The Irish Voice


Mommy Diaries: Busy mom forgets she’s pregnant as toddler is a 24-7 job

Now in the second trimester of her second pregnancy, APRIL DREW has a hard time remembering that she’s pregnant in the first place because baby Colum is a 24-7 job.


Mommy April Drew forgets she's pregnant!
Mommy April Drew forgets she's pregnant!
Photo by April Drew

“What would you like to drink?” asked my husband on a recent night out.

“Oh, a glass of white wine please,” I replied coolly.

“Wine?” He asked with an eyebrow raised. “I thought you weren’t supposed to drink alcohol when you’re pregnant?”

“Ah s***,” was my reply. “I forgot I’m pregnant."

And so goes the story. This wasn’t the first time in the past five months that it’s slipped my mind that I’m expecting our second baby, and I’m sure it won’t be the last.

I was warned from all second time moms. “It’s so different with your second pregnancy because you’re so busy with your first child,” they all echoed.

I used to wonder how that could be true. With our now 10-month old son I was acutely aware every single moment of every single day that I was expecting a baby (and so was everyone around me!).

I knew how many weeks and days I was, at what development stage the baby was at and what fruit he compared to in size at any given moment.

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Read More:

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Mommy Diaries: First day at day care a wrenching experience for both mother and baby

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When people ask me now how far gone I am I’m never sure. If I’m being honest as I write this I’m not sure if I’m 21 or 22 weeks, or maybe I’m 23 since Saturday!

All I can tell you is that I’m due a baby sometime between February 25 and March 3 (we’ve already been given three different due dates) and there is definitely someone little one doing summer-salts inside my belly.

During her visit last month my mother pointed out that through the whole week she only ever heard me mention the second baby twice or three times, mainly speculating what the sex will be. (For what it’s worth I’m thinking we’re having another boy but watch this space -- and no, we’re not finding out.  We like surprises.)

Granted, during my first trimester I couldn’t but be aware of my pregnancy. There were 13 weeks of morning sickness and exhaustion -- a not so friendly reminder -- but when that went away life resumed to normal, and aside from a visibly pregnant belly I keep forgetting.
I’ve done many silly things that I probably shouldn’t have while pregnant. I won’t list them all, but here is one stupid example.

A few weeks ago my husband was at work, my son in bed and I was alone with a cup of tea watching the new Irish guy, Tristan MacManus, on Dancing With the Stars.


Nster.com


3 Comments

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Thanks for such a funny article. If there's one thing that's sure about kids, it's that they'll embarrass you. Wait till your small fella starts talking. The fun really starts then. Their most coherent comments are always the ones you don't want people to hear. Not to mention when they start school - I still cringe when I think about some of the things my daughter wrote in her daily news journal at school last year..... Still though, you wouldn't swap it for the world. I think of it as ammo for years to come to be used to embarrass them back when their girlfriends/boyfriends call around!
Hey there mister or missus judgemental colkelly. I can't believe the comments I see here sometimes. Who (in God's name) are you to judge how far apart people have their kids? Jeez!
Maybe you should have thought things through better and waited a few years between pregnancies. Having one that close to the first means you don't even really know if you LIKE being the mother to one toddler, much less two.
 




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