It’s a boy! My second child, James Scot, was born March 21 and measured 9 pounds, 21 inches.

Since we’ve been home from the maternity ward, I’ve learned a few new things about mothering. First, nothing makes your older child grow up faster than having a baby. When I left for the hospital at 8 a.m., my first-born son was a baby in my eyes. When he came to visit me and his new brother in the hospital a few hours later, he looked so big that I swore he was going to sprout facial hair and ask for the keys to my car.

It made me realize that only 2 1/2 years earlier, he had been a newborn in my arms. Almost instantly, he seemed to have changed into a boy. Realistically, I know he’d been growing day by day, but it took the sharp contrast between him and the baby to notice how much he’d matured. Looking forward, I want to treasure each moment of my children’s fleeting childhoods. I want to spend less time scrubbing my floors and more time rolling around on them with my kids.

The second thing I’ve learned is that spur-of-the-moment trips are a thing of the past—at least for a little while. Even if you’re proficient at grabbing a sippy cup in one hand, a diaper and wipes in the other and loading a child into a car seat, a newborn has a way of slowing down life. Babies demand that you operate on their schedules.

A few days after arriving home with James, my husband and I foolishly thought we’d take the boys for a “quick trip” to Grandma’s house—like we had a thousand times when we had only one child. We started getting the boys ready at 9 a.m. I changed the baby while my husband dressed our older son. Four diapers, a meal and two nursing sessions later, we got in the car. It was 12:30 p.m. My husband and I were so exhausted by the ordeal that we drove around the block, then went home for a nap.

Finally, I’ve learned that second-time moms have silly questions, too. First-time moms are expected and encouraged to ask their pediatricians hundreds of questions. By the time they have a second child, they’re expected to know everything. Truth be told, most moms were so sleep-deprived on the first go-around that they can’t remember whether Similac is for the bottle or for diaper rash.

My first son had colic, therefore I thought that inconsolable crying and waking every hour were normal. So when James only woke up once to eat on his third night at home, I panicked, called the pediatrician, and asked if my baby was failing to thrive. She laughed and told me to enjoy the sleep.

I’m taking her advice.

‹ Shasta Clark is a St. Clairsville native who lives in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, with her husband and two sons. Her e-mail address is clarkshasta@hotmail.com.