Baby # 2's parents

As October draws to a close, and November sets in, I realize the new baby is going to be here in a few short weeks.  Looking back, I had no idea what having Elliot was going to be like.  I thought I had a pretty good grip on what being a parent was going to be like, but most of my strongest-held convictions were crushed in the first few months.  Because of this, I am a bit more open going into the second child, knowing that resistance is futile.

That being said, I can't help but wonder how baby Henry's (let's call him Henry for now) parents are going to be different from baby Elliot's.  Sure, we are technically the same humans, but so much is different between then and now.  With Elliot, he was our only one, so he got all the attention. Granted, we had no idea what we were doing, so he got the complete focus of a couple of bumbling goofs.  Henry, on the other hand, will get more limited attention, but from people who are a more experienced. And, since we are on the subject of experience, it is also worth noting that we are both two years older than when Elliot was born.  I don't imagine that means that we will have more energy than we did with Elliot
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When Elliot was a tiny baby, I used to wrap him in the Moby (a long, scarf-like wrap for holding you baby against your chest), and go for evening walks along the streets of San Francisco. He and I would often log 4 or 5 miles in an evening. We would usually stop and get rice pudding, or pick up some vegetables from Real Foods Market, before returning to our 589ft^2 apartment.  There we would all pile into the same bedroom, listening to each other snore, sniffle, and talk in the night.  Though it wasn't necessarily good for sleep, we were always very in-tune with one another.  Henry, on the other hand, will be born into our new home in North Carolina.  He will live in the country, be taken for walks around the yard, in the woods, or along the neighborhood road.  He will also have his own room after a few months, will have more space to crawl around.  He will literally be raised further away from us (if only a few feet).

Henry will also have a big brother to help him out; something Elliot didn't have going for him.  Lucky for Henry, Elliot is a really sweet, smart, energetic kid, who will love having a little brother.  I am sure Elliot will be busy teaching Henry everything he knows, while still making ample time to break stuff and make messes.

I don't know what all these differences will translate into, but it is unavoidable that they will be raised differently. How this all will affect them is impossible to know. All I can promise is that we are still going to do everything we can for him, try to be the best parents we can be, and love him with all of our hearts.  That is something that won't change.