Becoming a mom of two

Our parenting skills have been honed over the last two years of parenting Wells. I am way more relaxed as mom. And, what I really mean is my emotions have calmed down. The love is the same. The devotion is the same. The sacrifice is the same. The changing factor is that I am not experiencing those same first time mom overwhelming emotions of needing to be there every single second.

My first time out of the house without Wells, I went to Target and the mall. Two stops in less than two hours, I could barely make it home fast enough. I believe, it is natural to want to be with your breastfeeding child. I really couldn't ever clear my head enough to go without him. Times have changed and I've gained mommy wings as a mom of two.

I have such a special relationship with Poppy, but it looks different than my relationship with Wells. Becoming a parent for the first time was so much more life changing. Ted and I cried for days on end, because of the life that we could hold against our chests. Becoming a parent for the second time wasn't as life altering. It actually went so smoothly. We haven't had any 'oh shit, what have we done' moments.

If I were to use one word to describe my children as babies, I'd use busy for Wells and relaxed for Poppy.

We really had an easy go with Wells as a baby or so we thought. He was a chill for the most part. He would cry in the car and didn't love anyone but us holding him, besides my mom, for longer than a few minutes. Otherwise, he was so easy to care for. He was always active. He started rolling at five and a half weeks from back to belly. A week later, he was rolling both directions. He came out of me with head control and strength. By Thanksgiving, he was just shy of four months and sitting up unassisted. Two weeks later, he started army crawling. By Christmas, he was crawling just before he made five months old. I was constantly watching him.

If my calculations are correct, which I am most positive they are, Poppy was born at 37 weeks. She was asleep from two and a half months. She finally woke up just before she made three months and we've put her to work.

Poppy has been less physical than Wells as a baby. Poppy puts herself to sleep. Poppy smiles all day long. Poppy lets anyone hold her for whatever amount of time. Poppy takes a bottle (!) cold or warm. (I never pumped with Wells.) Poppy breastfeeds, but doesn't need to breastfeed to sleep or 24-7. She is curious about the world and can entertain herself easily. She laughs. She smiles. She is happy. She barely cries. She sleeps 12-13 hours at night not waking once.

Wells was easy to care for. I could fix anything and everything for Wells with a boob. He loved to breastfeed. He loved to breastfeed in the middle of the night and all day long. He was overall happy. He was so curious about the world. He made sure he could touch, see, and experience everything on his own. He was independent as long as I was right by his side.

As a new parent of two children, I am learning to embrace the differences, celebrate their uniqueness, and foster their growth in their own ways. Ted reminds me when I start comparing Poppy to Wells. Poppy isn't Wells and will figure out the world in her own way.

As a mom of two, I am learning to foster their growth and balance their needs in ways unique and special to them.