What it was like being pregnant after nine years

Before I even knew I was pregnant, I was generally feeling just awful. Pregnancy itself is very exhausting, but believe me, this pregnancy was completely different than my first one. Not all pregnancies are the same. I am sure we have all heard that a thousand times, but it didn't click until I got pregnant again.

In my second pregnancy, I realized I had forgotten what I knew previously. The pandemic happened, so it made getting to the doctors very hard. The entire time, my doctor's office didn't allow me to bring anyone with me to any of my appointments. So, my husband missed out on all the Ultrasounds. At all of my visits, I'm pretty sure I annoyed my doctor with all the questions I had.

Some of the staff even gave me looks like, "you've been pregnant before, you should know all of this" I was like, there is a nine-year gap between my children, then they would immediately apologize then "oh wow, that's quite an age range for siblings!" I am going to break this down into trimesters and talk about what was so hard for me to be pregnant after so long.

Trimester 1: Months 1-3:

During the first trimester, I was so exhausted I almost couldn't function properly. My new bedtime was now 5 pm every day. I had to take anywhere from 2-3 naps every day. If I didn't, I was a zombie. I had horrible nausea the entire time and felt like I had the seasonal flu, body aches included. Awful, just awful. Now, compared to my last pregnancy nine years ago, I was exhausted then too, but not nearly as bad as I was with this one. You're wondering how I was able to combat it? Honestly, I just gave in. That is easier said than done for most people, but I didn't have a job at the time. My nine year old mostly took care of herself. I'm not proud to admit that, but she is able. She understood how tired I was, how important it was for me to get the rest I needed. So, I slept, slept as much as my body told me I needed to. I believe that is the best thing to do for yourself is to listen to what your body needs. My nine year old was able to feed herself, dress, and do her school work. She knew that if she needed me, she could wake me up. I was happy to help her out despite being so tired. I still had my responsibilities. I wasn't about to neglect her. She did end up waking me up a lot. I didn't get as much sleep as I wanted, as my body wanted, but I ended up getting enough to keep me going through the day.

Trimester 2: Months 4-6

The second trimester was it for me. I was having a wonderful time and enjoying being pregnant during these months. I was full of energy every day, sleeping well, and ready to take on the days. I wanted to clean the entire house. I still had to take naps, but they weren't as long and the fatigue wasn't as extreme as in the first trimester. At this time, I started thinking of baby names. I had an entire list, around 40 of them on a piece of paper. I'm pretty sure I drove my husband mad because I talked about the list every day to him. If I were able to choose how to feel while pregnant, that was my ideal feeling of what pregnancy should feel like for every woman who experiences it.

Trimester 3: Months 7-9

Every woman by this trimester is so over being pregnant. We all hear about it. I have to say it is so true. At this point in my pregnancy, I wanted her out. I wanted her to be healthy, of course, but at this point, I was super big, could barely walk, couldn't see my toes, extreme pelvic pain, and pressure. The pain was a big issue for me during the last trimester. I didn't exercise throughout my pregnancy and that might have been the big reason why. So, to all you ladies out there reading this, I highly suggest exercising during your pregnancy if your doctor is ok with it. I also suffered from really bad swelling in my calves and ankles during my pregnancy. I didn't have any of these problems with my first pregnancy. Maybe age is a reason too. I was twenty when I first got pregnant, my second pregnancy I was twenty-nine.

Nine months of pregnancy is a long time. For some, it feels so much longer. I know it sure felt like I was pregnant for at least a year. The age gap between my two kids is big, but I'm sure as they get older it will make an interesting mom life. I know my life is already interesting enough having a newborn again after nine years. What are your experiences with pregnancy? Were all your pregnancies as different as mine were? What's the age gap between your kids? Would you have done anything differently?