A Busy Time Ahead with Baby No. 2

 
There’s one thing all parents of more than one child know and that is that having only one was a DREAM compared to this!
 
Kate Middleton and Prince William are going to discover exactly this some time in April next year, with the arrival of a sibling for young George.
 
 
 
Within days they will look back fondly on those heady days of only having to look after one child, and wondering how on Earth they could ever have thought it was a challenge. Oh, for those easier times again!
 
It starts in pregnancy; being pregnant when you have no children is a doddle. You can sit down when you need to, go to the loo when you need to, go to the shops without wrestling a toddler into a buggy, or having to pick a heavy, wriggling child up and balance it on your huge bump when they fall over and bash their head on a tree stump.
 
Pregnancy with older children in tow is like pregnancy while doing an assault course every day. And when the new child arrives, then the fun really starts. A new sibling acts as a cue for older children to instantly regress back to incontinent, incompetent, out-of-control hooligan.
 
Where once they were dry through the night, sat down nicely at the dinner table and knew the difference between milk in a cup and milk all over the kitchen floor, now they decide to forget everything they’ve learned, and destroy the house the moment you even look at your new baby.
 
Bath time, once a happy play time, is now a case of trying not to let one child drown the other. And just getting out of the house now requires four hours of preparation, as you just manage to get Older Child wrapped up in layers of clothing, only for the baby to need an urgent change. Cue massive tantrum from now-overheated Older Child.
 
It’s not all bad news though; older siblings often want to help out, and care for their new baby brother or sister. Unfortunately their idea of ‘helping out’ can be a little different from yours, and it’s not unusual to pop out of the room for a nano-second, only to come back and find that Older Child has ‘helped out’ by patting their new sibling affectionately on the head with a metal toy car transporter.
 
There’s no denying that having children close in age is really hard work. But it also has its advantages. They can share toys, share clothing, and share life stages throughout their wholes lives. They will be teenagers together, young adults together, and probably go through many big milestones in life at a similar time.
 
This emotional, developmental and practical closeness can be a huge support to them, and make their relationship a very strong one. And for Kate and Will (and all other second time parents), the joy of watching their children grow and learn together is pretty special.