Raising babies is not "one size fits all". Every baby will have his or her own quirks as well as his or her own personality. It is a new learning experience for us parents every time.
People always assume that baby number one will always be luckier because they get all the attention, all the new things, and they get the most love. This may not necessarily be the case. Do not forget, with the firstborn, you are inexperienced parents. All the inadvertent mistakes and accidents happen with the eldest, but not with the succeeding children. Take myself for example, when I was a baby, I was accidentally dropped by my parents because both thought the other was already holding me. But, no issues there, I am still a happy, healthy adult.
Now that I have two babies of my own, parenting has become infinitely harder, dealing with double tantrums and meltdowns as well as double demands. But there is also something fascinating about having two kids.
From the time baby A was born, the hubby and myself always made conscious effort to give her as much attention and exposure as baby J got when she was a baby. We also made sure she did not get purely hand-me-downs from baby J.
But, something I noticed with baby A is, she learned faster and reached milestones even earlier than baby J. I attribute this to the fact that she looks up to her sister and tries to mimic everything baby J does. Because of this, she walked and ran earlier, even potty trained earlier. She even acts like she's the older sister sometimes.
Two toddlers running around the house is more challenging, but it is also double the fun. It particularly melts my heart when I see them so happy to be with each other, to share the world with each other. Baby J has also matured with the arrival of Baby A. She takes time to teach the little one - how to say a word properly, help the little one with opening her food, feeding her.
So, if you are still asking yourself if you want only one child or have more, just go for it. There will always be more work, more expense, more riot. But, there will also be more fun, more happiness and more love. Just enjoy the ride!
People always assume that baby number one will always be luckier because they get all the attention, all the new things, and they get the most love. This may not necessarily be the case. Do not forget, with the firstborn, you are inexperienced parents. All the inadvertent mistakes and accidents happen with the eldest, but not with the succeeding children. Take myself for example, when I was a baby, I was accidentally dropped by my parents because both thought the other was already holding me. But, no issues there, I am still a happy, healthy adult.
Now that I have two babies of my own, parenting has become infinitely harder, dealing with double tantrums and meltdowns as well as double demands. But there is also something fascinating about having two kids.
From the time baby A was born, the hubby and myself always made conscious effort to give her as much attention and exposure as baby J got when she was a baby. We also made sure she did not get purely hand-me-downs from baby J.
But, something I noticed with baby A is, she learned faster and reached milestones even earlier than baby J. I attribute this to the fact that she looks up to her sister and tries to mimic everything baby J does. Because of this, she walked and ran earlier, even potty trained earlier. She even acts like she's the older sister sometimes.
Two toddlers running around the house is more challenging, but it is also double the fun. It particularly melts my heart when I see them so happy to be with each other, to share the world with each other. Baby J has also matured with the arrival of Baby A. She takes time to teach the little one - how to say a word properly, help the little one with opening her food, feeding her.
So, if you are still asking yourself if you want only one child or have more, just go for it. There will always be more work, more expense, more riot. But, there will also be more fun, more happiness and more love. Just enjoy the ride!
