Stretching Time

According to a magazine article I read this morning, first babies get more attention and quality time than second-born children -- approximately 30 minutes more per parent. Oh no! The article went on to say most parents feel they give the younger child more attention, but in reality, they are spending far more time with the older child. Apparently, this is why older children tend to score higher on IQ tests and have a lower risk of behavior problems (according to the article).

It is extremely hard to balance my time between Annabelle and Jacob. I try my best though. One of my biggest fears when I brought Annabelle home was that Jacob would feel left out because I'd be spending so much time with the baby. He seems fine, and if that article is correct, he might be getting more of my time than I think. I try to make sure I get some one-on-one time with each of them everyday.

Here's Annabelle spending some quality time with Daddy:

Everyone told me that I'd be much more laidback about the second child than I was with the first. Everyone was right. I am a lot more laidback about things. When Jacob was born, I wouldn't even leave the room without him being with me. I wanted to watch him every second. Now, with Annabelle, I feel ok walking away from her for a minute or two :) . If Jacob is awake, I can't leave her for too long, though. Just this morning, I left the two of them in the living room for a minute and when I returned, there was Annabelle in her bouncy seat with thirty pounds of brotherly love laying on top of her. So much for that nap, Annabelle. Sorry. If Jacob isn't hugging her, he's trying to make her dance, or trying to make her hold a toy. It's kind of funny to watch them together. Annabelle seems to enjoy the attention from her brother, but occasionally, he'll do something to make her cry. Then Jacob pats her on the head or rocks her seat and says, "It's ok...it's ok...don't cry Annabale."

So, back to what I was saying about being laidback. I remember freaking out (and overreacting a little) when my sister let Jacob taste her popsicle after the Cooper River Bridge Run. He was about 8 months old. I wasn't ready for him to have sugar like that...yet. After I yelled at her, she said, "Paula, it's sugar-free!!" Even worse!! I've never been a big fan of artificial sweeteners and I certainly didn't want my 8 month old to be eating them. If that same situation were to happen with Annabelle, I'm sure I wouldn't react quite as harshly as I did then. While I still wouldn't want her to eat the popsicle, I don't think I would overreact and yell so much. :)

Doctor Visit
We went back to the doctor yesterday for an ear check. Jacob's ears are fine, thank goodness. It appears the Amoxicillin did its job; however, he still has a runny nose and a cough. He had one week with hardly any symptoms, but then last Saturday, the runny nose came back, then came the cough. The pediatrician encouraged me to try the Singulair samples he had given us on our last visit. I was reluctant to try it then, but after talking it over a bit more, I gave it a try yesterday. It's a weird kind of a medicine. It's a powder and comes in a little packet. I sprinkled it on Jacob's lunch and he ate his spaghetti never knowing he was also eating "special sprinkles." The Singulair seemed to work. After his nap, Jacob didn't cough for the rest of the day! I gave it to him again this afternoon; this time, on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"Yook! Mistuh Monkey's cousin's sayin' 'cheeeeeese'"!