Yep, He's a Second Child

Isn't it amazing how being a Mommy is so different the second time around?  I am sure it is also true for third (and fourth and fifth...) children, but I'll have to take your word for it!  My second is *such* a stereotypical second child--way more relaxed, way cooler about trying new things, way more clueless fearless about his personal safety.  As I type this my toddler is standing on the couch and my 3-year-old is telling him to "sit on your bum!  Danger!"  I think birth order is a part of it, and then I think part of it has GOT to be how different we are as parents.

Anyhow, here are some clues that he might be a second child:

• His file at the pediatrician's office is about a third of the size of his brother's, yet he has been sick twice as much.
• He learned how to count to 10 from a battery-operated toy.
• He is 1-and-a-half, yet his photo collage showing his monthly growth stops at 7 months.  Similarly, the cute growth chart on his wall has not a single entry.  
• His baby book is...well, I am not sure.  Where is that baby book?  I'll get back to you on that one...
• Mommy didn't consult the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines when deciding whether he can watch a 20-minute cartoon.  Especially when she needs a shower so bad that bystanders may start passing out from the body odor.
• Eating his brother's discarded pizza crusts is not only an acceptable meal choice, it actually makes Mommy proud that we're wasting less food.
• "Cry it out" sounds less like "I am a terrible mother and I am torturing my child" and more like "pass the wine, please, I will enjoy this opportunity to have a second glass."
• He knew what candy was before his second birthday.
• The rules have morphed from things like "don't jump on the furniture" to things like "if you must swing from the ceiling fan, at least stack pillows below you first."

God bless the second-born!