Heartburn and Indigestion and Reflux, OH MY!!

Time to get back to the list....as a reminder, we're talking about things that have been different for me during pregnancy #2. So, on with the show.

3. Okay, so I really have no idea of the differences between the three ailments listed in the title of this post. To me, they're interchangeable. So, if someone feels compelled to comment and give me the Web MD definitions of each, that's cool. All I know is that I have nightly bouts of that burning sensation in my chest and throat. I've almost been through an entire plastic tub of antacids, but I can't really tell that they do anything. But, hey, if you buy the tropical fruit variety, it's kind of like eating candy at bedtime. It feels so wrong, yet so very right!

I always heard that lots of heartburn = a baby with lots of hair. So, given how much hair Bailey had at birth - and I didn't have much heartburn, at least that I can remember - then this baby is likely to come out looking like Fabio. Or old school Michael Bolton. No, I'm thinking that this baby will probably be completely bald, since all I'm used to is a kid with good hair.

4. Sleep isn't what it used to be. I remember during my first pregnancy that, if I was tired at 7 p.m., I went to bed. Surprisingly, you just can't do that the next time around. Well, I guess I can go to bed whenever I want, but that both puts a lot of parenting pressure on my husband AND that means sacrificing precious time with my daughter. I'm not really willing to do either (most days, that is). Even when I do get the rare opportunity to sneak off and take a nap, I just can't sleep anymore. This goes for nighttime, too. My body and mind are both so fatigued but, between not being able to find a comfortable position, sweating my a?% off, and the constant racing of my mind, sleep is sometimes elusive. When I wake up in the morning and drag myself out of bed, it's not a pretty picture.

5. I'm so much less worried about all the weird physical things that pregnancy brings. If you've been pregnant, you know that there's all kinds of strange and sometimes downright scary physical sensations along the way. Some of these are explained in detail in the books you read, but some are not...and, even if they are, you don't really believe the fact that they aren't dangerous when you actually experience them. I remember living in fear during my first pregnancy, as every new feeling could potentially lead to the end result of a dead baby. I know that sounds harsh, but that's the way I thought. I asked every restaurant waiter if the salmon was farm raised or wild. I avoided my favorite Cobb salad because of the blue cheese. I made sure to have only 1 (or less) diet cokes each day. And so on, and so forth.

This time, I'm certainly aware of absolute dangers. It's not like I go out of my way to stand in front of the microwave or anything. But, I just don't let most things stress me out. I've realized that it's much better to spend 9 months of your life enjoying the moment than to spend it agonizing over every little thing. There's plenty of time for agonizing once that new little life is outside of my body. That's when the real worrying begins.

Okay, gotta go. Peace...