Second Time Around

My first son was born on July 21st, 1997 and my second son February 10th, 2016.  I know you can all do math but that is a whopping 19 years and 7 months! So basically I’m a new mom all over again with an only child Again!  Two huge differences! I’m not 20 years old AND I’m not doing this alone! To be fair I wasn’t really alone on raising BJ my family was instrumental but I was technically a single mom.  Bob and I waited over 10 years to finally have a child together and boy was it worth the wait!

I’m such a different mom this time around and omg there are so much different/innovated products out there, like the baby monitors that can be connected to your smartphone, What!!!!!?!  I did things so much differently as well this time around! I bought these stick to your belly headphones that enables you to play music or record your own voice for your embryo! I played classical music 3 days out of the week for my little yoke! I also read to my tummy every single night and when I was tired I had my baby daddy do it!  Haha, I’m way too old to reference ”baby daddy” but I did it anyways!! Needless to say I definitely see the benefits of my footwork! Tristan lovesssss books! He sits still when I read to him and he tries to read random books on his own and has been doing that since he was 2!

Quick Tip: Reading Aloud to Young Children Has Benefits for Behavior and Attention. By Perri Klass, M.D. April 16, 2018.  It’s a truism in child development that the very young learn through relationships and back-and-forth interactions, including the interactions that occur when parents read to their children. A new study provides evidence of just how sustained an impact reading and playing with young children can have, shaping their social and emotional development in ways that go far beyond helping them learn language and early literacy skills. The parent-child-book moment even has the potential to help curb problem behaviors like aggression, hyperactivity and difficulty with attention, a new study has found.  “We think of reading in lots of different ways, but I don’t know that we think of reading this way,” said Dr. Alan Mendelsohn, an associate professor of pediatrics at New York University School of Medicine, who is the principal investigator of the study, “Reading Aloud, Play and Social-Emotional Development,” published in the journal Pediatrics.

We all understand as parents that it is important to nourish our younglings minds and though I do not feel I did this with my first as I do with my second they are both healthy and happy!  We do our best raising our kids and God knows we make loads of mistakes and so will our kids but if our hearts and minds are in the right place and forgiveness is always there parenting will be doable and enjoyable (most of the time) 😉  

I was so young with my first which made me so ignorant to the actions that help development.  Brandon did not get as much guidance when he was a toddler with books and games singing songs but I loved that little boy with all my heart!  We went to parks and the beach all the time! We played and watched TV together and loved going to the movies. Brandon was also a late talker but I was never informed or guided on that being an issue.  With Tristan, I have been reading to him since he was in the womb, literally every day, and henceforth. I do not allow him to watch as much tv, I play simple board games appropriate for his age, sing nursery rhymes (his fav is Itsy-Bitsy Spider) And I definitely have more patience and time with Tristan!  Now Tristan as well is late with speech which makes it hard to communicate! His pediatrician picked up on it right at his 2yr check up and guided me on who to contact for help.

    My first son is 21 years old and Fly’s jets for a private Jet company!  He is happy, healthy and I couldn’t be more Proud and excited for him! Tristan is improving and even though we are facing a light case of Autism his father and I are patient and trying to stay informed.  I had a very difficult time accepting this diagnosis but now I’m optimistic that Tristan is going to lead a very productive happy life!

Thanks for Reading