“Woo Hoo!!! Congratulations! I’m so excited for you! That’s the greatest news I’ve heard today!”

Sadly, I don’t get those anymore. Either that I’m low key this time, or that people are feeling numb about me being pregnant this soon again. Like I’ve become the lady who is forever pregnant in the office…

No more glories

I still remember how I felt during the second and third trimester of my first pregnancy. The always glorious look on my face claiming to the world that I’m not ever going to give up to the change of my body. The super hyped energy level that made me ready to conquer the world anytime. And of course, the excited and anxious feeling of how my little bundle of joy will change my life. Even during the HCG overdosed first trimester, I was relaxed enough and got to do whatever I wanted to do. Now that I’m looking at a picture of me 2 years ago, putting it side by side with a picture today, I can’t recognize myself.

No more week counts

I still can’t believe that I’m almost half way through. And yet I don’t have a single picture of my belly! During the last one, the first thing I never forgot to do every morning was to take a picture of my belly, compare it with last day and upload it to my bump album. I was checking the calendar every day and counting on the days left until the next ultrasound. When I reached a new week milestone, I check every website to see what is normal and how the baby would look like inside my belly. The time went by very slow, but I enjoyed every second.

No more travel

Not even road trips. I really regretted that I cancelled my travel plan after I found out about my first pregnancy. IT WAS A TOTALLY WRONG DECISION. I (especially my parents) was overly cautious during my first trimester. They didn’t want me to risk taking the 13 hrs flight back to China. I could have a reason because I was overly protective of my little fetus. But let me tell you something, GO WHEREVER YOU WANT TO GO while you can! But does that mean you can’t ever travel after you have kids? The answer is, Yes you can, but you just won’t enjoy it.

More Confidence

I even bought a baby Doppler to check if the heart beat still existed everyday to give myself assurance. This time I don’t even bother. I can feel the little kicks every now and then. I know that I’m doing everything I should to keep the baby safe. Faith will take care of everything else. It’s the trust that you have built with your body to believe that it will protect your baby as long as you are doing things within the boundary. My parents are still overly careful and telling me not to lift heavy weight like my daughter. Because as for her age, she is quite heavy… But I choose to trust my body that it will at least allow me to take care of my own baby, isn’t it?

Less Money to Spend

This is the beauty of having subsequent children. The more you have, the less you spend per kid. This also gave me the excuse to buy things I really wanted but not very much needed for my first baby. People, especially moms, are always very creative at finding ways to show off their love to the newly added family member. They tend to buy a lot of useless stuff that babies don’t really need. Like pairs of fancy princess shoes for newborns who barely have their eyes open. The business that sells baby stuff are really good at leveraging the market.

When you have raised a child, you also have a better idea of what you really need but you were not sure with the first one. Like a overly packed hospital bag with my husband’s PJ and shower gel in it, and some fancy and bulky blankets that my daughter only used once because what she really needed was swaddles that make her into a perfect little britto.

More Sex

Because now you know exactly what to expect down the road until your second little angel pops out, you feel a lot less anxious than your first pregnancy where you were constantly worried if anything you do is going to hurt your baby. Sex during pregnancy was my top concern. It took me a whole pregnancy and lots of researches to finally realize that a woman with no pregnancy complexity is fully capable of this multitasking skill. How amazing is that??

Also knowing the fact that your body will be in shut down mode in just a few months. Why not enjoy the pleasure while you still can? What’s even better? Sex during pregnancy can promote your mental health by reducing stress and thus leads to smarter baby. Happy parents with a smart bean, what do you have to lose?

Being a new mom is hard. Being a mom with a bump is even challenging. Even I listed a lot of things I can’t enjoy during this pregnancy because of my little trouble maker 1 year old. I am much more happier than I ever was. Sure I miss the days where it’s just the two of us and the dogs. But my heart wasn’t fulfilled until I met my little angel. I wouldn’t know how deeply I could love someone, that how my heart was touched when I was slowly pouring water onto her little shoulder while she’s playing in the bath. I can work harder to earn the glories back, but I will not ever trade those for any second of my delightful moment.

This is motherhood, a lesson only your child can teach you.