Early arrival of my second child took me by surprise
Friday, March 31, 2006, is a day that will be etched in my mind forever. That afternoon, I became a mother again for the second time. My baby boy was not due to make his grand entrance until the following Monday, so you can only imagine my surprise when we went to the hospital for preadmission only to learn I was in labour and I was going to deliver him within a few hours!
I was shocked, to say the least, because I was mentally programmed to begin my new phase of life on Monday and not a minute sooner. It was my last official day at work and I hadn’t even cleaned off my desk. There were at least 50 other things I had to take to care of, so I asked the nurse if I could leave and return in an hour (I was hormonal and not thinking straight, apparently), but Nurse Wedderburn made it clear that the only place I was going (chipped toenails and all) was to the operating room. Three hours later, little Ajani was born and the rest is old diapers (I just had a child so I’m corny. I’m allowed aren’t I?)
A week after being home, my five-year-old daughter joined us and the real fun began. Although she experienced some bouts of jealousy initially, she was so eager to be “the big sister”. She wanted to do everything for her brother and sometimes couldn’t understand why she was not allowed to and it was only a matter of time before she chanted the dreaded phrase: “You love my brother more than you love me!”
While we know that is untrue, how do you convince a five-year-old that it simply isn’t so? The first time she said it, I bawled my eyes out, but now she says it so often (how do<$> they learn manipulation at such a young age?!) that it goes in one ear and out the other.
A few weeks have passed now and we have all settled into our routine and you know what? Having two children isn’t as chaotic as I had imagined. By loosely sticking to a schedule, I have found it easy to spend quality time with both my babies and savour some alone-time as well. This time around, though, I will treasure more of the moments which I took for granted, because we all know that time flies by in the wink of an eye.
See you in July, dear readers!
Supplements Editor
