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Family Matters:  Parenting Changes Everything...LOL  |
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Sitnalta
True Blue Farmgirl
4208 Posts
Jessica
NJ
USA
4208 Posts |
 Posted - Dec 31 2008 : 8:25:50 PM
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Yes, parenthood changes everything. But parenthood also changes with each baby.
Here are some of the ways having a second and third child differs from having your first:
Your Clothes
1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.
The Baby's Name
1st baby: You pour over baby-name books and practice pronouncing and writing combinations of all your favorites.
2nd baby: Someone has to name his or her kid after your great-aunt Mavis, right? It might as well be you.
3rd baby: You open a name book, close your eyes, and see where your finger points.
Preparing for the Birth
1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don't bother practicing because you remember that last time, breathing didn't do a thing.
3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your 8th month.
The Layette
1st baby: You pre-wash your newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?
Worries
1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a whimper, a frown--you pick up the baby.
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn.
3rd baby: You teach your 3-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing.
Pacifier
1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it.
2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby's bottle.
3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.
Sleeping
1st baby: Sleeps in your bedroom for the first six - eight weeks
2nd baby: Sleeps in your bedroom for the first two weeks
3rd baby: Goes right from the hospital nursery into their own room
Baby Book
1st baby: You religiously make entries every day, carefully noting the number of spit-ups and bowel movements for the first year
2nd baby: You enter a few facts each week but stop after 6 months
3rd baby: You buy the book but enter the child's name, birth weight, and length on the first page
Diapering
1st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour, whether they need it or not.
2nd baby: You change their diaper every 2 to 3 hours, if needed.
3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.
Activities
1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour.
2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner.
Going Out
1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home 5 times.
2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.
At Home
1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
2nd baby: You spend a bit of every day watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children.
Swallowing a coin
1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays.
2nd child: When 2nd child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for coin to pass.
3rd child: When 3rd child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!!
Jessie
Farmgirl Sister #235
Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work You don't give up.
Stop by my blog for a visit www.messiejessie2.blogspot.com |
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lisamarie508
True Blue Farmgirl
2648 Posts
Lisa
Idaho City
ID
USA
2648 Posts |
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Farmtopia
True Blue Farmgirl
1465 Posts
Zan
New York
New York
USA
1465 Posts |
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hipmamato4
True Blue Farmgirl
51 Posts
danielle
wernersville
pa
USA
51 Posts |
Posted - Jan 01 2009 : 07:59:34 AM
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This it TOO funny. It's so darn true. By age 6- my first daughter had done ballet, gymnastics, violin, ice skating, etc. By age 6- my 3rd daughter has done nothing but 4 months of dance. My son, #4, will be lucky if he does anything at all!
Most of my friends hav at least 4 kids and i see the same things with them too!
Homebirthing, home-schooling mama to 4 awesome kids, living an idyllic country life in Pennsylvania |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jan 01 2009 : 08:35:01 AM
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I have tons of pictures of my 1st. Took them all day long. She was a ham. Wrote down every little thing she did. Kept her teeth and hair clippings. The 2nd one I think I had a handful of pictures and hardly wrote anything in her book. She was a fussy child, so not much time to do fun stuff with her. She's just lucky to still be here.
Kris
Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you. Maori proverb |
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Nancy Gartenman
True Blue Farmgirl
9092 Posts
Nancy
West Seneca
New York
USA
9092 Posts |
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Sitnalta
True Blue Farmgirl
4208 Posts
Jessica
NJ
USA
4208 Posts |
Posted - Jan 04 2009 : 12:43:07 PM
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Kristin--LOL, it sounds like you just described my two. :) THe first one is into everything. We bought her all the cool toys, we took her pictures all the time, we filled her baby book and waited with baited breath for her to do something else we could put in there. The second one is so fussy that we hardly want to go out to do anything..lol. A trip to the gas station is an ordeal..lol
hugs!
Jessie
Farmgirl Sister #235
Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn  hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work You don't give up.
Stop by my blog for a visit www.messiejessie2.blogspot.com |
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mommatracy
True Blue Farmgirl
490 Posts
Tracy
My. Olive
NC
USA
490 Posts |
Posted - Jan 20 2009 : 8:57:42 PM
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I could hardly read from laughing so hard! Lord you need to be on the comedy channel. No kidding you are genius funny! Five minutes ago I was teary eyed and P-O'ed over family crap and now I am laughing like a goof. Thanks. I needed that.
www.cottagebythebay.blogspot.com |
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Buttercup
True Blue Farmgirl
1433 Posts
Talitha
Vermont
USA
1433 Posts |
Posted - Jan 21 2009 : 08:19:30 AM
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LOL !!!
So true... and now I am on to number 5.... God bless us both!!  Hope both baby and I make it through with sanity!!
Thank you for a laugh and smiles!!
Hugs!!
Talitha
"If we could maintain the wonder of childhood and at the same time grasp the wisdom of age, what wonder,what wisdom,what life would be ours" |
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julia hayes
True Blue Farmgirl
1132 Posts
julia
medical lake
wa
USA
1132 Posts |
Posted - Jan 21 2009 : 1:37:00 PM
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 Ok Jessie, did you put some kind of hidden camera in my home for the last few years???!!! I laughed and laughed..This is me!
Talitha, if it is helpful, I'm a #5 baby and a twin!! My poor mom....we went in age; 5, 4, 3, twins!! She has no recollection of about our first 7 years.. I turned out nice and weird coloring outside of many lines but still am mostly grounded, connected and intact! So much good luck to you!
Thanks for the laugh!! ~julia
being simple to simply be
Farmgirl #30
www.julia42.etsy.com |
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jennym
True Blue Farmgirl
76 Posts
Jenny
Green Lane
PA
USA
76 Posts |
Posted - Jan 22 2009 : 06:30:16 AM
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Oh my, these were SO funny! You know what they say - the funniest things are the true ones!
Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10 |
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farmprincess
Farmgirl in Training
16 Posts
Crystal
Abbotsford
British Columbia
Canada
16 Posts |
Posted - Jan 22 2009 : 10:38:40 AM
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LOL!!! I have the benefit of being a Nanny for 2 years before i had my first, but i still do some of that over the top stuff with him...and he's only 7 weeks old. I am already learning that sanity requires a little less and that babies are tougher than we give them credit for. After all, look how many have survived siblings. Thanks for the post, i enjoyed the laugh.
FarmPrincess
Motherhood is the adventure that lasts a lifetime. |
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Buttercup
True Blue Farmgirl
1433 Posts
Talitha
Vermont
USA
1433 Posts |
Posted - Jan 22 2009 : 10:56:50 AM
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Julia,
Thank you!! I can imagine your mother would not remember the first 7 years bless her heart!!
Thanks for sharing! And for the words of encouragement!!
Hugs!!
Talitha
"If we could maintain the wonder of childhood and at the same time grasp the wisdom of age, what wonder,what wisdom,what life would be ours" |
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Family Matters: Parenting Changes Everything...LOL |
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Parenting Changes Everything...LOL
