[0-Year-Old Parenting Diary] Our second child has been born! Life as a family of four begins

Hello! This is Haruaki Papa.

The other day, our second child was born!!!
Both mother and baby are healthy, and our new life as a family of four has finally begun.

Our eldest daughter, Haru-chan, was eagerly awaiting the baby's arrival and looks so happy every day.
From now on, while enjoying the days spent with our two children,
I hope to continue writing on note at a pace that isn't too demanding.

Life as a family of four, start!

For now, we are getting by without any major trouble.
With our first child, it was our first baby and our first time parenting,
so we were confused by everything and panicked every day, but
with the second child,

“The baby is sooooo cute!!!”

I have the composure to repeat that every day. lol

Even when a “triple poop” occurred—pooping the moment I changed the diaper, and then again the moment I changed it again—,

“Ahahaha! lol It happens, right?! It's a common thing!”

I was able to handle it while laughing,
so I'm able to parent with composure. lol

Since life raising two children has started in earnest,
the frequency of creating and posting note articles might drop compared to before, but
I hope to enjoy creating articles when I can,
without pushing myself too hard!

The birth was once again a “planned painless delivery”

The birth of our second child, like our first, was a “planned painless delivery.”
While this was my second time experiencing childbirth,
the preparations while having our first child,
and the movements from the day before to the day of the birth were new experiences,
so I went through a lot of trial and error, made a plan, and put it into practice.

I would like to summarize those in a separate article.
I hope to share information that might be even a little helpful
to other moms and dads who are expecting their second child!

This time, I am taking a “one-year” childcare leave

With our first child, I took six months of childcare leave.
This time, I am taking it for one year.

Our first child was born four years ago. It was around the time that
paternity leave was gradually becoming more common,
but even then, taking six months off was considered
“relatively long”
based on the reactions of those around me at the time.

This time, I will be taking twice as long, a one-year parental leave.

Regarding taking parental leave and its duration, for both our first and second child,
I would like to write an article on another occasion about what my thoughts were,
how the process unfolded, and what kind of preparations I made to take it—
I plan to summarize those details in a future post.

Because there is no 'correct answer' to parental leave

Regarding taking parental leave and its duration,
I believe there is absolutely no single correct answer.
I feel it is necessary to consider various factors,
such as family environment, the role one plays at work, company policies,
and above all, the individual's own wishes,
while balancing them all.

How I thought about these things and decided on taking leave and its duration—
I hope to share the process and my reasoning as a reference.

I would be happy if you could take a look once those articles are written!

Thank you for reading this far!