It has been interesting seeing how this pregnancy has compared to the first one (and my, how bizarre it is to have this new distinction between the "first one" and "this one." It really just doesn't seem like it should be happening; it seems SO soon, but it's really not).

My biggest fear (of course, as I repress the knowledge of the reality of having a baby and a 2-year-old) was being pregnant with a toddler. I have vivid memories of being pregnant with Liam, sitting at my desk (luckily it was smack up against a window, so I had virtually no passers-by) and just willing myself to survive the day. I'd lean back in my chair and just think the feeling would never end. I'd come home and park it on the couch for the next 5 hours before moving to my bed for the night. The thought of having that kind of day and then coming home and having to be on my game for the next 3 hours was deathly frightening.

What I've learned is that the more inactive I am, the worse off I am (to a degree, anyway. If I overdo it, like, you know, going to the UGA-Auburn game and being out till 12:45 am, I'm NOT ok). Sometimes I'll be ok, and it's only after I sit down for awhile that I begin to feel miserable.

Overall, though, it's gone amazingly well. This isn't to say that I'm bursting full of energy and feeling fantastic, but it has gone very well, comparatively speaking.

With Liam, the awful period of time started right at 7 weeks, and once I hit 10.5 weeks, I started having some good days mixed in with the bad, and then the bad started to taper off. During the first trimester, I wasn't able to get out of bed without eating saltines and sitting on the side of the bed for several minutes. It took every fiber of my being to get the toothbrush in my mouth, and my gag reflex left much to be desired. I had to switch toothpastes every couple of weeks. I was absolutely plagued by food aversions, and that didn't really ever get better throughout the pregnancy. I kept thinking, if only I COULD crave something, then at least I could eat. I still managed to gain 36 pounds.

This time, 7 weeks came and went, and I had some tired days, but nothing terribly bad. At around 8, 8.5 weeks, that's when I started feeling absolutely miserable on a pretty much daily basis. However, miserable didn't include saltines and gagging on my toothbrush; it's mainly just overwhelming fatigue that you can't explain to anyone who hasn't experienced it. I mean, sure, I have my days when not pregnant when I get very little sleep, and it's awful, but this is like that feeling times 10. It's like your body just shuts down. That lasted about a week and a half, and at some point I realized that it coincided with the time that I was taking a sample of fancy Rx prenatals that I didn't end up going with. Once I got my Duet DHA all filled and started taking it again, I felt much better.

My fingers are really swollen right now - I have a hard time getting my rings on in the morning. I didn't have that problem till the last month last time. Every time I get them on, I feel like I am taking a huge risk, and I have to wonder if they will ever come off in one piece again.

And oh my gosh - the cravings. We were on the way to Panda Express today to indulge my craving for orange chicken and chow mein, and we passed a roadside smoker cooking up some barbecue, Applebees, Red Lobster, and Olive Garden. I wanted all of it. I was salivating over some commercials today. Each day, I think of one thing in the morning that I really want for lunch, and then it becomes non-negotiable that I have it come lunch time. There are still things I think about that kind of make me want to gag, and in fact, I'd probably say a majority of food items out there are NOT appealing, but I definitely have my fair share of cravings.

One thing I did NOT experience last time was this water aversion. I never knew such a thing existed. I was doing SO well on my water diet leading up to the pregnancy, and I think that was a major factor contributing to me getting pregnant; I felt so much healthier. I was able to drink probably about as much water as they say you should have every day. Now - it's a chore getting anything in me if I know it contains water. It leaves this awful taste in my mouth (a lot of people describe it as "metallic," and I can see that, but I can't say that's exactly what it is). I can sit there thinking of water and just want to gag.

So it has been interesting observing the similarities and the differences. I'll compare and contrast in my blogs as the pregnancy wears on...that's a fun new element. One thing we are not doing is finding out the sex of the baby...which means I need to be fully prepared for it to go either way. I am trying not to make any conjectures or have any expectations, but while this pregnancy has become so much different than the first, it is hard to keep from thinking that it might signal that it is a girl (especially when my boy pregnancy was identical to my mom's boy pregnancies, and this one is very similar to my mom's pregnancy with me). Many women have very similar pregnancies and have different sexes, while many have vastly different pregnancies and have two of the same sex. No way to tell!

We'll just wait to be surprised in June - I would really, really regret it if I didn't get to find out what that moment is like when the baby pops out and they say "it's a ....!" It's only a difference of 4.5 months which, after having one child, you realize is like a blink of an eye in the grand scheme of things.