Mother's Day and Postpartum the Second Time: Bring it on... again

This Mother’s Day I get to celebrate with two little ones. Yup, I now have two births under my belt (Pun intended-Lots of puns intended-Deal with the puns.) Understandably, as my due date neared this time around I carried with me a certain knowing swagger (waddle?).

But guess what? Having a baby the second time around was almost nothing like the first. The only real similarities were that both were both girls and that I still needed all of the same support and post-bump essentials. At least I was prepared for that! :)

A Millie

Amelia is my first. As her due date approached I was hoping to be late so that I could make it to my sister’s wedding (yes, her wedding was mere days after my due date). To my surprise Amelia came 3 days early with a splash (yes, I attended my sister’s wedding a few days later and even managed the maid-of-honour duties… basically keeled over though).

Millie sets her own agenda. After 26 hours of labour she decided that she’d had enough, and took her first breath after only 7 minutes of pushing!

You wouldn’t know it now but she was quite tiny, at 6 pounds 1 ounce. Although she was small I had some minor tearing. Amelia also had jaundice, so both mom and baby were able to take a little extra time to recover in the hospital, with just one awkward trip for adult diapers made by my ever-supportive dad.

Alice

There is an old wives tale that the second baby comes early and quickly. It’s hard to ignore such tales when you want them to be true. So I came to expect early and quick with my second. Well, I was definitely right about one of those things…  

Alice was 3 days late. Although that is not considered a long delay in the grand scheme of things it was very mentally taxing. I felt emotional and frustrated in the lead up to labour because my expectations did not meet reality - I think this is common for a lot of us. What’s more I had Braxton-Hicks all week long. I felt like everyday it was “the uterus that cried baby” playing tricks on me. Just as I started to come around to the idea of waiting the Braxton Hicks intensified and Alice decided that the time was right.  

Having a second child means making extra plans, and sometimes an extra pit-stop on the way to the hospital to hand-off caregiving duties. It becomes an obstacle race of contractions, car seats and hospital bags. We quickly made the call to my mom to come stay with Amelia at our place instead. That was the right call: When we arrived at the hospital I was already 4 cm dilated! No induction this time around - This baby meant business.

Heading to labour and delivery I felt my water breaking as it had with Millie. Only this time, the water was brown. I thought: oh craaaapppp! (I warned you about the puns.) Poor little Alice was swimming in (and probably swallowing) her poop. Well, good thing that by this point my contractions were only about 1 minute apart!

Alice’s 4 hour labour was a full 22 hours shorter than Millie’s, with 11 minutes of pushing. She was also two pounds heavier than her sister, so she came out swinging.

Mother’s Day2

So this year I get to celebrate Mother’s Day as a mother of two.  Does this mean I get to sleep in?? Probably not… I’d be happy with 5 minutes alone in the bathroom!  I’m just happy to relax this year with my little gals and celebrate my sister’s 30th bday! Yup you heard it, sister is crushing my vibe yet again - first with her wedding and now Mother’s Day. Hopefully as sisters Millie and Alice will figure out a way not to crowd each other’s glory… the circle of life continues.

To all Moms whether it’s your 1st or fourteenth… Happy Mother's Day!!!