I have two children, one of them is four and the other one is 18 months. Ari, the four year old, is my first born. I wrote down every milestone, I waited with baited breath for him to talk and walk and eat solid food. Then came his sister, Samara. One day I noticed Samara was sitting up How could that be? She was just born. And just like that, she was crawling, and saying mama, and I hadn’t written any of it down, and she didn’t even have a baby book. Oy! You get the point.
Well, here’s the best part of the whole thing. I made huge efforts for Ari to have friends. Since he was nine months old, I went to the library, I hung out at the playground, and I mom dated. I sifted through the sea of Park Slope moms, and found some people that I actually liked, and who liked me. Ari found some kids who he didn’t hit very often, and liked to play with on the playground and at their houses.
Samara, on the other hand, doesn’t have any friends. Wait, wait, hold on, that’s not entirely true. She does occasionally hang out with Ollie’s sister, Ivy, who is 14 months. And my friend Jen’s son, Jonathan who will be two imminently. But she doesn’t have friends that she hangs out with on a consistent basis. She doesn’t have a playgroup, like Ari had.
Part of the issue is me. I’m overwhelmed. I try to befriend other moms on the playground that have 18 month olds, but my attention is divided. Ari wants me to play with him, or Samara is sticking her hand in the garbage.
The other issue is (and maybe I’m just being paranoid) but it seems like the only parents who are interested in being friends with me are the ones that have two kids! The moms that have one kid don’t seem to care about getting to know me at all. It’s like we’re speed dating and they’ve clicked bell as soon as they see me. Yikes!
I promise, I’m fun to hang out with parents of one child!
The point is Samara needs friends, and damn it, I’m gonna get her some!
Is it just me? Does anyone else with multiple children have this issue?