Tuesday, October 6, 2009

The plight of my second child.

My poor little 6 month old is shuffled all over the place all day long. When my first son Griffin was a baby we had a very strict nap time routine. He absolutely had to be napping in his crib twice a day. If he happened to fall asleep in his car seat, I would transfer him to his crib the moment we were near it. I stressed out about it. My goal in life was to get Griffin asleep and in the proper sleeping space.

Fast forward four and a half years later to Koen's nap routine. He falls asleep wherever he happens to be when he is tired. The poor fella has to get in the car seat to take Griffin to school in the morning. Then he has to get back in his car seat at 11:45 am everyday to go pick his older brother up. It doesn't matter if he is sawing toothpicks in his comfy crib, he is abruptly awakened and lovingly shoved into his car seat. He has no choice.

Poor Koen spends some time yelling at me from the backseat while we drive Griffin to horseback riding and various other destinations driven in honor of his older brother in the afternoons. He whimpers and cusses me out in baby language. By the time we get to the stables, Koen is sacked out in his car seat again. His little head is always slumped over in defeat and a soft snore escapes his lips. Gone are the days of strict sleep rules. My heart goes out to him as I unstrap him and his sweet little head crashes out on my shoulder. A much needed nap unfolds in my arms as Griffin rides on Joey the horse.

That is not his only plight. When Griffin was a baby, we were so mindful about anything that he watched on TV. This was the gang that he watched as classical music floated around his unclouded head...
These sweet little animals gently introduced him to colors and shapes. I just knew that my baby was going to be a genius thanks to Baby Einstein.

Let's take a look at the gang that Koen is forced to watch, shall we?

The whole gang over at Lego Star Wars. This video game is on full rotation at our house. I try to shelter his little eyes from Princess Leia smacking C3PO until all of his appendages fall off but most of the time he is drooling and watching the action. The kid will know all about The Force before he will learn his shapes and colors.

Such is the plight of my second child. Granted, he gets a much more laid back mommy that doesn't have time to micromanage him. If Griffin had so much as a spot on him, he was instantly changed into in a new outfit. I noticed this evening that Koen had dried up applesauce on his shirt all day today. You know what? I'm cool with it. The world won't end if my baby has gunk behind his ear. I hope that he ends up being a laid back person because he was forced to go with the flow at such an early age.

I'm going to go put another quarter in his therapy jar, just in case I'm wrong.

May The Force be with him.

11 comments:

Lee said...

Isn't it funny how careful we are with the first. My second was eating a peanut when he was not even two and some parent made a comment to me about it. I told them that I usually just throw a big steak at him and let him gnaw at it, he's number 2!

Joy said...

It's funny how relaxed we get with #2. We just don't have time or energy to be so high maintenance with 2 or more kids. We take my son out way more than we did when my daughter was his age. I'm sure he'll be an easy going kinda kid, too.

SPEAKING FROM THE CRIB said...

you could have inserted ANN CLAIRE for KOEN and you'd have the exact same story

JennyMac said...

First: I LOVE their names...so cool.

Second: this cracked me up. We only have one but every girlfriend of mine with 2 or more has told a tale of being less restrictive with the 2nd, 3rd etc. LOL.

Jennifer Juniper said...

I feel the same way with my youngest! My oldest grew up to Teletubbies and Mr. Rogers and my littlest sat in front of Suite Life Of Zack and Cody!

Martinis or Diaper Genies? said...

Is it bad that I don't even have one and I feel like I could care less where they sleep? Maybe I shouldn't have one.

Danielle said...

Awe, the 2nd child. I wish I had one!

Tracie said...

Same deal here. And I think that is why my 2nd is a more well-adjusted normal-ish kid.

Alicia said...

amen sister!! seriously by the time i had my 3rd i was a different woman...i embraced dirty clothes and dried snot...go ahead eat your snack off the floor, its cool with me... and yes, watch cartoons for an hour....no worries...

Jane said...

Awesome post. Made me laugh today.

Expat Barbie said...

ooh, love this post :) while little homie is still a fetus, i sense that when he is born, he, too, will suffer a similar 'plight.'

(i think in the end it will make him less neurotic than his big sister, though...)