Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick are having a tougher time with baby number two, Penelope Scotland, than they did with their first born, oft-photographed, well-dressed, Mason Dash. So say the tabloids. According to reports, the littlest Disick isn't quite as calm and relaxed as her big brother was when he was a newborn. Apparently, Penelope has been "keeping [Kourtney and Scott] up all night crying", and, understandably, Mom and Dad are exhausted and "on edge" because of it.
Ah, the classic "dream first child" situation. A tale I've heard many times. A tale that makes me happy my baby wasn't all that easy in the beginning.
Having a baby who cried a lot was one of my biggest fears when I was pregnant. Being a person without a lot of baby experience -- and a person, formerly, with a low tolerance for the sound of screaming babies -- the thought of having a fussy or ... colicky child freaked. Me. Out.
And then I had my daughter, and guess what?! She cried. A lot! More than the average newborn I was told/read. Sometimes for six, seven hours a day. And it was horrible. Honestly, worse than I thought. For the first five weeks of her life, I sat alone in my 700-square-foot apartment, three stories up in the sky, with a hysterically crying baby, wondering when and how my neighbors were going to kill me. My worst nightmare had come true.
Without getting into a huge story -- and without turning this into a pro/anti-breastfeeding post -- turns out the poor thing was hungry. Really hungry. So, I started -- yes -- supplementing with formula, and she stopped, literally, within minutes. New baby. New mama. New perspective on everything. I was able to enjoy my perfect daughter as I was meant to, not as I feared: Relaxed and peacefully.
Now. This may sound strange, but in a way -- albeit, a small way -- I'm actually kind of glad that the first few weeks of my motherhood weren't a walk in the park. I'm sort of happy my baby cried (no, I am not happy she was hungry). I have heard so many parents tell stories about how their second born is "so not as calm as the first," and I have seen the perplexed and stressed looks on their faces. And it doesn't look like fun.
My baby was, by no means, one of those "dream babies" in the beginning. (She is now!) She did not "sleep all the time," and, yes, she cried a lot. So, now, if and when I have another child, I won't be blindsided if he or she is not completely and totally calm and quiet and asleep all the time like a good little newborn. And if he or she is, well, that's just great.
Did you have a tougher time with your second child than with your first?
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Comments 18
My husband and I had this happen to us. Our first baby was a dream. She was easy going never cried unless something was awfully wrong. She even began sleeping through the night at 2 months old. My second baby on the other hand was quite difficult. My oldest was three when he was born, and he was born premature, so including his rough start, he had a hard time adjusting at home. It's such a challenging transition to become adjusted to being a parent of two and taking care of two simultaneously when you've been "spoiled" by the first baby and your expectations are not, i guess what you'd say realistic lol
With DD we said we hit the baby lottery. She was the perfect baby! Never cried, slept 5 hours at night from birth, woke up happy.
Hopefully we will win twice! Lol!
My mom said I was the perfect baby, she thought all babies were like me so she had my sister 17 months after having me and got her big wake up call! Lol!
i had the same thing with my chldren. my first was the "perfect" baby/toddler. she slept good, hardly fussed , never whined, no need to baby proof -she never got into anything, etc. my second was the complete opposite!! he was fussy, got into everything, barely slept. i joke that if i had had my son first i may have only had one child! ;o)
I love the old quote, "You aren't a parent until you have two kids." I remember being that smug mother-of-one who's baby was so perfect and did everything right - what was wrong with all of these other parents?! Well I ate some humble pie as soon as my second (and third) was born... And now I just smile and nod when I hear first-time moms do the same thing. :) I've also because way less judgmental about other mothers and their parenting methods. Whatever works for you!