Parenting Baby #2

 We were so excited to become pregnant with baby #2! In the middle of the pregnancy, we moved states from Florida to Georgia. (10 out of 10 do not recommend!) This proved to make things complicated with receiving prenatal care, as my insurance lapsed and then once I had insurance and made sure I had a provider in network, my records had to be transferred from the previous office to the new one. This pregnancy felt so different than my first. So different, that I thought we were having a girl! During our 20-week anatomy scan, he proudly showed that he was indeed a boy. I was surprised but not disappointed. We had a boy name we really liked already picked out and I was excited to use it.

When we moved to Georgia, we also moved in with my in-laws. Our plan was to live with them while we paid off student loan debt. It was a challenging time but also a good time. When my water broke unexpectedly at 36-weeks, at 10pm it was nice to be able to just leave and not have to worry about waking our firstborn or waiting for people to arrive to be with him while we were at the hospital. Our silly second born came a month early and was breech. I did not get to attempt a VBAC as I had hoped. This C-Section went better for me because I knew what to expect both during the surgery and during recovery. The morning after he was born, he was admitted to the NICU and stayed there for a week. I was permitted to stay in the hospital with him for 3 or 4 days. I once again gave it a go with the nursing and did receive quite a bit of help from Lactation. He was so tired because he needed energy, but he didn't have enough energy to eat. It was a bit of a vicious cycle. 

I pumped for about 3 weeks and then we realized that he was losing weight at an alarming rate. He went from 7lbs at birth to 5lbs just 3 weeks later. We took him to the doctor, and they prescribed us to mix his formula to be a higher calorie concentration. I attempted to triple feed him (Nurse, pump, and formula feed him) and it was an exhausting, unsustainable routine, especially with a 16-month-old in tow. I gave up nursing because I felt like it wasn't working, and I stopped pumping because I couldn't figure out how to make it work logistically, and I was in pain. Formula feeding was our jam! He did start growing appropriately and that was the end of breastfeeding for me. 

This time around I experienced no symptoms of PPD, I was amazed and very happy about it. This baby hit his milestones and I was excited and prepared to help him get there! The age difference was a challenge, and at times it still is but I wouldn't have it any other way. They are best buds (and sometimes enemies), but they are still each other's best friends. They don't remember life without each other, which is pretty special to me. 

It is interesting to see the differences between them, their strengths and weaknesses, personalities, preferences, and ways of doing things. We were never worried that we would love one or the other less or more, we don't have favorites. It would be impossible to have favorites! They are both so lovable in all kinds of ways.