The love of a second child
Throughout my pregnancy, there was not even one blog entry dedicated to Benjamin (alias Didi – which means little brother in Chinese). Things just seemed so natural the second time, the vomiting, the backache, the feeling huge. This time around, there was simply no time to take a rest as I was always running after Michael and, unfortunately, I had very little Chinese “old fire” soup to nourish the baby or myself. Ian and I wondered throughout the pregnancy, “will we love our second child as much as our first one?”
We have asked many friends that have done it before. All of them tell us that you will love both equally. Some have said that you will have a preference over the first just because you’ve met him / her longer. Some have said that you will enjoy the second one heaps more because you know what to expect. Ian and I didn’t really know what to expect.
Benjamin then took his sweet time to arrive (waiting for his Nanna to reach Shanghai first!) and did he come out fast (re earlier blog!). We were blessed with our second son, Benjamin on a Thursday night and we were home by Saturday (I hate the hospital for obvious reasons!). Benjamin is a beautiful baby – we expected the worst from his older brother however Michael has been sweet and kind to baby Benjamin so far. Just like any little baby who is only a few days old baby, Benjamin eats, sleeps and poops all day. Because he is so tiny (Ian and I both forgot how tiny babies are!), your love for them tends to be so much more gentle.
The love for Michael and Benjamin is, infact, rather different. For Michael, his demands for attention make the love more focus and concentrated. On the other hand, the love for Benjamin is very subtle. Definitely with two kids, your love capacity doubles and there is no question about loving Benjamin less. Although the second child will suffer from the obvious hand-me-downs for everything to a delay in sending photos/writing blogs, however the love from their parents is unique.
Until next time, we’re sending all our toddler & baby love from Shanghai,
Ian, Stacey, Michael & Benjamin
p.s. Picasa Goggle Photos are not working in China – so here are our photos and apology for the messiness!
