Second Babies Get the Shaft?

Baby Levi may be second, but not second-rate!

Being a second baby myself, I wanted to make sure my second baby didn't get the shaft just for showing up second. But for a whole bunch of reasons, and despite how hyper-aware I was about trying to keep things equal between my kids, I did and continue to find it a challenge to give my second-born all the attention and fawning I did for my first. This phenomena has been coined second-baby syndrome, a subject I explore for The Calgary Herald.

I have noticed that my son is way more laid-back than my daughter, and seems much more at ease about going with the flow. I can't say for sure that this is because he is the second-born and has had to be shuffled along on his older sister's schedule for most of his eight months of life so far, but I really do think that being a second child helps develop a stronger adaptability. That's the case among my siblings.

I know that many fellow parents feel they've fallen victim to second-baby syndrome, but as you'll see in my story, it's rarely as bad as we make it out to be. Unfortunately, guilt seems to go hand-inhand with parenthood...fodder for a future story.

ps. Clearly my blog has fallen to third baby or more accurately, 10th or maybe 20th. Ha! Hope to stay better updated as I re-enter the working world. No year-long paid mat leaves for this freelancing momma; fodder for a different future story...