is having second baby as exhausting as first?

Hi ladies

For my first baby I packed books and magazines and had my husband bring the Age into hospital for me each day, but was so exhausted I couldn't do anything except sleep, feed my cherub and then sleep some more! The newspapers went straight into the recycling bin, and the book I think I read when my baby was 12 weeks old!

Is the second baby as exhausting? Or because you've done the 2 hourly feeds before your body adapts quicker? Any stories/advice appreciated.

Cheers
Holly

For me i am onto number 3 and i dont really think it gets all that much easier maybe we learn to cope better.
I was never exhausted though i was just so excited that i had my little girl and even though i was tired i had another little one i had to take care off.
I think you just learn to manage better i mean my son will be 7 soon my daughter 4 and i still dont get that much spare time to read.

Holly,

I can't speak for anyone but me. LOL I think it had less to do with being "easier" and more to do with having more realistic expectations of what parenthood was all about. I mean I "recovered" from the second birth faster, in fact I gave myself mastitis from trying to do too much too soon I felt that great. I think it I just got on with it more and knew that unlike first time when I could just rely on the help of family (which we now don't have being on the other side of the world)it was just us, but in saying that I don't think I was as exhausted this time as I was last time; well it didn't feel like it anyway. LOL

I've also done alot of things differently which I felt made our lives easier that I probably never would have considered first time; for example DS2 was in our bed full-time for 9 weeks (or so), part-time for another 6 weeks and then full-time again from his 4 month growth spurt until he decided that he didn't need to be in our bed anymore at about 5.5 months. We slept him on his tummy because this meant hours of sleep instead of minutes AND it meant we didn't have the stress and frustration of trying to force him to sleep on his back; which he really wasn't doing anyway. LOL Fed on demand, carried round lots, fed/rocked to sleep etc...basically everything we didn't do with DS1.

I found it easier to "sleep when baby sleeps" than first time when I never could and I learned to not sweat the small stuff, especially when it came to DS1 and his behaviour because it was a pretty big transition for him, even though he had just turned 4.

Help? LOL