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Having More Than One Child (A Personal Experience)
Raising a family is not always easy. When you have your first child, you have so much time to devote to their every need. They become the center of your world. Some people think that having one child is easier than having more than one. I too thought this way but have since changed my mind. This is our experience.
My husband and I were so thrilled when we brought home our first born for the first time. As soon as we settled in and unpacked our hospital bag the harsh reality of being his caretaker set in. Since they do everything to help you in the hospital, we were shocked at how much work it was when we were by ourselves.
As the days and weeks grew on, our son’s personality started to develop. We began to notice how advanced and strong willed he was. He was much more difficult to please than other children and he would often get into tantrums that would seem to last an eternity. He was always ten paces ahead of us. Typical discipline techniques such as time-outs would not work for him. He was so fun to play with but sometimes a struggle to raise.
We knew we wanted to eventually have another child but because of our first ones personality, we were afraid of becoming overwhelmed. We also wondered how our son would tolerate the new baby. Would he accept him and love him or would there be an endless battle for attention.
We were completely shocked at how much easier things became for us once our second child was born. Surprisingly his big brother accepted him unconditionally. He now had someone else to focus on than my husband and I. Even though there was a 5 year age gap, our older child enjoyed playing with his new baby brother. He abandoned many of his toys in order to entertain his brother by putting on puppet shows and trying to make him smile or laugh.
This was a whole other side to him that we had not seen. I think having the second was the best decision we ever made. Our first one wouldn’t have made a good only child. He enjoys having the house filled with more laughter and toys. Six years later, he still has that same strong personality but he has made a best friend for life.
Overall I think having more than one child is easier. From my personal experience I find that they have built-in playmates. Plus you have all of the baby gear and toys for the next one already. I felt fortunate having once child but now watching the two play together, its easy to see how blessed I am.
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