1st and 2nd Pregnancy, Labor and Recovery Differences

With Adalyn, I had nausea for at least a few weeks during pregnancy. With Oliver, I had none. My second pregnancy, I had heartburn fairly frequently and carried the baby much higher. I felt his movements so much more because the placenta was not in the front of my stomach like it was with Adalyn. I had on and off pelvic floor pain that made me reduce my exercise for a good part of the pregnancy. This past pregnancy had me more uncomfortable most of the third trimester- work was a struggle some days. With Adalyn, I had no pelvic floor pain, no heartburn but did have sore hips and more trouble sleeping.

With Adalyn, my labor was literally 39 hours long. With Oliver, it was 3 1/2 hours long. That is what I cannot wrap my head around!! Such a huge difference. With Adalyn, I went into labor after having my membranes stripped and delivered at 40 weeks, 3 days. With Oliver, I went into labor after having walked around the zoo all day, going on a family walk and making a nice dinner at exactly 40 weeks pregnant.

My labor with Adalyn was slow but I had frequent contractions the whole time. My pain level was about a 6-7 max and I got an epidural at about 7 or 8 cm dilated. My pain was 100% controlled by the epidural. I did not even feel the urge to push. I was numb for a few hours after delivery and it took awhile to be able to get out of bed.

With Oliver, it was so different! I woke up in the night with painful contractions. Fifteen minutes later, I heard a pop and found out that my water broke. Contractions were very painful right away and instead of laboring all night at home, we had to leave for the hospital within 45 minutes of the first contraction!!! 

My body dilated from a 4 to 10 in no time at all and I didn't even get the epidural until 10 cm dilated. I felt the strong urge to push (which I did not have at all with Adalyn) and didn't even know what it was! At that point, I did not have relief from the epidural because it takes a bit to work. I was able to tell the doctor and nurse when I was going to push instead of them telling me when to. I felt pain the whole time but did have some relief from the contractions. Right after delivery, I was able to feel my legs and get out of bed much sooner. I think that I preferred it this way though it was much more painful.

With Adalyn, I pushed for 1 hour and 10 minutes. I had to get an episiotomy. With Oliver, I only had to push for 35 minutes and tore instead of getting an episiotomy.

A huge difference in delivering both of my kids is my recovery. With Adalyn, I had very bad pain for 1 month after delivering her. It was much worse than the actual labor and delivery and I was a little scared of my next delivery because of it. This time, I actually used a mirror to help motivate me to push and did not requite an episiotomy. I tore but it was not as bad as the first time. At 1 week postpartum, I am still quite sore but totally manageable. 

Before, I needed frequent ice packs and pain meds and this time, the only pain medication that I took was 1 Motrin after delivery when I kept having contractions after labor when my uterus was trying to return to its normal size. By the way, I don't remember having any of these pains with Adalyn but with Oliver, a few of them were as painful as labor contractions. My nurse told me that this is totally normal and will actually get worse with each pregnancy. 

With both kids, I knew that I would breastfeed. With Adalyn, I had more pain (for about a month) and remember at the beginning of each feed especially being very painful. This time, I only feel some pain in the first 30 seconds or so but it is manageable. With Adalyn, I had small open sores which made it worse and this time so far, I have none (thank god!!). With Adalyn, there was leaking like crazy for at least two months. This time, I pretty much have none so far. I cannot believe it!

I went to a lactation consultant with Adalyn because of the soreness and luckily, this time am doing much better. The hospital that I delivered at was super helpful and sent in lactation consultants three different times just to make sure I didn't have any questions and that things were going well. I really appreciated this.


I did try out an awesome service that I am really excited to share called Amwell Breastfeeding Support. You can get online help from lactation consultants to help with any common breastfeeding issues. They can help give to you tips for latching, pain, things to watch out for such as mastitis or other issues. I cannot believe how awesome this service is! I wish that they had this when I had Adalyn because I would have loved having the support right from the comfort of my own home.

A 50 minute visit is $130 and a 25 minute follow-up visit is $75. Breastfeeding can be difficult, especially in the beginning and if you are having any issues, this service can help a ton. There are so many benefits of breastfeeding and I am totally committed to it and love knowing that I can turn to Amwell for help with nursing if I need it.

You can choose which lactation consultant you want to see, choose a time that works for you and get help right from home. They will email you with a reminder before your appointment. The appointment is by video and you can ask all of your questions, address concerns and get advice. Even as a second time mom, I have questions all the time! You just want to know that you are doing things right with your child.

Amwell uses Board-Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs). Some hospitals do not even have lactation consultants which would make these services even more helpful. By using video, the consultants can see how the baby is latching and give tips. They can also give tips about milk supply and about pumping and going back to work.

For a 50% discount off of two visits, use the code NEWMOM16.

**LACTATION PROMO CODE TO DISTRIBUTE TO FOLLOWERS. OFFER - 50% OFF 2 VISITS. EACH FOLLOWER CAN USE THIS CODE TWICE. FIRST VISIT IS $130 SO WITH DISCOUNT IS WILL BE $65. SECOND VISIT IS $75 SO WITH DISCOUNT IT WILL BE $37.5. EXPIRES 12/31/17.

Please note that you have to put your credit card information in to hold the appointment, then once you log back in for your appointment time you will be prompted to enter the promo code.

Here is some information on how moms love Amwell:

After having Adalyn, I was shocked at the crazy hormones. I cried the whole way home from the hospital because I was so happy. I cried a bunch when Adalyn was 5 days old because she was "so old" already. This time, I knew what to expect. I knew that my hormones would be totally out of whack. I have had some tearfullness but a lot less. I cried in the hospital because I missed Adalyn so much but I think that that is probably pretty normal.

Overall, we were not super nervous first-time parents. We fell into the role very comfortably and I figured that we would feel the same this time. I already notice that we are even more comfortable with parenting which is awesome. We know that sleep sucks right now but one day, it will eventually get better. We know that a green poop is fine, we won't break our baby by changing his clothes, we feel more comfortable going out, etc.

Okay, I'm done now! I just wanted to reflect a bit on having a first baby to having a second baby. I'll keep you updated with what else is going on soon.

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