Kristy Sumichrast

What Did You Do Differently With The Second Child? - Blog

I was recently watching a television show and that commercial for Luvs Diapers came on. If you haven't seen it, click here. Basically it talks about first-time moms versus second-time moms. The mom in the commercial with the first child makes anyone holding her child sanitize their hands and basically their whole bodies before she will let them hold her baby. After she has the second child, she hands the child to a car mechanic that was just working on her car while she writes a check for service.

Maybe this is an extreme example of first child versus second child, but it got me thinking about what I did differently the second time around. Here is my list of things I did change after my second child was born:

1. Hospital Packing - My first child was three weeks early so I had nothing packed for the hospital for her plus I way over-packed. The second time around I packed earlier and did not pack as much. I learned after my first child that the hospital would be providing essentials like diapers, wipes, pacifiers and clothes for my baby.

2. Scrapbooks - My first pregnancy I made an entire scrapbook of my pregnancy month-by-month and one of my child's first year. I even bought special paper and scrapbooking stickers to complete my projects. When our second child was born, I did create a first year book for her, but this was just pictures and didn't complete it until her second birthday.

3. Potty Training - Our first child I read all the books, got her a dvd and a special sticker chart. She was potty trained by two and half. Our second child was going into a preschool program when she turned three and realized she was not yet potty trained and had to be in order to attend the school. She was potty trained three weeks before she started school.

4. Activities - Our first child I enrolled her in mommy and me classes and started her in activities right when she turned three. Since our first and second are super close together, I didn't do any mommy and me classes with our second since I had two kids and I didn't start her in activities until was about three and half. I did learn with the first child that it took her awhile to be comfortable in class by herself and three and half was a better age for this comfort level.

5. Clothing - With our first child I was on top of clothing and shoes. I was super organized and had clothes already set aside for when she moved into the next size. With our second, it was a little bit easier on the clothing end since they were both girls and I had clothes already. But shoes was a different story. I remember looking at my second child's feet one day and realizing that her poor toes were squished in her shoes. Once I measured her, she was a size and half bigger.

6. Gear - I just assumed what works for the first child will work for the second. Not true in our case. Our first child hated the swing and wanted nothing to do with it so I had donated it. When our second came around, she had colic and so the doctor suggested a swing where she could sit upright. I had to go and buy another. This taught me to keep all equipment for our third until her personality emerged and we could figure out what worked.

7. School - Our first child went to a pre-school that was only two days a week for a few hours at a time. When our second was born, we enrolled her three days a week. I realized that a little more learning and peer interaction was beneficial for our children.

8. Errand Running - When I only had one child I would take her everywhere with me. I also had one of those shopping cart cloth inserts she would sit in while running errands. After my second child was born, I realized some errands are easier alone and would run them when I had someone to watch the girls at home. Plus, I never used the shopping cart insert with our second child. I felt like in the beginning with two little ones simply getting them in the cart, running errands and heading back home with no major meltdowns was a big enough feat.

9. Food Preparation - When our first child started eating solids, I would take several foods and blend them to make my own baby food for her. Our second child came along and I bought baby food and when she got older those little pouches so she could feed herself.

10. Worry Factor - My first child I worried about every little thing. I would research the answer online, save my questions for the doctor or look up the answer in a baby book. I can't say I never worried when my second child was born, but it was way less. I think when you have been through one newborn, you know what certain signs to look for if their is a problem and what is just part of the baby phase. Plus, you have double the worry!

If you have more than one child, what did you do differently the second time around? Please comment below and let us know your thoughts and stories.