Second time around

Love is lovelier, the second time around
Just as wonderful, with both feet on the ground
It’s that second time you hear your love song sung
Makes you think perhaps that love, like youth, is wasted on the young

Loves more comfortable the second time you fall
Like a friendly home the second time you call
Who can say, what brought us to this miracle we’ve found

There are those who’d bet
Love comes but once – and yet
I’m oh so glad we met
The second time around

The Second Time Around – sung by Frank Sinatra

This song has been in my head. It reminds me of raising an infant for the second time. I’m more prepared and a little bit wiser than the first time. Our night time routine is down pat a week in. Thanks so much to my friend Melinda who is also raising two young boys – she lent me her bassinet and I’m actually using it this time. It’s a god send. If you’re about to have an infant, get a bassinet or something where you can sleep right near your baby. Not running up and down the hall and rocking back to sleep has given me many more minutes of precious sleep.

Awhile ago I convinced Steve to buy a mini fridge and a second bottle warmer to keep upstairs. With Brandon, I ran downstairs to the kitchen for each bottle feeding. Never again. Best $100 I ever spent. And I’ve spent a lot of money. Holden is a good sleeper. He is really making this much easier for his mama than he has to. And I’m so thankful, because after having a C-section, I realize that recovery is much longer than with a vaginal birth. Sleep is even more crucial. Every moment counts. And this is going OK so far.

Being a parent is wonderful and great with just one. But with this second one, you get to see the whole process from a new perspective. Knowing that Holden is my last baby, I will cherish every second of his infanthood. After all, I know what is yet to come – tantrums and shrieking and picking out his own clothes and that fucking “no” word. Kids are wonderful at every age, but damn, the not talking back stage is blissful in comparison.