Major Differences Between First and Second Pregnancies

Last Updated on August 26, 2024 by Joshua Isibor

Many people have asked, and many are still asking if there is any difference between first and second pregnancies. Here is your answer: Yes, the two pregnancies have plenty of differences.

How a Second Pregnancy May Be Different From the First (10 POINTS)

1. You will notice your pregnancy sooner:

During your second pregnancy, you are bound to recognize the symptoms sooner. Seeing as you have gone through the whole pregnancy thing before, you are more familiar with the symptoms (like aversion to certain foods, tender and swollen breasts, morning sickness, etc). When you start experiencing these symptoms again, you can easily conclude that you are pregnant, rather than doubt as you had during your first pregnancy.

2. You will certainly feel a lot more tired:

It won’t take rocket science to understand this. You are already carrying out mummy duties to your first child, taking care of the home and your work (for the working class moms), so tiredness could become your middle name. It would be a huge plus if you could get any family member or even a friend to assist you during this period.

This is the reason why it’s very good to give a birthing interval of at least 3 years so that the first child will assist you in carrying out some simple duties around the house(like picking up their toys after playing, eating on their own)

3. The pregnancy will show earlier than the first:

Your abdominal and uterine muscles have been stretched by your first pregnancy. These muscles are looser and won’t be as firm as before you first became pregnant; this will make your baby bump show much sooner during your second pregnancy than with the first one.

Because your abdominal muscles are loose and the added fact that your second baby might be bigger than your first baby, you might carry lower (that is, your baby bump will be lower or much closer to your thighs). This might also cause you to feel back pains earlier than you did during your first pregnancy. To ease these back pains, try wearing low-heeled shoes, avoid lifting heavy objects, and sleep on your sides with a pillow between your knees to support your back.

low heeled shoes

4. You will wear it better:

with your second pregnancy, you might prefer the comfort that comes with wearing free and easy maternity clothes. Meanwhile, during the first pregnancy, you might have worn cute T-shirts with beautiful prints like “New Mummy”, and” Mum to be” on them. You may also wear fitting clothes that show off your baby bump before you switch to proper maternity clothing. Your baby bump will also look more natural on you and fit you more.

5. Planning for the baby’s arrival:

during the period of your first pregnancy, you almost start preparing for the baby’s arrival from the moment you confirm your pregnancy. From spending hundreds and hundreds of hours decorating the nursery to shopping for furniture, clothes, and toys (even though they can’t use them yet) to buying all sorts of silly things in anticipation of the baby’s arrival.

While with your second pregnancy, although you are also excited and anticipating their arrival, you won’t go crazy shopping as you did during the first pregnancy. Your second child will mostly get the hand–me–downs of your first child. Especially furniture (speaking of reusing baby furniture, I could probably use my family as an example; a lot of things my siblings used as babies were things bought during my pregnancy as the first child) and probably clothes, especially when they are both the same sex. Instead of spending a lot of time shopping for the baby as you did during your first pregnancy, you sort through the clothes your older child used as a baby and find clothes you can reuse.

ALSO, READ Exploring the different Baby Cries and their Meaning

6. Taking advice:

during your first pregnancy, you are willing to take advice from almost anyone. From your doctor to your mom to books on pregnancy and childbirth to anyone with any childbirth experience.

But during the second pregnancy, you are now a kind of pro, and you will probably go with your guts rather than consulting anyone or books except maybe your doctor for problems you can’t handle. You might also give out your books to other first-time moms you may know or even donate them to charity.

7. Feeling scared:

We all know that raising kids is a tough job, and we feel scared almost all the time that we are doing something wrong or that we might do something wrong. This is true for raising all kids, no matter how many kids you have. But it is more so with your first child.

From the time of the pregnancy, you are being extremely careful about everything, from what you eat to where you eat, and you are scared of almost everything you do and its effect on the baby.
But this is not the case with your second pregnancy. Although you might still be a little bit scared about hurting your baby, you already know what works and what doesn’t. So, you generally avoid what doesn’t work.

Also, during the first pregnancy, you might be scared that you will do a bad job as a mom or that you might do something to harm the child when it’s born. But during your second pregnancy, you don’t feel such fears as you are now more confident in your parenting skills.

Rather, you might have fears about how your older child will adjust to having a baby in the house. How will they feel knowing that they are no longer the sole focus of the house and that they will have to share you with another person?

8. You might feel the baby kick sooner:

During the first pregnancy, you might remember those weird fluttery feelings you felt in your abdomen that you thought were just gas. Well, now you are wiser and more knowledgeable in all things pregnancy to know that it’s the baby moving. Since you know what to expect, you will likely feel the baby moving from the fourth month of your second pregnancy.

9. You might experience shorter labor:

This is some kind of good news in the aspect of the amount of time you have to spend in the delivery room. Your labor for your second child might be just half the time you spent for your first child. This is because your cervix is now less rigid, so you will be easily dilated, and your vaginal tissues are more yielding to the pressure of the baby’s head easily. The baby just pops out without much stress and pain, unlike during the labor of your first pregnancy.

10. You will find breastfeeding easier:

this can be attributed to the fact that you have breastfed a child before. You will have a better idea of what you are doing breastfeeding your second child than you did with your first child. Also, your mammary gland produces milk more readily and easily than it did the first time. You might also discover that you are already producing milk during your second pregnancy before you even give birth.

11. Morning sickness:

during your first pregnancy, when you start feeling queasy, dizzy, and tired(morning sickness), you can take sick leave, go home, take a warm bath, and just go to bed with your partner, massaging your hands and feet. But it is not so with your second pregnancy; taking care of your first child is already a full-time job. And having to deal with morning sickness on top of that just plain sucks.

You only get to nap when your toddler naps, and your partner may not have much time to dote on you as he did during your first pregnancy, as his free time may be spent trying to take care of the chores you were too tired to do, taking care of your older child so you could catch up with work or maybe rush to the market, or even for you to catch up with the girls.

Although no two pregnancies are the same, most of these differences still hold. It might sound scary to try and juggle taking care of your family, going to work, and going through the hassles of pregnancy at the same time, but girl, you have what it takes, and you can do it. Through the pain and stress, just imagine how you will feel when you have your child in your arms. The joy of watching your family grow and bear the stress.

ALSO, READ 14 Possible Benefits Of Drinking Coconut Water In Pregnancy

Originally posted 2020-11-06 18:14:38.