My first pregnancy vs my second pregnancy

AKA: a pregnancy while not in shape/remaining inactive vs a pregnancy while in shape/remaining active.  :p

Friday I'll be 34 weeks.  Where has the time gone?  In some ways it dragged on & on, in others it flew right by!  The first trimester was definitely the longest for me.  Besides the total exhaustion of growing a baby, I had horrible, painful, ugly, cystic acne that made me a bit depressed & to make it worse, no-one knew I was pregnant, so it just seemed that I had some horrible teenage problem - in my 30s.  I survived it though, and while I still have scarring & my skin isn't fantastic still, it's nothing compared to what I went through (yet I'd do it again, really!).  The second trimester I was uncomfortable - stretching skin, backaches, organs moving around...  pretty much normal pregnancy complaints.  My skin started clearing up though, and I was feeling much happier, our secret was out (so less shame in the horrible skin problem) though my life became insanely stressful...  but over-all I didn't have THAT much to complain about.  The third trimester, I timidly report, has been fantastic!  I still have ankles (yes, really!), I still sleep on my stomach (yep, it's true, though I don't do it on purpose, I swear), I don't have a waddle (woohoo!), and I generally have enough energy to do "normal" daily activities.  I can still walk 2-3 miles at a stretch (though it is starting to get a little harder), I still help the hubby with mowing the yard, I'm still keeping the house spotless (being super pregnant & having a house on the market IS sucky, that I'll happily complain about!), and I generally do everything I would be doing if I weren't pregnant (other than the fact that I'm not running).  In the past week, I have noticed that I'm starting to get tired a bit more easily & can be a little less patient (by the way, patience has never been one of my virtues), but I'm still doing good.

With my first pregnancy, I wasn't in horrible shape, I mean I was at a healthy weight (though I'm sure my BMI wasn't too great), I had a good diet (I was a vegetarian, a very conscientious one, balancing my protein intake well), and I was able to do physically active things...  though not at a level of a truly "healthy/in shape" person.

With this pregnancy, I wasn't at my ideal weight yet, but I was close.  My BMI was in a healthy range, I had become physically fit to the point that I had gotten my hypertension (leftover from the first pregnancy) completely under control without drugs.  Remember, I even ran a half marathon while newly pregnant (granted, I didn't run it as well as I should have, but I was pregnant afterall :p).  My diet was very healthy (though no longer a vegetarian)...  at least until I hit the point of pregnancy that carbs were all I could manage to eat a lot of days.  :p

My first pregnancy, I gained way too much weight, I believe 55-60#s was my final number (at 37 weeks, when my son was born).

This pregnancy, I'm up almost 30#s, which is more than I hoped to gain, but it's pretty much "all baby", not fat being stored all over my body.  I can't see another 30#s being added in the short time I have left - yay!

My first pregnancy, my blood pressure spiked & I developed pre-e.  I was admitted to the hospital after my 33 week check-up, and released to my house for very strict bed rest (I was allowed to get up to pee, bathe, & go to my dr appts - twice a week).  I was sent straight from my dr appt to maternity observation at least once a week because my bp wouldn't go down.  I was in pre-term labor from 33 weeks on (but never felt the contractions, making it a bit more scary for me!) & ended up delivering a healthy (other than some jaundice) baby at 37 weeks - 10 minutes before I was scheduled to be induced (due to the pre-e).  ((Yay for NOT having to be induced!))  I was in labor 36 hours & pushed for hours...  but he got here without either of us experiencing any major trauma.  ((Yay for no resulting c-section!!))

This pregnancy, I've passed 33 weeks, with healthy blood pressure readings, no other complications, and NO BED REST!!!  

My opinion?  Being in shape makes a huge difference in the outcome of a pregnancy.  This one has been a walk in the park compared to the first.  I seriously forget I'm pregnant at times.  (Don't send the hate mail, please...  it ain't over yet.  :p)  I just feel so normal!  I can't predict how things will turn out over the next 3-6+ weeks, but I feel like everything will be just fine!  I do have gestational diabetes, and I do still think that if I had kept running there's a chance I wouldn't have developed it, but who knows?  Type II diabetes runs in my family, so I think the odds were stacked up against my anyway.  To be honest, the GD isn't *that* awful either.  It's keeping me from using pregnancy as an excuse to pig out & gain weight, that's for sure!  It's also teaching me even more about nutrition, which is always a good lesson.
If I do this again...  I will definitely get back in shape first & stay active.  Pregnancy can actually be a beautiful thing, and I might even miss it when this baby comes.  ...maybe.