I can’t believe this is round two for me! I was pretty lucky to have a relatively smooth pregnancy with only some symptoms so it will be interesting to see whether this pregnancy will be similar.

Unfortunately the first thing I noticed was that the morning sickness was WAY worse this time around. It could also be due to the fact that I found out my pregnancy while we were in a 3 week hotel quarantine. The lack of fresh air and being stuck in a hotel room definitely made things worse. I felt so unwell and really just wanted to be in bed all day. I had to get my act together though because I had to play with Lex and make sure he was taken care of during the quarantine. It was definitely a pretty tough experience and once we got out and had some fresh air I already felt slightly better. In my first pregnancy, I did feel a bit nauseous but I would never actually throw up. I did projectile vomit a few times this pregnancy, especially if I had an overly indulgent meal. I also noticed that I had a lot of saliva which is apparently another symptom of morning sickness. I usually felt better after eating and certain foods that I usually loved seems absolutely repulsive to me (like salmon!). I also had to burp quite a bit, especially after eating. The nausea got better around 8 weeks but then got worse again by 9 weeks… yay for 1 week of respite. Lex also got quite sick around then so I was also extra tired and not sleeping well from taking care of him. Thankfully, the nausea went away completely by 11/12, which was similar to my first pregnancy.

Another difference was how TIRED I felt this pregnancy. It is normal to be fatigued during the first trimester but I definitely felt this way more this time. With my first pregnancy, I could rest and sleep as much as I wanted, but now I had a wild toddler to take care of. Lex also is still not sleeping through the night and I alway respond and support him over night, so it was definitely tough to be doing both that and also going through the first trimester. I took Lex to his playgroup 3 times a week and we also continued to do fun things as a family on weekends. We did not have full time helper (our part time comes at 12 pm) so mornings were also quite tough for me since I was on my own. Some days I find myself almost dozing off while reading to Lex!

I have read that women show more quickly during the second pregnancy and this was definitely true for me! I felt like I already looked slightly pregnant at 8 weeks. I remember with my first pregnancy I didn’t really look properly pregnant until 5-6 months. Some other symptoms include a very annoyingly dry scalp. My scalp would be very itchy and dry and flakes of skin would come off. I also noticed my c section scar darkening a bit.

I am still breastfeeding Lex and this was a little uncomfortable because nipples become quite sensitive during pregnancy. Overall it is doable but there are times when it hurts quite a bit. Luckily he is slowly feeding more and we are also gently night weaning him (more on that in another post!). My milk supply also seemed to be reduced but I was still producing milk.

Overall I think my two pregnancies have been relatively similar and luckily no major discomforts. I am looking forward to the second trimester!