1.) I’m cherishing the night feedings.
I used to wake up and grimace in my exhaustion as I’d rise to feed my first baby. Not anymore. Infancy goes by too quickly. Now, with all the busyness that being a mom of two brings during the day, I cherish that precious time when it’s just me and the new guy and the cuddles in the darkness of the night.
2.) I’m taking more photos.
I know, a lot of moms say that they take fewer photos with the second baby (because WHO HAS TIME?) But I realized that with my first baby, I took so few photos of him before he got mobile because I thought, well he isn’t doing anything different than he did yesterday. But now when I want to look back, I just don’t have enough photos of those precious first few months. So I’m taking more photos this time around. Even if he’s just laying there. He is changing every day.
3.) I’m also taking more selfies (with the baby.)
I tend to love pictures of my kids, but not always of myself. However, when I look back, I want to know what haircut I had while this baby was that age. I want to see myself there with them every once and a while. And I think my kids (as they get older) will want to see me there too. It doesn’t have to be for anyone else but us.
4.) I’m discouraging the mobility milestones.
There was this little sense of pride I found as a new mom when my first baby would hit a milestone before all the other “average” babies did. I would cheer him on as he inched toward rolling over or rocked himself into the crawling position. But how silly and naive was that new mom! One minute, they’re rolling over, then they’re sitting up, then crawling, pulling up, cruising, toddling, walking, running and before you know it, they’re RUNNING AWAY. So please, second baby, stay exactly where I put you for AS LONG AS YOU CAN. No need to roll over. That toy isn’t interesting. Just stay where you are. Please.
5.) I’m recording his cry.
This breaks my heart to say, but I have forgotten what my first baby’s cry sounded like. And I miss that cry. Sure, at the time, it was a sound that meant, “rest time is over,” “drop everything and come get me,” and “I have needs you need to meet!” But it was his tiny first voice and I want to be able to hear when I can’t hear it in my mind anymore.
6.) I’m not really pumping.
I know that not all moms have the luxury to choose whether they pump or not (if you’re a working mom who pumps- YOU GO GIRL.) But I am a stay/work at home mom. So, with the first baby, I pumped just about every day. I built up quite the freezer stash of breastmilk, always ready for a date night (or an apocalypse I suppose). But with the second baby, I just don’t have time. I don’t make time because my experience with my exclusively breastfed babies is that they don’t really take to bottles well anyway, so we’ll stick with short date nights for these first few months and that’ll work for us. Less work, fewer dishes.
What about you, what did you do differently between your first and second babies (or any babies after that)? I’d love to hear!
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