Second or subsequent pregnancy

Baby is two months old now. Woo hooo, we have successfully completed (hopefully) the most taxing time. To give you a background, my husband and I both work full time and have a little boy who will be three in October. We welcomed our baby girl in end of April. We have families in India (mine) and the US (hubby’s). Few things about second pregnancy:
1. You will be tired: Yes, second pregnancy (I guess every pregnancy) is quite different from first. Although I was more confident, more comfortable with changes this time around, I was definitely more tired by the end of the day. Life with a toddler is quite unpredictable, so it’s good to be on top of everything (at work and home). I always kept my one week to-do list and crossed as I completed a task. Sometimes, things carried over to next week and that was okay.
2. Take it easy: Yes, laundry can wait, can always order food. Try to spend as much time as possibly can with the toddler and also get enough rest for the growing baby. Listen to your body. If you can, hire help or let husband take care of household. My husband likes to cook so he cooked pretty much all the time I was pregnant and still does. We hired someone to clean bathrooms and vacuum twice a month. We cleaned in between as needed. Lawn care was also outsourced for a while.
3. Stock up: Stock up the essentials but don’t go overboard. We bought enough clothes for her in 0-3 months and 3-6 months sizes. Washed everything two weeks before the due date. For newborn clothes, we used my son’s as he was ~9lbs and never wore those. We learned from our experience and bought only one pack of nb diapers. We bought 2 big boxes of size 1 diapers. Also, bought bottles (I haven’t started bottles yet because I am at home with her all day), new accessories for breast pump, storage bags etc. We had crib and all other baby paraphernalia from last time, just bought new crib sheets and towels.
4. Enjoy the time as three (or four) of you: I travelled a lot during my pregnancy, some for work, some for fun. If the pregnancy is normal and you have a go-head from your ob/gyn, there is no reason to skip vacations. I went to Australia in first trimester (9 wk pregnant), India in second trimester (23 wks) and several domestic trips. My last domestic trip to Colorado was in my 35[SUP]th[/SUP] week.
5. Eat healthy and drink plenty of water: of course, this goes without saying. Do regular exercise. I didn’t do exercise but I stayed active throughout my pregnancy. Took stairs instead of elevator; carried my son etc. I worked till the day before my delivery. Have snacks (I like to munch on almonds) and a water bottle handy for in-between meals hunger pangs.
6. Clothes: There are lot of cute maternity clothes now-a-days ranging from casual to formal. I invested in few nice formal pieces for work and meetings. Good places are- Gap, Loft, Macy’s, Target and occasionally Motherhood. Depending on season, 2 pair of shorts, 2 jeans, 1 formal pant, few skirts, 6-7 blouses/tees/sweaters, one coat will be enough. I was able to wear regular clothes till 7[SUP]th[/SUP] month last time but this time I was carrying differently and needed maternity pants in 5[SUP]th[/SUP] month but was able to wear regular tees well in 7[SUP]th[/SUP] month.
7. Shoes: Invest in a pair of comfortable shoes. I bought a pair of black Michael Kors flats and those were my go-to shoes.
8. Panty liners: I learned this hard way. Second pregnancy is quite different from first-in good and bad ways. After my eighth month, number of times when I coughed, I leaked. So panty-liners were life savers.
9. Getting the older sibling ready for arrival of the new baby: We talked to our son about the new baby a lot. We took him to the anatomical ultrasound and the tech gave him a "picture of the baby sister". I am sure he had no idea what was going on. But that's okay. We read book about new sibling, let him pick out her clothes and diapers for stocking up. Asked him about different names. He helped daddy set up her crib and picked out the sheets. For his hospital visit, we bought a toy for him to give to baby sister and bought a book and a toy for him as a present from his sister. All he wanted was to hold his sister. He is such a sweet, caring older brother.

 

Thanks @CuteCherry. Hope it helps! I see that you're pregnant. Good luck with everything! Enjoy your pregnancy!

 

Congratulations! A lot to look forward to .

 

Thanks @priyaindusladie! Glad you found it useful. Congratulations on the second one. What a fun time! How old is your first one?

 

I am sure he Is excited about the sibling. Congrats!