Monday 12 June 2017

Pregnancy and the Terrible Twos.

Within three weeks of having Aoife I was broody all over again; the new series of One Born Every Minute had started and we already had an extra addition to the family too. 
I always knew that I wanted more than one child, preferably with a small age gap too. I genuinely think that if I had been give the green light, I would have tried for another baby before Aoife was six months old; it's so true what they say, pregnancy and being a mum is like nothing else.

Fast forward to the present day and here I am, almost 31 weeks pregnant with my second daughter with a terrible two toddler trying to destroy my life on a daily basis (slight exaggeration, although today I wouldn't have put it past her!).

At this point in my last pregnancy, I was practically glowing and spitting rainbows.. this time?! I can barely put my shoes on without huffing and grunting. Please believe me when I say that I have never experienced this level of exhausted before; give me a new born any day!

Now this is certainly not a toddler slating post; I love my pig tail wearing daughter. She's sassy, fiesty, hilarious and a doll. Although, since hitting two and me turning 20 weeks pregnant, the sassy streak has truly turned into something darker; it's as though she knows what to do to make my ears break. 

Of course she still has her sweet days, where she will happily cuddle in and laugh all day. But some days, like today for example, are testing and physically and emotionally drain me. My body aches from growing another human as it is, but to add everything else on top finishes me.

Today the little diva has spent approximately 80 per cent of the day screaming blue murder over nothing in particular. The only time she even attempted to stop was when I dragged her out to the park and she made a little friend; although she still screamed and threw herself across the park because she couldn't do some of the things that the bigger kids were doing. 

It is safe to say that the Terrible Twos have definitely arrived in this household; although not many people actually believe me unless they see video evidence of it as she is always good as gold with everyone else.

I know that there are some people who think that I have all the time in the world; I only work three days a week and can prance about with my darling toddler doing "mumsy" things whilst growing another little human. Of course I have all the time in the world to make sure that my child is impeccably dressed, that all the dishes are done, clothes have been washed, the carpets hoovered numerous times a week ... the list goes on. 

Now, during my first pregnancy, yes I probably did manage the majority of this - but I didn't have another human to look after. So, the reality is quite simple - yes, I work part time, although I still have other work to do during the week; sponsored content, reviews, chasing PRs and general blog work. A lot of this I have slacked on recently as I am too exhausted. 

Recently I have been in bed by nine and I am still exhausted the next morning; mainly from the little lady having a party in my uterus at around 3am and taking ages to settle back down, although sometimes it's from the toddler who has been in with me a few nights a week as she will not settle in her own bed. This will then result in her jumping over the bed, kicking me in the stomach/back in her sleep and just generally keeping me awake. She will then wake up, fresh as a daisy, at 7am whilst I have probably had approximately 4 hours sleep. Thanks darling daughter.

Housework is now on the back burner for me; I will do it when I get a chance to, such as in the evening when Aoife has gone to bed or when she's sitting watching Ben and Holly quietly. Even then, it'll be a quick half hour loading the dishwasher and putting the rubbish out. My hips and back would break at any attempt of mopping or a vigorous hoovering right now - I attempted to hoover the whole of downstairs a few weeks ago and ended up in tears of pain and exhaustion.

This is not a post for sympathy, or for people to come "rushing" to my aid - it's just for people to realise that actually, pregnancy when you already have kids is harder than what it looks. A lot of people automatically assume that as you have done it before it's easier; if anything it is a lot harder. Having to keep a toddler entertained is hard enough, let alone when you are carrying around a bowling ball strapped to your stomach.

So, if you are thinking of pregnancy with a toddler..  read this, then run!!

*Please note that this is all in jest; I am very lucky to go through another amazing pregnancy journey. Although it would be slightly easier if my toddler wasn't acting like a hormonal teenager - that's my job!*

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  1. I can relate to all of this. There's a 4 year gap between my first 2 so I still got to nap when I was pregnant with number 2. There's a 2 year gap between 2&3 so no napping took place and now, 3 months into 3, I'm still exhausted. It's all fun though and definitely keeps me out of trouble-not the kids though ;)

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