On making room for two: Growing Pains of the Heart

When Natalie from Mommy of a Monster & Twins asked me to share a mommy moment with her and her readers, I immediately knew what I was going to write about. I just didn’t know how I was going to do it.

It’s something I haven’t written about yet, as recalling that moment still hurts my heart.

But I know now it was a necessary part of growing…for all of us.

So, I sat down and wrote about that moment, when my heart was breaking, growing, and filling with more love…all at once.

It’s the story of how we transition from baby #1 to baby #2.

I would love it if you would stop by Natalie’s place and read Growing Pains of the Heart. Here’s a little preview…

He was so sad.

His two year old self, completely engulfed by the grief, the confusion…the sadness.

I, as a new mom of two, was just barely surviving.

Exhausted. Completely swallowed by it.

I did not see him.

All I could see was a newborn who needed me.

Breastfeeding, pumping, preparing bottles, diaper changes, and sleeping in 3 hour increments….why couldn’t my two year old, newly crowned Big Brother see that?

click here to continue reading Growing Pains of the Heart

*P.S. Look at Big Brother and Little Sister in that photo from those early days. Yes, we all went through some growing pains, and we’re all better and have more love to go around for it.*

How did the transition from baby#1 to baby#2 go for you?

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4 Responses to On making room for two: Growing Pains of the Heart
  1. Laura
    April 5, 2012 | 3:42 pm

    Wow…we had moments almost exactly like that! I was floored with my second, completely swallowed up and could not find enough of myself to give my toddler the time and attention he needed. Somewhere around 3-4 months life got easier and we all managed to find some balance. Now I can barely remember life with just one, but occasionally my older son reminds me, “Mom, I wasn’t ready to have a little brother but I’m happy about him now.”

  2. Chi
    May 8, 2012 | 3:40 pm

    I’m really interested in reading the full article, but all your links are broken. Would you please fix the links?

    • Melissa
      May 14, 2012 | 11:42 pm

      So sorry! Natalie’s site was down for a couple of days. The links are up and running now. Thanks for letting me know and thanks for reading!

  3. Robin
    July 27, 2012 | 9:12 am

    So reassuring to hear your experience. Thank you. Its such a hard transition. Almost every day, my 3 year old says, “I don’t want to share you, Mama.” I can’t imagine what it’s like from his perspective…similar to my husband going out and getting another wife, I imagine, but worse because my little guy is completely dependent on me and has no concept of packing up and moving out if he doesn’t like the arrangement. But I keep telling him that his little sister is someone we got for him, and he for her really even though he came first, so they would always have each other, a friend and ally.