As I made my kiddos breakfast this morning, I had a good chuckle about parenting a second time around. Isaac ate a big bowl of peanut butter balls cereal with some banana and milk. The humorous part is the cereal seemed about the size of a choking hazard, peanut butter is a no-no for babies, and 10 month olds aren't supposed to have cow's milk. He survived and enjoyed every single bite. He also is thoroughly enjoying climbing our stairs multiple times daily and has almost figured out how to slide down full-speed. Yep, that's our 2nd child. I'm fully aware he could have an allergic reaction and he could completely fall down our stairs, but I'm also fully aware that he will likely be just fine.
This got me thinking about the joys of being the 3rd child. I really do feel a little sadness for 1st born children-Elyas included. They get too much time and attention. Parents are trying out their parenting skills on them and are basically clueless. They have to live a life without siblings for awhile (some forever - my apologies to all you only children out there - I'm sure it has some advantages but coming from a family of 4 kids I just can't even imagine it) AND everything 1st born children do seems to be measured and compared to a timeline.
Then comes baby #2. They get time and space to explore without so much attention given to their every move, they get to do really fun activities and eat really exciting treats before they would be allowed if they didn't have a sibling (Isaac partied like a rock star this weekend at two 4-year-old birthday parties and enjoyed some delicious carrot cake with the best cream cheese icing ever, thanks to my awesome friend Tracy who can seriously bake like a mad woman), and they get much more relaxed, chilled out parents. And if you're child #3, you have it made in the shade. If you are the type of person who can live without a whole lot of parental attention, you will grow up without nearly as much interference and hopefully develop into a well-adjusted, free spirited person (as I like to think of myself, although I have this twisted Type A personality on top of my free spirit - it's quite an interesting combination).
So after saying we are totally finished having kids, this makes me think maybe we should consider having a 3rd. In my opinion, 3rd children are super cool and bring something very special to the family. The only problem is that I truly believe as you add each child to the mix, parents lose a little bit more of their sanity. But maybe that is why 3rd children are so fun. They get to experience half-sane parents who are just trying to get by one day at a time without worrying about "parenting." I'm sure this makes them much more well-adjusted in this day and age of helicopter parenting.
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