Just as I was starting to feel like I was getting the hang of things and the thought of bedtime no longer filled me with dread, it happened. Yep, another lovely warm bundle of cuteness blessed our tiny family and we officially became a family of four. I still can’t quite believe it if I’m honest.
The pregnancy seemed to fly by, and looking back, my memory of each antenatal appointment seems to almost blur into one. When I think back to the many appointments I had with my first, I can pretty much remember all of them and the excitement they each brought; a very different experience to my second.
In many ways with baby number two it feels like you’re expected to just get on with it. And the reality is that that’s exactly what you do. You get on with it.
So when I began my maternity leave the second time around, I had almost conditioned myself not to have any high expectations and to take each day as it comes. My eldest was just starting school, so my main focus at the time was supporting her through the transition to Reception, which as you can imagine, was a huge event for our family. I think it’s fair to say that emotions were running high (and I am not just referring to my eldest’s … haha!).
I found maternity leave with my second baby a lot different to the experience I had with my first, so I thought I would share what it is really like to be on maternity leave with baby number 2!
- You will feel exhausted all the time… forget napping in the day, it’s not going to happen – you’ve got more playing to do, remember? Sorry!
- …”Mummy, can you play with me?”… Your eldest child will want your attention 110% of the time. They will be able to sense that life is about to change, big time!
- You would think that having been through it before, you would be less anxious about giving birth. Haha! Nope! In fact, I was much more scared the second time around.. probably because I knew exactly what was to come!!
- You know that saying ‘time flies when you’re having fun’? Well maternity leave second time around doesn’t just fly by, its zooms by..whizzes by, in fact.
- Depending on the age gap between your newborn and eldest, having another pair of hands to help with the nappy runs is great! My five year old loved being given jobs like fetching the wipes or nappies – it’s a good way to help them feel involved.
- If, like me, you choose to return to work, the mum guilt is indescribable! For me, the build up and countdown to returning to work after my youngest felt almost torturous… I had so many worries. I worried about how I would cope being a working mum with two young children. I worried about how well my youngest would settle into Nursery. I worried about missing out on milestones like walking and first words. But one thing I often have to remind myself is that the anticipation is often worse than the reality. We will get through it. And so will you!
So if you’re expecting your second baby, a little bundle of happiness, my advice would be to:
Enjoy all the moments. Take all the photos. Steal all the snuggles.
If you’ve done this before, you can definitely do it again!
Did you enjoy this post? Why not share it with other Mums and Dads?
Interested in reading similar posts? Sign up to our newsletter!
You can follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/thefontofallmothers
