Preparing For And Bringing Home A Second Baby

Your second pregnancy often brings with it hope of doubling the joy you felt when you had your first child. Most parents aim to have at least two kids and the kind of fulfillment the first baby brings to their family life eggs them to quickly have the second child.

However, do not base your judgments regarding whether or not you are prepared for a second issue on things which influenced you to bring home your first baby. Your life will change considerably in the gap between the first and second child and the sooner you recognize that fact the easier it is for you. Of course there are certain practical concerns here, your responsibilities have increased considerably since you became a father or a mother and bringing a new member into the family would definitely add to that. Also take into account that your first child will not be prepared to accept someone else into his little sphere of things, someone who will obviously take certain amount of the attention away from him, unless you work at preparing him.

Managing two children can be a rigorous task no matter how good you generally are with kids. You might be willing to dare it but you’d be best advised to set yourself up correctly prior to the arrival of the new baby. Dealing with a second child generally tends to be more demanding than dealing with the first. This is because most of us have busy schedules and with the coming of the first baby we try and tug and pull it into a shape which might suit us. With the second child therefore all the tugging and pulling causes our schedules to be stretched out to their elastic limit. Unfortunately new born infants have the least bit of consideration for adult specifications regarding schedules or timing. So make sure you are ready for fluctuating eating and sleeping routines at least for the first eight weeks after your baby’s birth.

The fact that you have done everything that you need to do with your first child once already helps a great deal. Your confidence level regarding what to do and what not to do is higher and you know little helpful details regarding his burping, feeding, peeing etc. This is a greater advantage than it seems. This means you won’t be paying heed to bogus advices given by your neighbors and friends and will take your own decisions if and when need arises. This of course reduces the anxieties of parenthood to a large extent.

The arrival of a new baby can often leave you thoroughly exhausted especially if you have had a cesarean delivery or a particularly traumatic childbirth. In case you are breast feeding be prepared to feel sore and tired especially after the nightly sessions. In case you feel fatigued consider hiring a ‘doula’ at least for the first few weeks. You can leave your baby with the doula during the day and take proper rest. don’t worry about your child’s well being; doulas are trained to deal with infants during the initial weeks of their lives.

Remember the coming of a new baby is a big change for the first child. He/she might experience a plethora of emotions during this time. If the first child is still young when your second one comes along stay alert for changes. He/she might start sucking their thumb with the arrival of the new child, or might now want to drink from a bottle or forget their potty training. If the first child is considerably older get ready for intense sessions of mischief, unusual tantrums and general attention-seeking behavior. You can of course keep these behaviors from surfacing at all if you just talk to the child before the birth of his sibling. Allow him/her to participate in your new found joy, let them hold the little child, spend time with him/her, cuddle and play and in general fall in love with the little one. All this will help him/her get used to the new member in the family.