"... have you gone back in your blog to look at what you blogged about Ellie?"Yes I have. Honestly I didn't write nearly as often then as I do now. I have found that I go back to try to see when Ellie accomplished certain milestones and how much she weighed or how well she was sleeping. To my disappointment I didn't keep track of that stuff much at all, so I haven't been able to have solid numbers to compare Addie to. I just have a gut feeling. I *feel* like Addie is much bigger than Ellie was. When I look at their pictures I feel like Ellie's 4 month pictures look a lot like Addie's 2 month pictures. It seems like Addie is more alert - I don't have nearly as many pictures of her with funky "where the heck are you looking" glances on her face as I do with Ellie. Addie seems to look straight at the camera with her eyes wide open so much more than Ellie ever did at this point in her life. But other than that, I haven't done a lot of looking to see what I wrote about, nor have I tried to write about the same things. I feel like my life is different now and I should just write what it's like now. Again, having said that though, I write more now than I did then.
"Do you find yourself not as amazed since it's the second time around?"This is a tough question. You're right - there are some things that I'm not as amazed by because I've seen them before. Both of my girls were very good at holding up their heads even as newborns. I marveled at that fact the first time and this time it's just a given. This time I didn't stress too much about getting my first smiles out of Addie at a later date than normal. Ellie smiled for the first time at 7 weeks (typically a baby smiles at 6 weeks) and Addie did it at almost 9 weeks. I didn't try to force one out of her because I knew the time would come and that it would come quick enough.
So in many regards, your question is correct. I do not find the same things amazing as I did last time. However, there are so many other things that I am constantly amazed by (and same goes for my husband). Most of these things revolve around comparing the two babies - and 99% of the time it's because Addie is easier than Ellie. We're constantly amazed that when Addie cries we can still hear each other speak. We're amazed that we can hold Addie - really just hold her without needing to be standing or rocking. We're amazed that it's relatively easy to calm her down. We're amazed that we've seen her PUT HERSELF TO SLEEP a few times. We're amazed that we can put her down AWAKE and she'll fall asleep. We're amazed that if she is unhappy, she'll complain for a while instead of instantly freaking out like the world is going to end. We're amazed that she can be in her car seat without crying. We're amazed that bottle feedings do not result in a battle of the wills. In a nutshell we're always so dumbfounded by how much easier she is than Ellie was and you can often hear one of us asking "How did we ever survive Baby Ellie???"
"What things do you want to make sure you do or talk about for Addie that you did for Ellie, so that she also gets to read all about her early life like Ellie will? I personally find it hard to balance writing about both of mine and being equal with pictures."This is what I really wanted to write about (sorry for the long prologue - lol). Even from the beginning of my blog, I never intended it to chronicle my daughters' lives. I never wanted it to be a constant update of what's going on with them. For example, if I wanted to give updates on what's going on with them, I probably would have been bragging about how easy potty training went (which, btw, Ellie has been fantastic for almost two months now!). I probably would be able to look back and tell you exactly when Ellie rolled over the first time. Though I could see why such information might be interesting, I didn't want that to be what my blog was about. I want my blog to be about how much enjoyment they bring to my life. I want to write about the things that make me laugh or smile or just melt my heart, with the occasional topic that makes me question how to be a better Mommy. I'm not sure if that makes sense - that I want this blog to be about ME even though it's all about THEM.
In regards to giving each of them equal time - I'm making an assumption that it will even out. I talk more about Ellie now because she does more, but I'm assuming that when Addie gets older she'll do just as many things that make me laugh as Ellie has. Hopefully I will be able to pay attention to them when they happen. I do not stress about giving them "equal" time because of the assumption that it will even out.
That being said, the one thing I do want to be sure to do is scrap booking. I have done some amazing (tooting my own horn) scrap books for Ellie and I really want to do the same with Addie. I'm already disappointed in the fact that I just don't have the same number of pictures of Addie as I did with Ellie, but I am striving to give her wonderful scrap books as well. Maybe quality will make up for quantity? She may not have as many pages in her book, but I think the ones she does end up with will be more impressive. I am a bit obsessed with my scrap books and already it bothers me that I'm a couple months behind (that's what I get for having a baby right before Halloween and Christmas), but I make it a point to keep it up. I certainly don't want Ellie to have a 1 year scrapbook and Addie not. Speaking of which, I need to update my scrapbook pictures posted on my blog!
So I hope that answers your questions. In a nutshell I want this blog to be about the things in parenting that bring me joy. Daily, weekly or even monthly updates don't cut it for me. If Ellie doesn't do something that makes me smile or laugh for a period of time, then I don't write. And those times have happened. You, as a reader, don't see it because I schedule my posts to publish on different days than I actually write. Often I'll write half a dozen posts and then not write anything for a week or so. I hope that my assumption is correct and the "face time" that my children get on my blog will one day even out. I certainly hope that Addie doesn't ever read my blog and think that I cared more for Ellie or that Ellie made me happier, but the same can be said for Ellie.
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