I've been thinking about how different this pregnancy is from round 1, so I thought I would document some of the differences. I wrote several posts on my pregnancy experience with Pierce (aka Itty Bitty) and thought I would document Teeny Tiny and see how they are similar and different. Just a fun way to remember the experience.
Perhaps the greatest difference so far is morning sickness (or in my case evening sickness). With Pierce I was sick as a dog and I stayed that way for 22 weeks. Yeah that was AWFUL! Teeny Tiny started out the same way. In fact "morning" sickness was one of the primary drivers to swear off pregnancy FOREVER after Pierce. For me it's horrible. Starting around 2pm I have a downward slide until I hit my pillow and sleep it off around 7:30pm.
For Teeny Tiny I turned the corner around 13 weeks! Woo Hoo!!!! I still have my moments when I get really run down but for the most part I am feeling greatly improved. I dare say I have energy! However, my "morning" sickness was much more severe with Teeny Tiny. **WARNING: TMI Ahead*** With Pierce I never vomited. I felt awful and thought I would die but I never actually got sick. That streak definitely ended with Teeny Tiny. There were several evenings (especially when everyone was here at Christmas) that I spent sick as a dog in the bathroom. So while this round of morning sickness didn't last as long I got the "full" experience as it were.
Another difference is my skin. Some women claim they glow when they're pregnant and have great skin. Some women break out in acne or with what's referred to as the mask of pregnancy. With Pierce I had AWESOME skin. No zits. I glowed. I thought... at least I look good if I feel like I'm going to die. My luck has run out with Teeny Tiny. This time around I'm having flashbacks to middle school. Grrrr... Oh well, I'll take a zit or two (or ten) if I don't have to spend 22 weeks with morning sickness!
Food aversions make another interesting study. With Pierce I was HUNGRY. Hungry all the time. And for the most part it didn't matter what you fed me... but feed me NOW! In fact I wanted big steaks and lots of protein. I didn't have a lot of aversions but I needed food all the time just to avoid being totally non-functional with the morning sickness.
Teeny Tiny is totally different. I've had a hard time getting an appetite with Teeny Tiny; especially when I felt ill. The only thing that is consistently appetizing is fried eggs and typically as a breakfast sandwich. In addition any meat product was totally avoided. To some extent I could eat meat if it was in something (like a casserole) but I couldn't eat a steak or a piece of chicken. Also salad was completely off the menu. In fact most veggies, especially raw ones, were off the menu. As I've moved past a lot of my morning sickness I can stomach veggies again but I'm still struggling to eat a lot of meat. Oh well, bring on the breakfast sandwich!
Our birth plan is also very different last time. With Pierce we planned a home birth and ended up with an emergency c-section. Yeah, that was a shock! This time a previous c-section is forcing us to make some different decisions. While I loved the home birth experience, neither Clay nor I feel comfortable with a VBAC at home. So we are going a more traditional medical route using the same doctor that partnered with my midwives and delivered Pierce. We are also using a midwife again (one who attended much of my home labor process). She will help monitor any labor at home and will act as a montrice once we have to go to the hospital. Of course, if the tumor grows back (initial ultra sound shows it's shrunk) all bets are off and I'm likely to require a scheduled c-section. Grrr... So here's hoping the Teeny Tiny birth story actually goes as planned!
So those are a few thoughts so far. We have another ultra sound in a couple of weeks and will hopefully be able to put more structure to our birth plan. I'll keep the blogging world posted!
