I remember getting to this point with The Boy and breathing a sigh of relief and feeling terribly proud etc etc. It will all get easier now!
But the curse, if you will, of second time parenting is that I know that there's no magic bullet of easiness. No sighs of relief this time around. Parenting is still relentless.
On the flip side, don't get me wrong, I think it's easier the second time. While I know there's no magic bullet of easy, I do know what the coming months will bring: more smiles, more laughing, more cooing, an altogether more interactive child. The time between six months and two years is a wonderful time to parent. She's already started grasping toys and eating them; I'm so looking forward to her first crawling, first words, first steps.
And I might also add that another (good) reason I'm not breathing a sigh of relief is that new babyhood was easier the second time around. Not to say it was easy, per se. But having your first child completely upsets your world, and nothing is ever the same again. This time around, knowing what was coming, it wasn't so much of a shock. Instead of worrying about every little thing, second guessing all my parenting decisions, I have the leisure to enjoy her more. She's not on a schedule? Meh. Lots can change in nine months, don't worry about it. She hasn't pooped today? Meh, she's eating and peeing and not upset, it's nothing. She won't sleep and is fussy? That's ok, I know what to try and she will sleep eventually.
(not to say sometimes I'm not crazy. Just a lot less so than last time.)
So if I'm not breathing a sigh of relief today, it's just because the last few months weren't as bad as I feared, and I know the coming months will be neither awful nor blissful. There will be days I cry because I'm so overwhelmed; there will be days I get all the laundry done and I clean the kitchen and put away toys and go for walks and entertain both my children.
In short: it's just life.
(but can I just add for the record: mah baybee!!! Where has the time gone!! Three months!!! She'll be off to college before I know it!! Etc etc.)
1 comment:
Easier it may have been (yay!), but still, congratulations are in order for surviving with sanity, marriage, etc. intact! Huzzah!
Oh, and I've been meaning to mention -- I've restarted my baby blog (I think you read it sometimes, didn't you?) in anticipation of the new arrival; if you want to read it, and don't have/remember the URL, password, etc., email me.
:)
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