Okay before all the moms think its me its actually not. Or should I say not yet. A really close friend of mine has had her second baby and our first ones were also are just 10 days apart. When all of us a gang of 5 started out as young pregnant women little did we know that we were going to be friends for life and hopefully our kids too will be. I think we all knew somewhere of what we wanted out of life, how many kids will we have except how life will really change. There were only 2 of us who were confident of having a second child and going through the grind again. If you are one of those moms who is also on the fence between one and two then just make your decision quick. As friends we often discussed and as a first time mom I always spoke to moms who have had their second one asking them what prompted them to have the second and how is it to deal with two babies. I think in my mind I was very sure that I wanted to have two but there were questions that hounded me too. Here are a few of them 1. Doing all of it all over again, Am I ready? 2. Can I give up my life which I’ve just reclaimed back again for another 2 years? 3. Putting on weight: I thought I just got back into shape and now let go again. Phew! 4. Education: Going through the grind for one child in a city like Mumbai and now doing it for another one? This one I thought was the scariest 5. Money: Yes raising kids in an expensive city like Mumbai you definitely need to think money. Double school fees, travel, doctor, education, extra curricular. We thought of all of these but these were questions raised only by the mind. The heart not for once raised these. I knew that I had to give my daughter the best gift my parents gifted me, my siblings. For me all of these questions is on one side and the love for for my siblings on the other. Just like there is nobody in the world who can substitute for your parents there is nobody who can substitute for siblings too. Think those holidays, those garden times when if your friends don’t turn up you still have company, those bedroom fights, those happy meals together. Nothing seems complete without them. I now know so many friends who have taken the plunge the second time around and only realize how much fun it is for their first one after they see the second one grow up. Does it mean that the 5 questions I raised earlier don’t mean too much. Ofcourse they do but the tide takes over and the heart rules. I also feel that with so much help around India is actually the easiest place to have children. I am so keen to see my friend hold her second baby again and feel the joy of parenting again that its kind of made me more ready for my second innings!!! Do share you story and thoughts, we’d love to know.
KSP Team
Janani S Koushik
