Once upon a time I thought I figured parenting out! After learning to adjust after an unplanned pregnancy at 19 years-old, I finally felt I was an experienced parent… Yeah, let’s take a moment to laugh at my naive past self. She was not being the brightest crayon in the box!
Brayden was such an easy baby and was finally a toddler that I could somewhat reason with, (mostly bribes). Buuut, I held a relatives baby at a family gathering and my uterus lost her mind.
Fast forward to pregnancy…
I thought I would have plenty of time during the day to clean, work, and spend time with Brady still. Babies sleep a ton right?! Wrong! I assumed Catalina would be an easy baby like Brayden, after all he was the only baby I had experience with.
Don’t get me wrong, I would not change my decision to have another baby for anything. In fact, I want more babies! I have just learned to never underestimate how much of an adjustment it will be for the entire family.
What I didn’t expect going from 1 to 2 kids!
I barely get to spend time with my oldest.
This all varies on your families structure and routine but in my family, I very rarely get to have one-on-one time with Brady. Like, pretty much never! Catalina is very jealous and is constantly demanding my attention. Brayden entertained himself a lot as a baby so I thought most babies did haha!
It could take up to a year, (or longer), to adjust!
I knew there would be an adjustment period getting used to having two kids and finding a routine. I did not know I would not start figuring it out over one year postpartum! Catalina slept with me until she was 8 months old. Now that she is 14 months old, I just started getting back into a consistent work schedule!
I’m not as productive as I want to be.
As I previously mentioned, Catalina is really clingy so I am pretty useless ALL day! I did finally find a work schedule that is working for me. That isssss…. Staying up until 2-3a.m every night… I don’t love it but mamma’s gotta do what she’s gotta do.
I expect so much more out of my oldest.
I’m constantly preoccupied with taking care of the baby, Brady has learned to do so much on his own. While it is good for him to become more independent, I wish I still had time to baby him more before he thinks he’s too cool for mom.
My house is a mess.
While I wouldn’t say I’m a “neat freak” a clean environment is very important to me. I get really stressed out when my house is too dirty so I used to do a pretty good job keeping in somewhat clean while I was a stay-at-home mom. Going back to my previous statements again, Catalina likes to be held 25/7. I am able to straighten up with her attached to me but it is hard! So I often find myself just chillin’ on the couch with my baby girl most of the day.
I didn’t think I could love another baby as much as Brady.
I remember being worried that I wouldn’t like the baby as much as Brayden! It’s hilarious to think about that now but I always though, “Brady is the cutest and so sweet, how can the next one live up to that?!” Needless to say, we are obsessed with our perfect little princess!
I do not question my decision to have another baby! In my
