The image above is a page from a book I put together when my best friend and writing partner, Heather, had her second baby. I invited other recent second-time moms in our circle to submit their wisdom, and I assembled it together in a scrapbook. (This was a somewhat self-serving exercise, as I was just four months behind her with my second pregnancy.)

While Heather’s mom contributed some warm and fuzzy reflections on her memory of snuggling with her own baby and toddler (Heather) in a rocking chair, I knew that the real gems were the contributions that addressed the nitty-gritty details — the logistics — of managing two little monkeys. How the flip could one woman get two kids, both incapable of getting into the car themselves, out of the house?

Thankfully, our friends came to the rescue. Some of the input they shared answered questions we had, like, “How do you go to the park?” And some of the words simply offered grounding perspective. (See: Clean hair and shaved legs are highly overrated.)

Here is a taste of the book — a sweet second-time shower gift idea to make or request for yourself.

Note: I am not a scrapbooker. I hope my amateur use of the paper, stickers, and computer-printed quotes are not disappointing those of you who are.

The last page of the book had a note for the recipients to add a photo of the new brothers once they got settled. These little guys are five- and seven-years old now, and they’re both big brothers to Heather’s third son, born last year. So big, so fast is right!