Adding To The Family: Second Babies

 Adding To The Family: Second Babies

The joyous news that your family is growing with the addition of second babies can thrill everyone in the family, expect for the first baby. Many children will go through a phase of jealousy and anxiety when they realize the a new baby will be in the home. You may feel overwhelmed trying to prepare your home for a new child while already taking care of one. As much of a happy occasion as it is, it is also a time to talk, make decisions and to adjust life so as to accommodate the new family member.  Luckily, it doesn't have to be difficult to accomplish this.

What's Going To Change At Home?

Talking with your first child about the arrival of the second child will help to relieve some of your worry and concern as well as help your first child to understand the changes they will be facing. Regardless of how long they have been the only child or the baby in the family, they need to prepare for what is coming. You too need to realize that life will change.  Handling two children instead of one will be a very different experience. Many second babies are complete different than the first ones, which can be just as worrisome for you.  The best you can do is to prepare for change.

A good place to start thinking about second babies and the changes in your life will be just being organized. Since you will have two children to manage, you will need to have a home and lifestyle that is somewhat organized so that everything can go as well as possible. It will be especially rough during the first few weeks of the new baby's life, but over time things will get easier to manage. Getting organized will be harder with two children, simply because you have more things to organize and less time to focus on the projects since you have someone already underfoot.

Another difference to prepare for in the coming months has to do with your time. You will find that second babies feel like more of a challenge, but this is because your time is shorter. Now, you need to do all you did for your first child plus what you need to do for the second child. You may be shorter on patience because you are getting less sleep than the first time around and you may be unable to lock a schedule in place quickly. Meal times may change, too, which will throw everyone off at least a bit.

With your time short and your sleep schedule skewed, you may be tired easier. During the first two months of your second child's life, you will be managing two sleep schedules, two feeding schedules and you will still need to find time to handle your other responsibilities.  It is not easy and you should expect to be tired after a long hard day.   

On the brighter side, depending on the age of your first child, you may get some help along the way. First born children are often able to help out with the new baby. Don't give them big jobs, but they may be interested in helping with small things. A child as young as two or three can help with fetching diapers or helping to pick up the baby's toys. Encourage this with your older children.  They will feel good about helping out and you may be able to get some extra hands to handle a few extra things while you are holding baby.

For the first child, help them to be prepared by allowing them to ask you questions and to talk to them about the changes they too will go through. Allow them to be included in decisions for the baby, such as which color outfit the child will wear. Talk to them about how they will need to share with their new baby and what their job will entail. Insuring them that you will still have time for them even after the second baby comes will help them to feel better and to know they are still important to you.  Make a point to doing something special with them as often as possible. You will feel better about it too.