Submitted by omegapoint on July 17, 2008 - 6:43pm.
Having a second very needy child definitely requires a change in the way you approach household duties. In my experience, it means no more trading off with your spouse for a little "me" time for each of you; you'll have a kid either on you or interacting with you both until the kids fall asleep. It's not bad, though it does kind of sound like it, it's just different. You toddler will soon get to the point where he or she is more self-reliant and you can go whole minutes at a time without making a bottle or sippy cup, feeding somebody , or changing a diaper.
The other thing that occurs to me is a mistake I made. I didn't spend as much one-on-one time with my second daughter, and tended to be less creative and, frankly, less connected to my second daughter. I deeply regret not spending that extra time alone with her and am trying to make up for it now.
It definitely requires change
Having a second very needy child definitely requires a change in the way you approach household duties. In my experience, it means no more trading off with your spouse for a little "me" time for each of you; you'll have a kid either on you or interacting with you both until the kids fall asleep. It's not bad, though it does kind of sound like it, it's just different. You toddler will soon get to the point where he or she is more self-reliant and you can go whole minutes at a time without making a bottle or sippy cup, feeding somebody , or changing a diaper.
The other thing that occurs to me is a mistake I made. I didn't spend as much one-on-one time with my second daughter, and tended to be less creative and, frankly, less connected to my second daughter. I deeply regret not spending that extra time alone with her and am trying to make up for it now.