Life with Buddy.: Child Number 2.

E is almost 4 months old. Can you believe it? 4 months! Where did that go? I know every parent says the same thing about time flying by but I feel like I should start planning his first birthday party already (any excuse right?). J and I were laughing the other night about the differences between the first child and the second or more the differences between our parenting styles from 1 to 2. I've come up with a list of things we have done (or not done) this time around.

Organised for a newborn baby.

Poor E, he had nothing and I mean nothing organised for him before his arrival. No pre-washed baby clothes, no nursery set up, no baby books read (infact none even opened), no ante-natal classes attended, no car seat installed, no baby paraphernalia bought. Nothing. After the appearance of number one child you assume you have half an idea what you're doing and also realise a newborn baby needs very little. Milk, nappies, a few clothes, somewhere to sleep and their Mumma's/Dadda's/Big brother's face to entertain them. That's it.

Dressed the baby in cute little outfits.

This time I've realised cute little outfits are;

a) totally impractical
b) totally impractical or;
c) all of the above.

With Buddy I was so taken with dressing my baby in cute little things but this time I neither have the time or desire to bother. Whatever is washed is acceptable. Sometimes we've even let him stay in the same suit for more than a day AND we've even gone longer than a day without bathing him. Gasp. Call child services.

Taken a thousand more photos and videos.

I know, even for me, I'm never without camera attached to my hand but even looking back on Buddy's infanthood I wish I had even more pictures. I've been ridiculous to the point of annoying this time but I just want to capture everything.

Co-slept.

Yep. We co-sleep. With your first baby they scare the bajeesus out of you about having a baby in your bed. This time we've realised it's perfectly safe and I'm a light sleeper (a lovely by-product of parenting), so, since day dot, E has shared our bed. It's heaven and I'm not awake at 3am pacing the halls trying to get a baby back to sleep. If you are, I'm sorry and you should try co-sleeping. I know it's not for everyone but it's for us and I couldn't care less who doesn't agree. Which brings me to my next lovely point;

Parenting Confidence.

Parenting the second time brings with it a whole lot of confidence. The Hey! I've raised a kid to the ripe old age of 3.5, so bugger off, type of confidence. And he's a champion, a really top kid. So by all rights, I DO have half a clue what I'm doing. All opinions on every parenting matter from breastfeeding to bed-sharing I care nothing for. I've formed my own, thanks. Which in turn, I also care nothing for imparting onto others. The "Mummy Wars" interest me not. Each to their own, I say, and if we all raised children the same what a boring world we would live in!

Obsessively weighing the child.

This is something I have not done. Anyone with eyes can see that my child is well fed. He resembles a small sumo wrestler and then some. Buddy was weighed every week and the numbers dutifully recorded in his baby book. Baby book. Hmmmm, whoops! Theres's another thing I have not done. In fact I don't actually own one for E. I've only managed to make several small notes in my iPhone notepad. Sorry kid.

Waking a baby to feed.

Honestly, what was I thinking with Buddy? Never, ever, ever wake a sleeping baby. Ever.

Wanting the next milestone.

With Buddy I was so active in trying to encourage the next milestone. Rolling over, crawling, walking, talking etc. Mum keeps asking me if E's rolling over yet? (Bud was an early achiever at 11 weeks) and I proudly say nope. I'm so blissfully happy with his stationary status that I think I'm almost trying to encourage him not to roll. I would be more than happy if this kid doesn't walk 'til he's 5, my delicate objects (I have now, a few years after number one, replaced at child height) around the house will be happy too.

The list could go on but for the most part, parenting the second time is alot more relaxed, I can only imagine how relaxed you are with third and subsequent children. The love is most certainly there though. There's something new that comes with the second child. Sibling love. This makes my heart swell on a daily basis, seeing how much my boys love each other. Buddy has really taken to this big brother business and just lavishes his little brother with attention and affection and E's little eyes just follow his big brother all day, smiling and laughing at all the crazy kid things he does (Mummy's nowhere near that funny). These two are going to be the very best of friends.

Just for your viewing pleasure I've picked out a few really sweet moments I've captured of the boys together.