Coping with Pregnancy Symptoms the Second Time Around

Survival Tools for the Subsequent Pregnancy

As a first-time mom, you probably had a great deal of excited, eager helpers, and lots of people telling you to put up your feet, take a load off, relax, take care of yourself. While you may have felt some guilt at napping in the middle of the day, or giving in to your cravings, at least that guilt was limited to yourself.

However, when you get pregnant again, your previously eager, concerned helpers may take an attitude of "Oh, they've been at it again" and figure you've got motherhood down pat and don't need them anymore. Where does that leave you? Probably tired, lonely, and more guilt ridden than you could possibly have imagined, as you try to cope with morning sickness and potty accidents at the same time.

Here are some hints from a mother on the third round, who's been there, and done that.

Get Rid of the Guilt
American mother's must be the guiltiest mom's on earth, if you go by parenting magazines and word on the street. We're expected to be super moms, have it all, do it all, and do it perfectly. If you're going to survive a subsequent pregnancy and stay sane (the preferable state of being!), you're going to have to stop beating yourself up. There are things worth feeling guilty about (selfishness) and things to which you shouldn't give a second thought (survival). Unless you're a really, really lucky woman, the exhaustion of your first trimester will be compounded proportionate to the number of young children you already have. In that case, consider your day well spent if you and your children aren't hungry, naked, or filthy by evening.