more on the second child

I mentioned the other day that I thought time seems to go by faster with the second baby than it did with the first.  I've been thinking a lot about that lately as Joshua grows up.  I keep realizing over and over again how fortunate we were to not have our second child right when we wanted it.

This is from Swistle's recent post about her third pregnancy carrying twins:

Bringing the twins home was easier than bringing William home. For one thing, William's homecoming gave me a toddler and a newborn, and I've written before about how difficult I think that combination is---but when I brought the twins home, I had a 4-year-old and a 6-year old. And during the pregnancy, I'd done some "Independence Training," mostly with Rob but some with William too: teaching them to wash themselves in the bathtub, teaching Rob to make easy breakfasts and lunches, teaching Rob to go get the mail, teaching them both to put on their own seatbelts, teaching William to get himself dressed. So when I was stuck in a chair nursing the twins and feeling half-crazed with all the things I needed to be doing instead, I could set Rob and William in motion like two little Roombas: "Clear the breakfast dishes, please. Now Rob take those letters out to the mailbox and put the flag up. William, can you please get me more water? Now both of you please pick up the toys on the floor." It was much slower and less efficient than I would have done it, but it was GETTING DONE.

Yes exactly.  Swistle hit it right on the money.  This is why I am now so thankful that Josh was born later, rather than sooner as I had so desperately hoped.  God's plan is always better than our own.

Julianna is able to get dressed by herself, feed herself, get most of her food out herself, clean up her dishes herself, more or less use the bathroom herself, get in the car herself, etc, etc.  If this hadn't been the case when I brought Josh home from the hospital I would have needed A LOT MORE crazy meds.  If she had only been 2 instead of 3.5 you probably would be able to hear me scream complaints each day from where you're sitting now.

Yeah.  It would've been quite different.  I agree, Swistle.