Tuesday, April 8, 2008

First Baby Syndrome

The biggest problem that I have encountered with my fourth child is that he didn't get the memo that he is not the first baby! For those of you who only have one child or who are expecting your first baby, you may encounter what I like to call the "first baby syndrome". Simply put, this means that your baby will expect to be held almost every waking moment and since you will only have your one precious bundle of joy, you will gladly accommodate this need. "First baby syndrome" isn't that bad, as long as you don't want anyone else to hold your baby or get anything else done in your house for a few months. I remember how I loved to hold my first son all the time. Of course, my parents also contributed to the problem by also holding my son constantly, but that was okay because he was there first grand baby.
You can always spot new "first baby" parents, they are the ones who buy EVERYTHING for their baby. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but there are some baby products that a seasoned mom would never waste their time on. But when a baby and their parents have "first baby syndrome", every cute, but pretty much useless, piece of baby gear is deemed a necessity.
The downside of "first baby syndrome" is that eventually most new parents have second and third babies. I just had my fourth son, and while I didn't have problems with"first baby syndrome" with my middle two sons, my fourth son has decided that he is the first baby. He wants to be held all the time, which tends to be a problem when you also have a two and four year old. I have to admit that I have also fallen into the "first baby syndrome", too. I think it is because I know he will be my last baby, but I find myself drawn to all the useless baby gear that I would never have thought twice about getting with my middle two.
So to all the new parents out there, BE WARNED, you too could have a baby with "first baby syndrome". Of course, there is nothing you can do to stop it because how can any parent not want to spoil their first, or even fourth, baby!!