Things I’ve learned about having a newborn and a toddler

Things I’ve learned about having a newborn and a toddler:

That a newborn isn’t as intimidating or intriguing as last time. You know what you are doing, the responsibility is old hat, and for now, the older child is far more interesting with his walking, talking personality.

That the demands of breastfeeding and frequent night wakings won’t be a complete shock to the system like last time round.

That even if you are getting a half decent amount of sleep overnight, you may struggle to maintain the adequate level of enthusiasm and multitasking talent to constantly keep up with a verbally demanding two year old conversationalist.

That you will be able to have everyone washed, dressed and ready to leave the house for 9am, even though you struggled to achieve this before midday when your eldest was a newborn.

That it might not instantly feel like you’ve always been a family of four. There is a transition period. A period where you might find yourself slightly sad for the times when it was just you and your firstborn, because it will never be like that again.

That this time, the real pleasure is not in watching your partner become a mother or father, or spending hours simply staring at your newborn in bewildered enchantment. But in watching the beginnings of a sibling relationship. That watching an elder child interacting with his or her new sibling will make you realise that you have given them both a gift.

Arlo continues to absolutely dote on his little brother. It’s as if he thinks we brought Rory home as a present for him (which is sort of true considering how desperate we were for Arlo to have a sibling reasonably close in age). Seeing them together just confirms that we were right that Arlo might appreciate some company.

Of course I am aware that it may not always be this way and they will likely have periods of not getting on so well. But Arlo and Rory will have a life-long connection, a relationship of some sort that will (hopefully!) outlive Sam and me. For now, we are just at the beginning.