Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Parenting

I'm under the impression that most people thought it was really hard when they had they're first baby. I wasn't like that. I thought the first one was relatively easy. I was always really comfortable around babies and when I had Samantha, the adjustment wasn't that difficult for me. First of all, she was a great baby, she slept through the night at 12 weeks. We lived in New York City at the time. I could easily bring her anywhere with me. Put her in the sling and we went shopping, to restaurants, you name it and it was pretty easy to go with her.

For some crazy reason, I thought because I did it once, that the second would be no big deal. Not the case, for me at least. The transition from 1 to 2 kids was really hard for me. Add to it that we had just opened a restaurant and my husband worked about 70 hours a week and it was more than hard. I wish someone had me take two kids shopping before I decided to have a second. I think that should be a rule. There should be a class. How to get two kids to sleep without them waking each other up... How to do laundry while breastfeeding a baby ... How to cook dinner with two kids ...

A little story for you:
A few days after I had Ella it was my birthday. For some insane reason, I decided to cook dinner because my sister was coming over. My husband, of course, was at work. Samantha was 2 1/2 and had major regressions with potty training at the end of my pregnancy. There I was, cooking dinner, trying to make sure Sam didn't have accidents and nursing my 5 day old baby. My sister walks in. Samantha has to go potty. Next thing I know Samantha has locked herself in the bathroom, while I'm nursing and cooking dinner. I'm pretty sure I started crying. Thankfully, my brother in law came and got her out. I don't think I could even of handled doing that in the given situation. So, as that being one of my first experiences with 2 children, it was a bit of a rocky start.

The two of them are just so different. Ella nursed every 2 hours (during the nighttime) until she was 8 months old. That is about the time when she decided to sleep through the night. Samantha was such a easy baby and didn't get difficult until 2 (right when I had a second child). Ella walked at 11 months, Samantha at 15. Ella is just now talking (and not yet full sentences). Samantha was talking at the age of 12 months and full sentences by 18 months. It's amazing that they both came from the same people (this I'm sure of) and yet they're so different. We think we are parenting them the same way, yet they are not reacting to this parenting in the same way. Ella is a tester, she's not a great listener and it is hell to get her to stay on a time out. I don't think we had ever even put Samantha on a time out by this age. I don't know, it sure will be interesting to see them as teenagers.

2 comments:

d e v a n said...

Isn't it funny how kids with the same parents can be SO different. In our house, it's like having 4 little experiments. They are all so different in some ways and so alike in others - it's fascinating!

Mama Bub said...

I thought life with my first was SO hard, until I had a second. However, it's my preschooler who's hard. This baby is easier. She's easier because she's a baby and can't talk back, and easier just because she's an easier baby that he was. Still, more than one child is chaotic. Gone are the days when nursing meant thirty minutes on the couch with my DVR.