Being pregnant while running around after two kids is exhausting!

Mother and Baby column

Being pregnant while running around after two kids is exhausting!

When I remember back to being pregnant with Buzz, I recall
long afternoon naps (sometimes two hours in length), taking it easy on the sofa, and spending lots of time focusing on me and the fact I was about to become
a mum – something I’d spent a
long time wishing for. I spent ages re-reading the pregnancy apps
(I had a few) over and over again, read book after book about parenting, and even did a weekly mummy yoga class (I also went to an aqua-natal class at 36 weeks where I weightlessly jumped and splashed around in the water for
45 minutes – it was lush, but Buzz arrived the following week and so
I no longer qualified for my spot).

Back then I had time for me, time to focus on the growing bump.
I had time to look into the future and ponder over how my life might be about to change. I had time to prepare, even though I wasn’t really sure what
I was preparing myself for.

Third time round, and things are very, very different. The parenting manuals have been passed onto mates (if I don’t know it now, I never will), there’s one app that I use just to remind me what week I’m on in my pregnancy (I literally have just checked), and those afternoon naps are reserved for days when the boys are at nursery and I’m meant to
be at home working but fall asleep on the keyboard (those keys leave very dodgy sleep marks!).

It’s not that I don’t care as much
about my growing baby this time round, or that I’m unfazed by the miracle that’s forming inside of me. It’s not that at all.
I would never take for granted the hugeness of what my body is currently busy doing. It’s more that I have to focus on the two lives it’s already given me to care for and nurture, too.

The boys are adventurers, mini superheroes, wildlife explorers, pirates, spacemen and entertainers, putting
on a show while pretending to be PT Barnum, or building new houses made out of pillows and blankets for us to live in. There’s little time to sit down and do nothing. I always have a role to play. Worm provider, rocket puller, hammock surveyor – the list is endless. So during the hours they’re with me, especially if I’m home alone with them, my pregnancy tends to take a back seat. To be honest, they don’t seem to mind that I’m slower, that I can no longer be the horse and give them rides, or that they can’t jump on me like they once did. They have embraced my growing bump in a way that tells me they’ll adapt well when the little one is with us. Kisses, cuddles and words of comfort are already given by them both, and it’s adorable.

However, there are times, when the boys are both snoozing in their beds and I’m sat at my desk typing (like I am right now) and I can feel the baby moving around. I stop and enjoy the moment between us both. It’s as though the baby can sense the quiet and makes the most of having my full attention. Funnily enough, he or she is a far bigger wriggler than the other
two ever were. I love it.

So, yes, being pregnant with children already in tow is very different to being pregnant with none, but it’s also amazing being able to share it with Tom and the mini loves of my life, as well as taking those moments just for me to focus on the here and now.

Life is set to change once more, but what a brilliant change it’ll be.

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