Friday, September 21, 2012

1st Pregnancy vs. 2nd Pregnancy

I have been lucky and blessed by two fairly easy pregnancies.  Both times I had no complications, always low blood pressure and normal glucose levels.  I did not have much nausea in either pregnancy, and carried both babies well.

I definitely had more heartburn with my first pregnancy, leading me to believe the wives-tail about the more heartburn the more hair, b/c my second had very little heartburn, and very little hair. 

Both pregnancies ended in unwanted c-sections.  In the first case, I was unsuccessfully induced and stopped progressing at 7 cm.  This time, they would have let me try for a VBAC had I started labor on my own, but I did not and the alternative was a scheduled c-section at about 41 weeks.   The second c-section was a very different experience.  The first time, it was so entirely unexpected as I never, ever imagined my childbirth experience going that way.  But this time, after my due date had come and gone, and I had tried everything to get the baby coming on my own, I was resigned to the fact that I was going to have a repeat section.   While with the first I had lots of baby blues and emotional swings after he was here, I got all my emotions about the c-section taken care of before my second son was born and have really been able to enjoy almost every moment since he arrived.  It was also much easier to recover from without the induced labor beforehand, and knowing what to expect after.

40weeks + 1day Pregnant with a 9 lb baby (Age 25 1/4 years)

40weeks + 4days Pregnant with a 8 lb 9 oz baby (Age 27 5/6 years)
My weight gain was different with each, though my starting weight was similar for both pregnancies.  For the first I gained 41.5 pounds, while I only gained 32 pounds with the second.  Perhaps that had sometime to do with the ease of recovery too? 

Hopefully, for #3 I’ll be able to successfully have a VBA2C.  I really don’t want to go through surgery again, but thankfully I am almost recovered from this one.

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