aren't too high. All that being said, it is all situational.
Will My Second Pregnancy Be Easier?
This again, is all situational. A major factor which can decipher if this is true or not, is the time taken in between each pregnancy. Do you now have a terrible two's and one on the way? Or have you taken a longer gap in-between and now have one approaching the teens? Either way your attention can't be solely focused on your unborn. You have other factors in the way.
If you have one heading into the terrible two's, your time is taken up by taking them back and to from the naughty step, giving them the answers to their new favourite question, "why?" and taking any spare time you can cleaning up after them to make your house look some-what presentable. Or the new presentable your life has adapted to. In this case you may not find your pregnancy is any easier. You may however feel your pregnancy goes quicker.
If your first child is heading into their teens, your time is taken up by telling them their "attitude stinks", answering their all-time favourite questions "but why?" and making 10 different options for tea because overnight they have came to conclusion they don't like chips. Your time will be taken away from your pregnancy and in a blink your second will be on the way and you'll be left wondering what on earth you have done.
So no, you won't have time to take 9 bump pictures a day, or keep a pregnancy book up for the entire pregnancy with daily updates. And you definitely won't have time to take with your partner to sit and discuss the future with your precious little one on the way.
Will My Symptoms Be Different?
You can experience different symptoms during your second pregnancy and you may notice some differences.
Sickness:
There are chances you will experience morning sickness, even if you didn't in your first pregnancy. So don't think you have escaped this so easily. Your chances of having morning sickness with your second are much higher if you experienced this in your previous pregnancy also.
Bump:
The size of your bump will be different the second time around as you grow at a quicker rate in your second pregnancy. You may notice your bump being the same size at 28 weeks in your second, as you was full term in your first.
Movement:
You may experience movement a lot earlier the second time round also. This will be down to the main fact of you knowing what to look for or feel for.
Tiredness:
For the reasons above of being a mum to one already, no matter what age, you will be more tired. You may notice that your body is more exhausted during your second pregnancy.
Labour:
This is not the case for everyone so take this next statement lightly. You may notice labour is a quicker process. For your first pregnancy, the dilation of your cervix is around 8-10 hours with the pushing stage taking around 3 hours. However, for your second the average time is around 4-5 hours with pushing taking under two hours.
