Becoming a Mummy of Two
I was so excited to become a mummy of two. It was something I’d always wanted, I had always said I wanted two children. In August 2020 I did a visualisation in which I saw two girls aged around 8 and 3 so ever since then I was determined when we had baby number 2, we would have another little girl. Of course, that is exactly what happened. End of May 2021 we found out we would be adding another little girl to our family.
In some ways I found I prepared through pregnancy the same, and in others completely different. I guess it’s partly that things were more familiar this time around and you often aren’t starting from scratch as you have items from your older children. How did you prepare in later pregnancies?
During my first pregnancy in 2015/2016, everything was so new so I made sure we had everything we could need. We were super prepared, pram, cot, everything fully set up waiting on their impending arrival. I attended antenatal classes to learn what I could & hope to prepare me for the labour ahead.
Pregnancy number 2.. I made sure we had the essentials but didn’t go overboard (tip - especially on clothes, trust me you don’t need loads). I didn’t worry about getting a cot as it would be probably 6 months before she would need one. We didn’t set up her pram until the day we actually needed to use it 🙈. I didn’t attend any antenatal classes as I decided to go with the flow and trust it would all come flooding back (failing that I had a good support network).
Lil was just as excited as us to welcome her little sister to the family (I think we would have had a few tears at first had she been a boy!). She couldn’t wait to be able to help me and do things with the baby. She loved to give bump a love and it was magical to share moments like a kick or taking her to a scan. I found keeping her very involved helped make it a smooth transition as let’s be honest, 5.5 years is a long time to have mummy and daddy’s attention all to yourself to then all of a sudden have to share, especially with me.
When baby S arrived, big sister was besotted and still is 95% of the time. She gives her cuddles, helps mummy and loves to have a bath with her. I’m excited for the day they can play together properly (though I’m happy to wait as I don’t want her growing up too fast 🙈). The hardest change for big sister seems to have been in her relationship with me. I can understand why after being so used to it being mummy and Lil always. Now we had a little baby constantly with us and often taking my attention away from her with feeding, getting her to sleep and general baby tasks. I tried as best I could to still give her lots of attention and do things we used to do. It can be a juggle can’t it mumma’s?
I am grateful that although I used to bare the brunt of a strop, she was always loving and gentle with her baby sister. One thing I will say though, get used to saying “leave her face alone” or “stop getting right in her face” multiple times a day haha.
The hardest shift for me has been getting used to broken sleep again and this time still having to get up early Monday to Friday for the school run. Some days it feels impossible to get up and to school on time. Lil is also a lover of sleep so I’m often having to wake her up as well as myself, then feeling guilty for having to wake baby S up.
But it is an adjustment that is totally worth it, getting into a routine that works for all of us. I feel extremely grateful everyday to have our beautiful family of 4. Baby S has completed up and made my heart grow even bigger.
I would love to know how you adjusted from one child to two? What are your best tips?