A Decade

When I got pregnant for Chiggie I was 19 years old. I will be 29 in March. That means that my first pregnancy and this one are nearly a decade apart. I can honestly say that age plays a factor. With my first pregnancy I had morning sickness for 12 weeks, preeclampsia, pitting edema, all topped off with PUPP. It was miserable. I delivered in early June, but it was unusually hot and humid. Our air conditioner wasn't working and frankly I don't know how I survived.

In comparison this pregnancy has been a cake walk. I haven't had severe morning sickness at all, no high blood pressure, extreme weight gain, or bizarre rashes. But I can say that the symptoms I do experience feel more exaggerated. I'm not old by any means, but I really can say that I think I have less of a tolerance over time. If I had a pregnancy this time like my first I would be a basket case, while at the ripe old age of 19/20 I was a real trooper. Now I can also say that having 4 other kids plays a role too. I can't rest whenever I feel tired, far from it in fact. There is no such thing as sleeping in. Even snacking is more difficult. We're on a tight budget and most of the snacks we have are really more for the kids.

I'm really not complaining, just comparing. All pregnancies are different I know that. Sometimes I just wonder if its really the pregnancy or all of the other factors involved. Maybe this pregnancy isn't as easy as I think it is. Maybe I'm just much more pre-occupied. I certainly don't have as much time to dwell as I did in the past. I feel like I'm barely pregnant at almost 17 weeks and with Chiggie by this time I felt as though I'd been pregnant forever. It's all perspective I suppose. It will be interesting to see how I feel in the end.