A Tale of Two (Three) Pregnancies

I have been pregnant 3 times and each time has proved to be a very unique experience. Sure there are some similarities.

-I am one of those women who doesn't throw up during pregnancy.

-I don't gain 50lbs.

-Sleeping at the end of the third trimester is incredibly difficult.

-My boobs do not get incredibly huge like some women's do.

-Up until now, my babies happily flip head down and prepare for a rather easy uncomplicated delivery.

-I have never peed on myself like many women do during pregnancy. I am very thankful for this :-) Apparently, I have "decent" bladder control (at least, when I'm not sneezing...).

This pregnancy in particular has been a bit different than the other two. Way back in my first trimester, I developed varicose veins in my right leg. Those puffy veins then got spider veins as friends. The inside of my calf now looks like a purple and red bruise from top to bottom. Its super unattractive and one of the reasons I am thankful to have been pregnant during the winter so I can wear pants and nobody has to experience my ugly leg.

I have also had heart palpitations for much of this third pregnancy. They started in the first trimester, subsided in the second, and have returned (and increased) in the third trimester. I have had them checked out by a cardiologist and he assured me that they were harmless. So, for now, I am okay with them occurring.

I started this pregnancy at a much lower body weight then I had started either one of my previous pregnancies. I was healthier and I looked better. Mentally, I have had a harder time with the weight gain aspect of pregnancy. Seeing the scale go up, and up, and up each time I step on makes me feel uncomfortable. I can see that my belly is getting bigger and bigger, but I still hate watching those numbers go up. Plus, while we're on the subject of numbers, I have already gained 29lbs and I am only 34 weeks along. With both previous pregnancies, I gained 29lbs total. So, yeah, I think I am going to go over the 30lb mark with baby N. Bummer!

I have NOT developed stretch-marks with this pregnancy. If you read my blog regularly, you will know how exciting this is. In the past, I had used Palmer's Coco Butter as a stretch-mark preventative. It never worked at all and I was left with a purple roadmap on my entire big itchy belly. With this one, I am using Bio-Oil, a completely different product, and I have had amazing stretch-mark free results. And NO itchiness. Its been wonderful :-)

Lastly, with this pregnancy I have developed more aches and pains than I can remember having in the past. For the past few weeks, by the end of the day, I have been feeling a dull but constant pain in my pelvic region. I can only figure its from the loosening of my ligaments and muscles to prepare for delivery combined with the extra 29lbs on my frame. Unfortunately, that pain has recently decided to begin in the morning and last all day. Only a warm bath after the kids go to bed seems to provide any relief. I am thankful for the bath remedy, but I hate that I can't feel the relief until 8pm each day, haha.

And just for kicks, I found this picture of me pregnant with D about 2 1/2 years ago. I think I was around 31 weeks...

And I was 36 weeks in this one.

And then here I am in this 3rd pregnancy in the same dress at 34 weeks. I can't believe how much I've changed! That, and how big my belly is, haha.