When will my child ever sleep? What about this eat/play/sleep thing? Am I doing all the right things? The flood of thoughts and emotions is enough to consume any new mom!

The newborn period can be an overwhelming time for many of us. Sleepless nights along with post partum hormones challenge our ability to fully embrace our new little miracle.

And then, for some of us, a second child comes. We are all a little more experienced. We know the newborn period is fleeting. So we tolerate the night wakenings. Dare I say, we even relish them. We embrace this little one who is completely dependent on us – the boy who, at 3 am, looks up at us and starts to coo, the one who smiles at us for the first time, and who is perfectly content sitting in our lap all day. Because the great juxtaposition exists with that big sister who is running around nonstop, talking all the time and gaining more independence every day. Every new milestone that big sister gains makes us ever more grateful for this new little one.

So, there is beauty in the chaos of our expanding families. That newborn period that never seemed to end with our first-born – now seems much more evanescent with our new baby. And being able to appreciate that is truly a wonderful gift.