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http://www.nickmom.com/more-lols/how-you-handle-first-second-and-third-child-milestones/

Jasper is getting the benefits of being the second and the first. Benjamin kicked a bunch of the new off of me as a mom. Not to say that I’m not completely smitten with both my babies but what happened changed me…a lot.

Benjamin taught me 3 importan
t lessons that I take with me every day, everywhere. Perfection is futile. Nothing is a sure bet. Treasure every second.

It sounds 2/3 nihilistic but it’s not. He’s made me a way more chill and loving parent.

I do everything within my power to keep Jasper healthy, safe, educated, and make sure he feels loved. Doing it all “perfect” (babyproofing, for example) isn’t going to keep him out of trouble.

It’s not going to keep him from launching himself, head first, out of the crib/off the bed/across the couch the first opportunity he gets. Despite the fact that we babyproofed the cabinet under the sink he STILL managed to get a dishwasher pod in his mouth (but it didn’t burst!)

While I miss him being a tiny cuddly baby sometimes, I relish his blossoming independence and his growing understanding of things. I want him to learn about the world and how to make good choices. You have to bump your head sometimes to do it. We took a pretty hard knock, ourselves.

With Benjamin I wanted him to have lots of wooden toys and all organic bedding and a montessori bedroom and cloth diapers and all natural homemade food. I was so happy Jasper was alive, I couldn’t wait to introduce him to pizza, green beans, baseball, finger paint, puppies, skinned knees, and his Mommy’s magical boo-boo kissing powers.