Second Child Syndrome

The other day a dear friend of mine, who happens to be aware of my blog asked me, “Hey, why is it that you only write about your son? Why don’t you write about your daughter? I am sure there is something you can write about her as well.”

Good observation, my friend. And honestly I don’t quite have an answer to that except to say that there is really no excuse for me to NOT write about her. She is again, another best thing that has happened to me and my hubby. We were hoping for a girl and here is she, with us now and we couldn't be happier. But somehow, the intensity of the excitement and the exhilaration we felt with our first born was much more palpable than this time around. In fact, when D was her age, 5 months to be precise, I was observing and keeping track of every detail possible, how many times he smiled, laughed, cried, cooed and pooped. I was very much on top of things, so to speak. But with my second, I have failed to capture the details or rather have lost the inclination to do so. Not that we are less excited about her but both my hubby and I agree that we have fallen prey to the ‘second child syndrome’. We find ourselves still spending more time with our toddler than our new born. The fact that she sleeps most of the time does not really help. And being a fuss-less baby as she is, her existence seems on many occasions, inconspicuous.

This discriminatory behavior led me to feel guilty for a while but after sharing my woes with other mothers who assured me that I am not alone, I am a little bit at ease. My hubby and I strive to be fair and unconditional but I can’t help but realize that there is indeed a difference, how slight it may be, in the way we treat our two kids. But I find peace in believing that our love for each is not more or less but just unique and different.

And as far as writing about A, I will. And when I start, there will be no end to it.