It is easy to find answers on what to expect during your wife’s first pregnancy, but it seems difficult to find answers on what to expect during the second pregnancy. You might think, “Isn’t it the same?”. My answer would be “Not entirely.”
For the past few years, our family members and friends have been asking us when are we going to plan for the second baby. Well, I don’t have to avoid these baby planning questions anymore because my wife is now in her second trimester. Early next year, I will be expecting my second baby.
Five years ago when my wife is expecting my first boy, she had evening sickness which made her no appetite for dinner entirely and she tends to sleep early. This is similar to the present situation.
After the first trimester has passed, I am blogging down my lessons, as a Dad, on how it felt like to be “pregnant” again. Here are the 7 lessons to take note when your wife is expecting the second time.
Sudden Cravings And Sensitive Taste Buds
It’s true that expecting women can have sudden cravings and highly sensitive taste buds. My wife will crave for a fragrant plate of Nasi Lemak with lots of sambal chili today, but tomorrow, Nasi Lemak might be ended up on her prohibited food list. The cravings for food, drinks, and snacks are so unpredictable that it is pointless to keep track on what’s trending on her cravings.
With her highly sensitive taste buds, this makes her a perfect food critic. It might take me a while to realise what’s the main ingredients in the sauce, but it took her less than 5 seconds to decipher the main ingredients. Reason? This is because garlic, onions, and ginger are on her prohibited food list.
I am glad to say, my wife did not wake me up in the middle of the night for a pack of McDonald’s French Fries.
Lesson: Pregnant women love ice-cream, potato chips, and many other unhealthy snacks. If possible, try to minimize your wife’s intake due to the high sodium and fats content. You can stock up some healthy snacks such as fruits and assorted nuts to stop the cravings.
Say Goodbye To Your Favorite Soap
My wife covered her nose and said, “Are you using that smelly shower gel again?” Yup, this is true. My Dove’s moisturizing body wash with cucumber scent makes my wife feels sick everything I used it. Pregnant women have a highly sensitive sense of smell and this is perfectly normal.
Lesson: Drop that soap and head down to the supermarket or pharmacy with your wife to choose the scent she loves. Cravings will change, but the sense of smell seems to be consistent.
Zika Attacks Singapore
Similar to dengue, Zika virus is transmitted by the female Aedes mosquito. When Zika arrived in Singapore in late August 2016, every pregnant women were at risk of having microcephaly, an abnormal smallness of the head, in unborn babies.
Insect repellants were sold out in local supermarkets and pharmacies. Online stores are selling insect repellents at rocket high prices, which has caused most people to be in panic mode.
When I noticed that Zika virus was spreading really fast in early August globally, I decided to stock up some insect repellants at home. I am glad my wife said I did a great job in purchasing the insect repellents before they were sold out.
Lesson: When a nasty virus like Zika is affecting many countries, do take preventive actions.
Household Chores Are Your Business
If you don’t have a maid at home like me, that means household chores are your business. Of course, you could always explore the average cost of maid service in las vegas or wherever you live – they make household chores much easier – but you will need to consider a few things like how big your house is, how dirty your house tends to get and how often you’re at home.
Regardless of washing up the dishes or vacuuming the floor, I need to do it. My wife will help me in light household chores such as ironing the clothes and tidying the toys messed up by my boy. In consideration, I also got cleaning solutions which are biodegradable and safe for my pregnant wife.
Lesson: Keeping your house clean, neat and safe will make your pregnant wife feel more comfortable.
Pregnancy Sickness
Expecting wives might have morning sickness, evening sickness or whole day sickness. Much like the first pregnancy, my wife has evening sickness. As she felt extremely tired and might go to bed early, that means it’s just me and Kayden.
The energy for a 5-year-old kid is boundless. Therefore, I will try my best to accompany my boy so that my wife can rest well. At the end of the day, I got evening sickness too.
Lesson: It is tough to have a good balance of managing your little one, taking care of household chores and accompanying your wife. I would recommend buying children board games for your little one where the whole family can interact. This is much better than running around the house.
Digging Out The Old Clothes
I am happy that I have used zip lock bags to keep my wife’s maternity clothes and Kayden’s baby clothes from getting moldy. Keeping them inside a large carton box which labels “Maternity & Baby Clothes” makes it easy for myself to locate them in the storeroom.
Here is the bad news. After 5 years of accumulated things in the storeroom, locating and taking out the carton box requires more work to be done.
Lesson: You can keep your zip locked maternity and baby clothings at easily accessible places. Please wash the clothes before wearing them.
Hello Baby Cot, Are You There?
Today, many baby cots are made of a high-quality wood material which can sustain your child’s weight as much as 60kg. With the option to transform the baby cot into a bed is a fantastic idea.
Now, I realized that I have misplaced all the screws and I can’t transform the bed into a baby cot.
Lesson: Always keep the baby cot screws in proper place because you never know when you going to need it.
Try to be more accommodating when your wife gives you the “taste of disgust” look during meal times. This is not easy because your favorite Chicken Rice might turn out to be on her prohibited food list.
Despite most pregnancy symptoms are the same, Dads need to take on more responsibilities when wives are having their second pregnancy. Don’t expect the second pregnancy to be exactly the same as the first pregnancy.
So, for those Dads who are “pregnant” the second time, we are in the same boat. Take care of the family and household, don’t grumble and wait for your little one to arrive.
