Does having a set of 'already launched' kids reasure you about the younger ones?
FWIW, I have two older children DD24 and DS20 in addition to DD5. I had thought that "this time around" would be easier, since I am older and wiser and can pretty much say BTDT to almost every situation. I thought I would be better prepared to handle the day-to-day stuff and not see emergencies and crisises where there were none. And I have to admit, that much is true. I am calmer and not so quick to panic with issues this time around.
But, in some ways, we got a big dose of reality dropped in our laps when DD5 came into our lives. It is as if we are doing this for the first time. She did not follow the plan I had in mind. :-)
I do have to say, I am in a better position (older and wiser) to make sure that her needs get met, and advocate if need be. Having two older ones is reasuring in that it allows me to "not be so tough on myself", since I have living proof that you can make some mistakes while your kids are growing up, and they still turn out to be responsible, caring, productive members of the family & society.
I sometimes feel I am stuck in the middle. An experienced parent with not much experience raising a PG child, who is parenting child number three who is being raised as if she were an only child. (do not know if that makes sense, but it felt right when I typed it) :-)
Jewels
