You Taught Me to Minimalize: Things I Never Understood

I definitely still have a lot to learn in the world of parenting but I do know a few things.  My first child was by far not easy.  He had tummy issues. I don’t know why they call it “sleep like a baby” because he never slept.  Now I’m a little seasoned, and my second child is a lot easier.  Two different babies and two totally different personalities.  

When I reflect back on the differences between baby one and baby two I can’t help but laugh out loud.  Wow have I come a long way.  

Here are 10 things that I simply didn’t understand until my second child.

You Don’t Need Much:  With your first child, you get so excited to register for
baby items. Your house explodes with baby stuff right after your shower! You have all the time in the world to prep the nursery and organize clothing neatly in the closet.  By the time your second child arrives, you realize that babies simply don’t need much.  As long as you have diapers, bottles, white onesies and sleepers you are all set.  All those extras are simply useless.  Not to mention, it clutters your house.  

Elastic Pants are your Friend: It is so much fun shopping for those adorable jean outfits and jumpers.  For my first I envisioned him always wearing a pair of cool jeans.  That lasted only a few days and I quickly learned that elastic waist is the way to go.  Elastic waist pants make changing diapers MUCH  easier.  Being practical outweighed style. 

White Socks Only: 
My son had all kinds of cool looking socks.  Black, blue stripped, red stripped, red  and the list goes on.  Folding little people clothing is hard enough, but matching a bunch of little socks is torturous – especially when its mate is always missing.  I quickly learned that plain white socks are the way to go.  I always have a mate.  

No Need to Stockpile Milk: I was obsessed with pumping.  I had this fear that I would run out of milk.  Before I knew it, our deep freezer was completely full of milk.  I ended up donating the milk and even tossed some.  All that hard work pumping, and I never even put a dent into my stash. My second time around, I barely pump and only have a few bags of frozen milk.  If I know I’m going to leave baby, I will thaw a bag or pump fresh milk.  No need to panic.  There is plenty of milk. 

Newborn Pictures are Boring: Don’t get me wrong, I cherish those sleeping newborn shots. But I love all those fun pictures you get when baby is alert and smiling. For my first I printed newborn pictures and made sure everyone had them. With my second, I didn’t feel the need. I posted some on Facebook, and family could save the pictures if they wanted to.

Here, Play with This: My first baby had all kinds of brand new toys to play with and explore.With my second baby, I grab anything that is safe to play with. Most of the time it’s not a baby toy. Babies will play with anything, even an empty box!

What Nursery?: My first child had the most adorable nursery to come home to. Our second baby is 16 weeks old, and still doesn’t have a nursery. Since she sleeps in a bassinet in our room, we haven’t even assembled her crib. I couldn’t even imagine doing this for our first. I am much more practical the second time around. 

Wait your Turn: Having two little ones makes it hard to run to baby’s every peep. With the first, I had nothing but time to dedicate to him. With the second, sometimes she needs to wait her turn, even if she is a little upset.

The Dirty Dozen: You quickly realize that eating organic is expensive, especially when you want your child to eat as much organic as possible. I would not allow my son to eat anything that was not organic. Now, I try to limit it to the dirty dozen and I no longer freak about him eating conventional fruits and veggies. I would much rather him eat non-organic fruit over fruit snacks any day! 

Don’t stress the Schedule: I remember spending two hours of my evening rocking my son to sleep, and trying to get him to sleep by 8pm.  Why did I stress so much over a stupid schedule?! With baby number two, I simply follow her lead: when she falls asleep, I put her in her bassinet.  Of course, I will eventually create a routine and a set bedtime, But I’m not in a rush. I don’t have two hours to spend rocking in a nursery.  

I still have so much to learn.  I’m sure when I reflect back in a few months, I will have more to add to the list.  

Help me out! 

What are some things you didn’t understand until the second round?

Please comment below, I would love to hear from you.