Last Friday was my ahem…32nd birthday. Brian was very proud of himself (as was I) because he had something planned for it at least 3 weeks in advance, which was definitely a first. As the weekend approached, I became very excited for our little getaway, knowing some relaxation was in order since Grandpete and Grandmo were going to be watching Eloise.

As the weekend neared, the torrential rains set in and Brian was apprehensive. His surprise was going to be a float plane ride up to Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands. The flights for the day were cancelled, so we drove up and took the ferry and had an amazing relaxing time nonetheless. Ellie had a blast without us as usual, but we could tell she missed us when we got back a little.

One of the most important things during pregnancy is to relax, according to many people, including the author of Brain Rules for Baby, one of the few parenting books Brian and I have read so far. Relaxing is especially difficult when you’ve just sold and purchased a home, are in the middle of renovating said home, quit your job and started a new one, and you have a toddler at home already. Considering the scenario, I think we’ve done a decent job of it and last weekend was by far the most relaxing weekend we’ve had in awhile.

Now that I’m 5 weeks away from having this bebe, a few things have started to cross my mind:

1. How will “sleep training” be different with a toddler in the house?
2. Are there things I should know about and things I should say to Ellie as she adapts to having a little sister?
3. What tricks do I need to know to get the most sleep possible with a toddler and a baby?

It’s started to cross my mind that two might be a whole new endeavor and unlike having your first, I haven’t really gotten a ton of advice this time around. People assume you know what you’re doing if you already have a child and maybe there isn’t much more to it with a second than there was with the first. Is that true? I suppose I can start doing some research, but it just takes so much time! If anyone has any tips, I’d love to hear them as a comment to this blog post!