8 Things You’ll Do Different With Your Second Child

5. Relax Educational Entertainment Standards

Your first child was probably raised on a diet of educational television. They were provided with only the best, more beneficial options in terms of their television time, as well as the music they listened to. Classical, baby Einstein tunes would fill your home, and you would know you were raising a genius. Your second kid didn’t get the same treatment. Sponge Bob or whatever else was on TV was good enough, and their favourite song as a toddler was also in the Hot 100. Well, that’s education too we suppose!

6. Focus On The Big Picture

With baby number one, you had all the schedules down. You timed all the feeds, you observed every bowl movement with interest to spot health issues, you had set bedtimes, play times and nap times. Play dates would be organised weeks in advance, penciled into your first child’s active calendar. With child number two everything just evened out. They slept when they slept, whether that was on the couch or in the pram, or even in the car. They ate when they screamed loudest, and their poop got no more than a cursory glance. With child number two, it’s more about the big picture, and you were probably happier for it.

7. Accept Help More Readily

For your first child, many mums feel the pressure of doing it all. They want to get it right the first time, to set the standard. Mums worry about even handing their first child over to someone else, let alone leaving them for a night with a babysitter, no matter how trusted they might be. With child number two, your hands are more than full, and suddenly, you’re happy to pawn off both children to your excited, baby-loving relatives for as long or as short as they’ll take them. Rest is precious ladies, and you need as much as you can get!

8. Feel More Confident

Of course, the best thing about being a mum the second, and third or more, time around is that you feel more confident. You have done all of this before. You aren’t googling at 2am like a maniac, you’re trusting your gut and that mother’s instinct. Everything just makes more sense this time around, and you’re feeling more confident every day. Sure, you’re feeling more tired that you’ve ever felt, more sleep deprived than you thought you could be without dropping dead. But let’s focus on that mummy confidence!

What did you do differently with your second baby?