1st Baby Vs 2nd Baby

So, Child #2 crash landed into our previously ‘finally nailing this shit’ family of three, just five weeks ago. Since first finding out I was pregnant again things have felt different from the first time (you can read my 1st pregnancy vs 2nd pregnancy blog here) – perhaps it’s just me because although all pregnancies/children are different I have done this before, perhaps it’s because I don’t have time to sit around and over analyse everything, or maybe it’s just because boys are a more chilled species? Either way, here’s my take on Baby 1 Vs Baby 2…

1. Pick them up before they even let out a whimper vs Let them scream the house down as you’re too busy wiping child #1’s bum to do anything else
2. Have a Gro Egg in every room and heating set exactly to temperature vs No idea if its sub-zero or subtropical but my hairs not gone into a humid frizz or my hands haven’t turned blue, so I guess we’re good
3. Wash all clothes from newborn to 2 years of age vs Not doing any washing beforehand in case I need to return for bigger/smaller size
4. Dummy rolls on to sofa, put in sterilizer vs Dummy rolls on to floor, contemplate putting it straight back in but give it a token suck yourself first
5. Go to every baby sensory/baby massage/baby signing class within a 20 mile radius of where you live vs Attend nothing with baby, you’re too busy (and spent out) with Child #1’s activity schedule
6. Buy everything brand new, only from Next or Gap vs Baby boy is using Child #1’s second hand muslins…and pink baby gros
7. Wardrobe full of new clothes, all washed in Fairy non-bio and neatly pressed in age and colour categories vs We better get that pack of Sainsbury’s basic babygro’s out of the packaging…
8. Use full 32GB memory space within the first week…..of pregnancy vs Shit, he’s a month old and I’ve only taken 10 pictures since conception
9. Attend weekly weigh in and HV groups plotting every oz change on the percentile chart vs He’s pretty heavy, I reckon he’s putting on weight…
10. Slight temperature or sniffle rushes to get ’emergency’ doctors appointment vs Baby had caught a cold within three days of his life thanks to snotbag sister, thinks about buying some saline spray ‘at some point this week’
11. Spend hours just looking at the baby, whilst sitting there for more hours in silence and calm feeding and winding vs We’re feeding on the go whilst rescuing Child #1 stuck up on the monkey bars
12. Electric sterilizer, perfect prep machine, a variety of bottles, teats and formula to try vs cold water sterilizer (basically a glorified bucket) and one set of bottles pre-made within 12 hours and grabbed out of fridge on the go
13. Googles everything vs Can’t Google anything, Child #1 has phone permanently attached to try to distract her gauging newborns eyes out
14. Change of clothes for the merest clear saliva dribble vs Washing machines just done its tenth load of the day, bit of projectile vomit never hurt anyone
15. Water wipes and top and tail bowls vs straight on to Aldi’s Mamia ‘no fragrance’ wipes
16. Only Pampers will do vs Shit forgot to buy more nappies, raid Baby Annabel’s selection before hotfooting it to Aldi for Mamia range (though I jest, these are in fact better than Pampers IMO…and more than half the price – winning, buy the wine with the spare change)
17. Sat encouraging child to do stuff, waking from naps to ‘play’ vs complete ignorance whilst chasing around after child #1’s demands
18. Gliding around in the perfect family unit, united with your bundle of joy vs husband who? Oh that person that’s either entertaining Child #1 at the park or holding Child #2 whilst wife takes Child #1 out to do chores
19. Buys half of Kiddicare to encourage baby to see, look around and keep attention vs Child #2 is getting bored of window gazing, waves a muslin about as entertainment
20. Child #1 had undivided attention vs Only getting attention when Child #1 has attempted to be helpful and carry baby and dropped him on the floor, child #2 gets some attention
21. Irons everything, even muslins vs sniff test, has this even been washed let alone ironed…
22. Encouraged ‘friendships’ from all the groups attended vs have no time for groups, or own friends, have to make do with Child #1 friends who are three years older…and have no interest in playing with you
23. Hours road testing potential buggies, baby slings and chairs vs it doesn’t matter what’s new on the market, you’re getting Child #1 hand-me-downs…
24. Only the best shop brought everything vs visits to local Little Pickles markets to grab necessities…because now we know, they really don’t get used for long
25. Attended nursery ‘look arounds’ whilst still pregnant and swot up on ofsted reviews vs Child #1 goes there..that’ll do, sign me up!
26. Used at least three bath tub thermometers to ensure ambient temperature vs Toes dipped in, no screaming – we’re all good
27. Watching them for two hours in between night feeds to make sure they’re not sick after the 1 hour spent holding them in upright position whilst winding vs Whoops looks like you were sick at some point whilst I was snoring, can’t be 100% sure but from the wetness of your baby gro collar and the smell of gone off milk in your chin folds, it would seem a likely explanation
28. Knowing exactly how old in minutes your newborn bundle is vs Ringing the doctors and not even knowing your own childs date of birth to confirm appointment (yes, true story..)
29. You read every instalment of the ‘What to Expect’ books as well as hourly check-ins on the app vs Ha! There’s no such thing as a text book baby…and don’t even get me started on Gina Fucking Ford
30. Spending midnight feeds gazing lovingly into babies eyes feeling so lucky vs Enjoying the peace whilst hashing out a new blog… Ahem

Complete life turned upside down bringing new challenges, reasoning skills you never knew you had within you, times of day you’ve never seen, more washing than you’ve ever done, more highs and lows than you ever knew possible, more love than you knew your heart was possible of producing vs Complete life turned upside down bringing new challenges, reasoning skills you never knew you had within you, times of day you’ve never seen, more washing than you’ve ever done, more highs and lows than you ever knew possible, more love than you knew your heart was possible of producing, twice over.
So, in summary Child #2 seems to have the rough deal but what it does also have is a much more chilled out mummy with no ridiculous anxieties, a ready made best friend in the form of Child #1 and a wardrobe to borrow when there’s been an unexpected poonami…even if the replacement clothes are three years too big, and pink.

What differences have you noticed in raising Child 1 Vs Child 2? Be great to hear your musings!