|
What |
First child |
Second child |
Third Child |
Your Clothes | You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy. | You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible. | Your maternity clothes are your regular clothes. |
Preparing for Birth | You practice your breathing religiously. | You don't bother because you remember that last time, breathing didn't do a thing. | You ask for an epidural in your eighth month. |
The Layette | You pre-wash newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau. | You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains. | Boys can wear pink, can't they? |
Worries | At the first sign of distress - a whimper, a frown - you pick up the baby. | You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn. | You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing. |
Pacifier | If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it. | When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby's bottle. | You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in. |
Diapering | You change your baby's diapers every hour, whether they need it or not. | You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed. | You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees. |
Activities | You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour. |
You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics. |
You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner. |
Going Out | The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times. |
Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached. |
You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood. |
At Home | You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby. |
You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby. |
You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children. |
Swallowing Coins | When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays. |
When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass. |
When third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance! |