I would have to echo pope04's sentiments. Our first one was a girl and she was inseparable from her mom for her first 2 years, which was hard on both of us. We found her to be a real challenge, and when I think back to those 2 years, sometimes I am surprised that we decided to have a second. But not having that second child would have been the biggest mistake of my life. My parenting experience with our second child has been completely different experience. Part of it may be that he is a boy, but he also has a totally different personality from our first. I wouldn't say that he prefers me over mom (who is still more the primary caregiver), but most of the time I am just as good. My daughter would rarely accept cuddles from me or let me put her to bed, my son has always lapped up my attention. Surprisingly, my relationship with my daughter has gotten closer since my son was born.
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