Pregnancy Round Two: My Rules, My Sanity
Second time around, I wasn’t here to suffer unnecessarily. I had learned my lessons, set my boundaries, and honestly—it was glorious. Here’s what I did differently:
1. Appointments on my schedule.
I made all my prenatal visits either on the same day of the week or early in the morning. That way, my manager knew when to expect me gone, and I could just get them over with instead of dragging my week out.
2. Selective sharing.
This time I only shared my pregnancy news with people I wanted to know. Translation: if you drained my energy the first time around, you got left on “read.”
3. Hard pass on events.
I skipped everything I didn’t have energy for. If it involved people, noise, or fake smiles—it was a no.
4. No to cervical checks.
Yes, you can decline them. And I did. They were my least favorite part of prenatal care the first time, so round two I politely (and firmly) said, “No thanks.”
5. Bye-bye prenatals.
Prenatals made me nauseous, so I stopped taking them and told my doctor straight up. No guilt, just honesty.
6. Stronger nausea meds.
The B6 + Unisom cocktail did nothing for me. This time I asked for the real stuff, and it made a world of difference.
7. Induction, but on my terms.
We scheduled my induction in advance, and I even played around with the dates because the first one offered just sounded like a terrible birthday. (Petty? Maybe. Worth it? Absolutely.)
8. Breakfast before the big day.
When induction morning came, I actually requested a later hospital time just so I could grab McDonald’s breakfast. Sausage McMuffin in hand, I felt like I was winning… until I promptly threw it all up before even reaching the hospital. 10/10 would still do again.
Final Thoughts
Pregnancy isn’t easy, but it also doesn’t have to be one long endurance test. The second time around I gave myself permission to say no, bend the rules, and do what worked for me—even if that meant rescheduling an induction for hash browns. Honestly? Best decision I ever made.
