Expecting Our Second Child | My Experiences of Pregnancy so Far

Being pregnant for a third time (I’m including my miscarriage in this total) has certainly proved different from my pregnancy with Sonny, our first child.

So what has been different about this pregnancy and expecting our second child? Has anything been dramatically different so far? Well, I think the general attitude towards pregnancies has changed for me since I had the miscarriage. I’m often feeling anxious and overly worried about the pregnancy as a whole because I know a pregnancy can go so wrong at any point in the process.

With that being said, here are some of my experiences of pregnancy so far that I feel are worth sharing.

Please ignore the state of my nails. That’s the norm nowadays with a toddler. No time for nail appointments!

I’m constantly thinking about how I’m going to juggle two children

Oh my days, this thought has plagued my mind since I got pregnant. I do feel like we’re at a really good point with our little one, who has just turned two and therefore has a lot more independence. He’ll be two and a half by the time this baby comes around, but I do worry about whether he’s potty trained by then or if I’ll be contending with that as well as having a newborn baby.

That being said, you can only do your best as a mum, so if it’s chaotic for a while, then so be it. I’m excited for the chaos – and terrified at the same time, but that’s normal.

 

Organising old baby clothes

I expected myself to get more emotional going through all of Sonny’s clothes, but I’m more in shock at how much he has. Bearing in mind that we’ve now got vacuum-packed bags of clothes ranging from newborn all the way up to 24 months. So there are a lot of clothes.

It doesn’t seem as though we’re going to need a lot of baby clothes, especially as some of the clothes Sonny had weren’t even worn or only got a few uses out of them before he was leaping into the age category. 

Thankfully, though, I’ve organised them all into the right bags, making sure all of the ones in the bags are ready to be cleaned and aren’t already dirty/stained or no longer wearable. Now it’ll just be a case of pulling them out of the bags, washing them, and getting them into the nursery when we get round to that task.

 

Feeling more prepared but wary about the birth

How do I feel about the birth this time round? Well, if you’ve read my blog on my birth experience, then you’ll know it was quite the lengthy rollercoaster.

With that being said, I’m definitely feeling more prepared but somewhat wary about the birth. I’m morbidly curious about a vaginal birth, but equally, I’d take the c-section to not have to go through such a lengthy and painful labour again. I had back-to-back pain, so I was in agony for the last twelve or so hours of the labour before I went into the hospital and had the epidural.

This time round, though, I’m planning to go straight into the hospital as soon as those contractions align with what they typically recommend online. My only worry is that they won’t be very regular, and if I’ve been in labour for over twelve hours with no progress, that’s also when I’ll probably go in regardless.

I want to be constantly monitored, but I would like to begin it in a midwife-led center rather than just going straight onto a ward.

 

First trimester is officially a bitch

Oh yes, I’d definitely forgotten the extent to which this trimester is the devil itself. I think it was certainly worse because I had a toddler, and so twelve weeks of pregnancy felt like an extended amount of time feeling both nauseous and completely exhausted.

It definitely felt like it went on for longer, too, which only made the feeling of being sick worse. I don’t think I ate as excessively as I did with Sonny to curb the sickness, but I certainly indulged in the takeaways where possible.

Interestingly, I went off minced beef during the first trimester of my pregnancy, and this time it’s salmon.

 

Prepping the nursery and our new home

So there’s quite a lengthy list of things I want to get done for 2026 around the home in order to make it feel like our home.  To start with, we need to get rid of some stuff, break down a couple of old wardrobes, and get them replaced. While I’d ideally like to get the nursery ready before the baby arrives, I’m also in no rush to get it done because, from experience, Sonny didn’t go into his room until he was eight months old.

I don’t like to rush getting them into their own room because I have the attitude that they should be by your side for as long as you and the baby both feel necessary. Anyway, in terms of prepping the nursery, we’re going to need to do a bit of plastering, paint/wallpaper, and get a blind in before we can get the nursery furniture in there.

Let me know in the comments if you’re expecting and what your experiences are of pregnancy, whether it’s your first, second, or third!