We're staring 5 months postpartum in the face and I'm sitting here in complete denial over the constant tick of time - hoping somehow my denial will slow the hands of time. It has yet to do that. I look over at my baby boy, thinking I'll see my tiny babe quietly taking in his brand new surroundings as he moves to the random, uncoordinated motions of only a newborn. Instead my boy is jumping in his bouncer grabbing and chewing on his toys and giggling at motorboat noises. He stops, looks up and me and beams a huge smile as his eyes exude complete adoration for his mama bird.

At 3 months I felt like I finally overcame the ridiculous exhaustion of having a newborn. Late nights and early mornings with a dapple of multiple feedings in between is a perfect recipe for that newborn fog. I still sport a good pair of dark circles - so does Jon for that matter, but the intensity is lessening.  All good news on this side :)

Our first born took 4 months to figure our her new role as the older sister. Declan is now 4 1/2 months old. Finally we are at the stage where she no longer stalks Declan's paci nor demands mirrored attention when Declan is being soothed. It's rough on the first born. . .rougher on the parents I might add. I find a good dose of steel nerves gets you through those moments when both babies are demanding attention at the.exact.same.time. Those are always fun times. To add a little interest I always make sure those moments occur in the middle of grocery shopping, cooking dinner...or paying bills.

So, as I mentioned, we are 4 1/2 months into baby #2. What I've learned is that our 2nd child sees a pair of parents with a slightly higher level of skills than what the 1st child saw. Of course, I am only speaking of us personally. We walked out of the hospital with Declan, discharge papers in hand, feeling a lot more confident than we had with our newborn baby Chloe. That confidence is a good feeling! It also means we have the folding mechanisms on the baby stroller figured out, baby wearing perfected and diaper changes nailed in the pitch dark. High five!