When my first daughter Amelia was born, I didn't know what had hit me.  My whole life was turned upside down and learning to be a mum was a daunting experience.  Pregnant with number two, everyone was telling me that second babies are easier, but still I looked at mums with two kids and thought 'How do you cope?'.  The answer simply is that you have to!

During my first pregnancy I was commuting for three hours a day and working at a demanding and stressful job, but it was still easy compared to running around after an energetic two year old when you're feeling sick, tired, and HUGE.  There's no putting your feet up and idly dreaming of baby names second time around, though this also means there's less time to stress over every little niggle and tie yourself in knots worrying if everything's ok or if labour's really as bad as you fear.  It's much easier to forget about being pregnant, especially during the second trimester, so those long nine months seem to pass more quickly. 

I think with anything, knowing you've done it before and survived helps you to stay relaxed.  That's really true with parenting a newborn.  I vividly remember when Amelia was tiny thinking that I'd never sleep again and that I might die from exhaustion.  I didn't die from exhaustion, and EVENTUALLY she started to sleep better.  Sleepless nights haven't been such a struggle second time round, not because Jocelyn sleeps any better than her sister but because I knew it would pass all too quickly and so just went along with it; following my instincts, ignoring well meant advice, and just enjoying those night time snuggles. 

A wonderful mum of seven that I know has a mantra which is the most important piece of parenting advice I think anyone has ever given; "this too shall pass".  In reality parenting your second (or seventh) baby is no easier than parenting your first, but what is different is perspective.  Everything feels easier because I know that whatever tricky phase I'm in at the moment, in a few months I'll be looking back fondly and wondering where the time has gone.