Most of my friends who have children would say that their first
pregnancy was their easiest. Never mind the fact that they vomited
every day for the first trimester, or that they were plagued with edema
making their ankles virtually undetectable to the naked eye. I think
it's because we knew no differently. The first pregnancy sets the
standard for what is normal in a woman's mind about how it should go
the next time around. There is something blissful about that ignorance.
The perceived normalcy; the promise of that heavenly epidural; the
anticipation of holding your sleepy, quiet newborn. Of course having no
other children to look after who wake you up at 6 AM every morning to
turn on Noggin helps.

Labor comes and goes and exhausted, you are wheeled out to your car
with your new bundle of joy, dreamily admiring your husband as he
fumbles around with the car seat installation. Everything is
rose-colored and you think the hard part is over. After all, you just
felt like you were going to pop like an engorged tick those last few
weeks before delivery, and you had to push a whole hour and you can't
believe you did it! And well your little genius is a pro at
breastfeeding already and what was everyone talking about when they
said you would be sore for a couple of weeks? You feel great!