For those of us who are completely scared tell us the great things about having DC2!

[Bumperlicious]

Am due in two days, and I need positive stories :)

Was at a children's part 2 weeks ago and a friend of a friend just sat down next to me with her 5 month old DC2 and said 'It's really hard having two you know?'. I don't need to hear that at 38 weeks pg!

So tell me all the lovely things about having another child.

dd was pretty good on balance bike by then, so think we used that a lot. I did use sling a lot when ds was wee, to free up buggy, but it ewasn't really needed.

Actually I do have a double that I picked up cheap from a colleague, just in case. If I don't use it I can sell it on.

DD has a scooter now though, which helps.

I think one of the things I am going to have to do to survive is to invest in one of those hideously expensive waterproof coats on that thread you might have seen, and an all in one for DD so we can brave the weather this winter.

I love having 2. They play together, keep each other company, we can go anywhere as a little unit of 4 and the girls always dash off together. Seeing 3yo dd2 having a bit of a wobble as they were making friends with some new children, and grabbing her sister's hand for reassurance was just beyond sweet.

I'm an only child and seeing my daughters develop such a lovely bond making me quite sad for myself as a child and all the stuff I didn't know I was missing out on

I have 2 - DS1 2.5 and DS2 11 weeks. There have been some super cute moments (DS1 'I love mummy and daddy and my baby so much' - cue hormonal sobs from me), and DS2 already worships his older brother and smiles at him adoringly (far more than he smiles at me).

But what I've found most surprisingly positive is the realisation of how different they were from birth. Sure I'm more relaxed etc etc, but they were both such distinct personalities from the moment they were born - and this has really helped me chill out and stop beating myself up about mistakes I felt I'd made with DS1 (eg worrying that he is so clingy to me because he sensed I found playing with him as a baby very very boring). Er no, he is just a sensitive child, relax!

Well I'm probably still enjoying the babymoon but I have a 4 week old dd2 and a 2.4 year old dd1 and I love it! And I was terrified. And I found it really hard first time round. It felt like my life was over for ever, it was such a shock, in fact I had pnd, but this time it's mainly so much easier because you know that in a few weeks it'll be easier, and easier again a few weeks after that, and the early months go soo quickly that you have to relax, let the house go to hell, stuff the stupid routines and cuddle your baby as much as you can!

Now when I'm bathing dd2 or changing her nappy I wonder, why on earth was this such a big deal first time round?? I remember nappy changes took half an hour and seemed like such a big deal - but we are now fully-fledged parents! Good luck OP, you're going to love having a little baby to cuddle again and to sniff his/her head for that newborn smell!

The very best and most wonderful thing about having two is how they interact, there's nothing more heart-melting than seeing the two tiny people who you love most in the world giggling together, and when they hug and cuddle each other..... wow!

I usually collect TinyAnnie (2.5) from nursery first, then go on to get SmallAnnie(5) from after-school club. But today SmallAnnie was poorly so I got her first then took her with me to collect TinyAnnie.

We walked through the door, I got completely ignored of course, but TinyAnnie rushed over yelling "SmallAnnie! SmallAnnie!", gave her a huge hug, then paraded her across the nursery, declaring to all her friends, "this my SmallAnnie!" So cute!

It's a bit harder with two, but the baby part is easier, cos you know what you're doing this time, so it's more enjoyable. And you just get on with it. It's definitely worth it.

I'm due DC2 in 3weeks time and what is worrying me the most is going back to broken nights.

DD1 is 3.9 and if she wakes for the loo or anything in the night, I find it SO hard to go back off to sleep....I suppose the difference when the baby arrives is that I'll probably already be awake!

These stories have been nice to read, and have made me look forward to the positives, rather than just being hung up on being tired! Best of luck bumperlicious!

moomin - I was really worried about that but somehow I didn't find the broken nights (which were actually more broken than with dc1) anywhere near as hard as I remembered it being first tme around - I guess your body and mind are more primed this time around!
Now that dc2 is sleeping happily through the night (although not at the moment as she is poorly) I keep wondering how I coped when she was a little baby and I was sleeping so little and was actually studying hard for exams.. I guess what I mean is you will cope with what you have and do brilliantly! All the best