Over the weekend I helped to throw a baby shower for a good friend. Amongst the gifts of onesies and diapers, bottle brushes and blankets, she was showered with advice from those of us most recently emerging from the trenches.
Since this is her second child, she laughed and said, “I think I remember some of this.”
Those of us with more than one child shook our heads and replied, “It’s different.”
It is different, adding that second child. As my friend Tara said, when you have one child and that child throws up on the floor, you immediately know to take her to the bathroom, bathe her, put her in fresh clothes and tuck her on the couch with a glass of water.
When you have two children and one of those children is a crawler, the situation becomes more intense. And when that child crawls through the vomit soaked carpet – and you know it happens – the question of what to do first turns into a matter of triage.
With a first child, they’re practically in a bubble of protected comfort. With more than one child, Legos, Hot Wheels, plastic jewelry, and Polly Pockets make it through the “choking hazard” shield.
We won’t even talk about paints, crayons, and play dough.
It’s not that having only one child is easier; it’s just different than having more than one child. Your attention and time are not divided. You can read every single story that child wants without his sibling screaming for her stories. You can cater to their likes and dislikes without conflict.
And you can focus all of your attention on one person.
So those of us with more than one child shook our heads and smiled at each other. Just like women with children did to us before we had our first child, we realize being a mom is a job that teaches as it goes.
And we made sure to include a “sitter” coupon .
What would you say is the main differences in having more than one child?
