Reflections of a New Parent of Two, Part 2

The next in the series of initial observations I've made in my five weeks since becoming a parent of two under two:

3. Toddlers are fascinated with babies. Except maybe your own toddler.

You can barely keep others' delighted little hands from your baby's face, while your own kid will barely sit for a picture with him.

I can understand, though. From his viewpoint, this little loaf-of-bread-sized human has invaded your world and is taking up some of Mom and Dad's time and attention--Not to mention it's no fun; it only sits there staring and making noise. It doesn't even have WHEELS, for crying out loud. It makes sense that you might not be super excited about this whole 'baby brother' business right away.

Discouraging as it may seem at first, however, things do improve. Why, not long ago, Sonny yelled, "BABY!" and biffed Little Bro's sock monkey at to him... with more enthusiasm than we wanted, but it's a start.

Over the past month, I've seen Sonny warm up to his little brother, pointing out his feet or stalling bedtime by asking to say goodnight to him. He'll come over and pat him on the head while we encourage him. It's a wonderful thing... I think.

I'm confident they'll be great buds one day. In the meantime, I'll probably just keep an eye on things, lest my baby boy mysteriously somehow end up curbside in the recycling bin.

To be continued...

Reflections of a New Parent of Two, Part 1

When I announced the upcoming arrival of our second son in December, a (somewhat humourous) Facebook friend asked, "But... what will this do to your cartoon-drawing time?" Ah yes, seems I hadn't thought this through.

Good news, though; I have managed to find some cartooning time in the five weeks since our little boy was born. Thank goodness for the Moby Wrap for allowing me hands-free parenting time to break out the drawing tablet!

So now I have two delightful boys under two (I know, right? *cue scary music*), which apparently means I have my hands full. Nonsense. I just have twice as much to draw about... twice the love, twice the smiles, and 18 times the laundry.

Now, I'm new to this parent-of-two business, but I've made some initial observations since bringing a baby brother home for my almost-two-year-old, which I will share with you.

Reflections of a New Parent of Two, Part 1:

1. Toddlers grow about a foot and gain ten pounds overnight when you have a new baby.

When you see your tiny toddler again after spending three days with a floppy newborn, you may just fall over. My little boy is officially enormous.

HOWEVER,

2. This does not mean they are too big for baby equipment.

A toddler may show renewed interest in baby swings and bouncy seats, which I can report do hold at least 25 pounds (at least momentarily).

To be continued...