Having Two

Someone asked me recently if having two children was really that much harder than having one.

I was pretty baffled and I guess I misunderstood the question. I said that yes, having two was harder than having one, mostly because there's one of you and two of them (during the day, obviously).

She said, "Well, sure, but isn't it a bigger adjustment to have your first baby?" I kind of assented just to be agreeable and end the conversation (yep, I do that sort of thing), but I have to say that Josh was more of an adjustment for me than Macy.

know everyone is different, but for us having Macy was not that big of a deal. That doesn't sound right. Let me clarify. Yes, it was a huge, life-changing thing, but it's not like she was a big surprise or anything--you have nine months to get ready. And having a newborn, yes, everything is new, but they're usually not that hard to take care of. Their needs are simple. Sure, they keep you up at night, but you can nap with them. Having a newborn along with a 23-month-old who is used to having your undivided attention? And wakes up super early and only takes one nap a day (if you're lucky)? There's a whole new set of challenges.

For those who haven't had their second child yet, I don't mean to scare you or anything. I was completely freaked out about having Josh. I worried to no end about how Macy would react. I even felt guilty, like I was betraying Macy or something (weird, I know). But she surpassed my expectations and those first six months were much easier than I thought they'd be. Newborns sleep all the time. And if Macy needed anything it wasn't a big deal to put Josh down--he couldn't go anywhere.

And then the crawling started.