Something that has been really fun for us as a family lately is to look at our three year old son's baby pictures! When I found out I was pregnant I pulled them out just to remind myself of what it was like to have a baby. I pulled them out again when everyone was asking if I looked the same this time as when I was pregnant with my first. We just recently got them out one more time to start showing Graham what a baby will look like.
I think that for very young children it is helpful if they are able to relate what they are hearing and seeing. It may not be possible for you to have a real baby on hand to show to your child, but the thing that most of us should have are pictures! If you just so happen to not have any pictures of your first child then browsing the Internet could be a great place to start as well. I receive email updates every week that shows an illustration of what my baby looks like (size, length, etc). I have been showing these pictures to Graham so that he can have a more visual idea of what is going on with his brother who is "growing in mom's belly."
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Unless you are planning on a home birth, you are going to be looking at about a 2 day stay in the hospital depending upon what happens after birth. What does this mean for your child at home? If you haven't started thinking about it yet, it is time to prepare your child for an overnight stay some where other than home.
This had to be one of the most scary thoughts for me about preparing Graham for the birth of his brother. At three years old, Graham had never slept anywhere away from us. I knew that we had to practice before the time came so that we all could be prepared. Luckily, my mother and father live in the same town and have a close relationship with Graham. They were great to let us practice a sleepover so that we would feel more comfortable when the day of the birth came. If you are not fortunate enough to have family members close to you, you may want to consider these options:
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When you find out you are pregnant you are immediately overwhelmed with emotions. It was no different the second time around for me. I think it may have been even more emotional because I was thinking about the fact that I also had a 3 year old who would be in on this life changing event. Instantly, I began to think of how we could make this transition smooth and when would be the best time to start.
Most women wait until they are about 12 weeks until they start spreading the wonderful news of a new arrival. For me, it was around 10 weeks when we had our first ultrasound. The problem was that I was already starting to show and I knew that friends and family members would soon come to their own conclusions! Up until this point we did not discuss the pregnancy with Graham because we knew that he would be eager to talk about it at church or with friends and family members. Once we had the ultrasound and made sure to tell the people we wanted to know first hand, we sat down and told Graham.
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With baby number two on the way I have had so many different questions running through my mind. This time the questions have been more about how to prepare my three year old son than what will it be like to have a newborn. I also wonder what it will be like having two children at home. Every phase of life brings new joys and trials and I am thankful that I have the opportunity to experience them. Because of all of the things we have been going through trying to prepare our son Graham, I thought this would be helpful information to share with readers.
Over the next few weeks I am going to relay to you what has been going on in our lives during the past few months of this pregnancy. In particular, I want to give you some tips that have been working to help prepare our son for what is to come. As soon as we started letting people know about the pregnancy, we started preparing Graham. It has been fun to talk to him about his new brother and what he can likely expect.
I know that there have to be other expecting moms out there asking the same questions and coming up with solutions. Here's where you come in...
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Can you tell which of these high chairs is 32 years old?
Right after I was born my Great Aunt Edythe gave my parents a Stokke TRIPP TRAPP high chair as a baby gift. Now, 32 years later, it's still going strong. The cool thing about TRIPP TRAPP chairs is that they "grow" with you. Simply by moving the wooden slats around, the chair works for 6 month old babies and 300 pound adults. Check out the Stokke website for a demo. (The woman featured does not weigh 300 pounds, but still!)
My parents loved the chair so much they gave it to at least two of my little cousins. My Aunt Marjorie still has my cousin Michael's Tripp Trapp from 27-ish years ago and it's in perfect condition.
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My husband and I have polar opposite feet. Mine are super long, narrow, completely flat, and my toes are out of order size-wise. Full disclosure - my second toe is as long as some people's pinkie fingers. My husband's feet have high arches, orderly toes, and are candidates for a modeling job.
Almost every day I find myself wondering whose feet will our little lady have? Will we know right from the beginning?
And then I wonder, will our little lady actually be a little lady? We had two ultrasounds and both technicians said girl definitely. But I just don't quite believe it. Over the past few months I've heard more stories of couples told they are *definitely* having girls and then receive the "It's a boy announcement!" in the delivery room. I suppose I'll believe it when I see it.
The baby seems move around a lot starting at 11 p.m. Does that mean she's going to be a night owl like my husband? Back in the day when I could sleep normally I typically hit sack around 9 p.m.
Will she be friendly or shy?
Will she have blue eyes or brown?
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Over the years I've received tons of encouragement and advice from family and friends as I've approached life's major milestones.
"You're going to have a ball no matter where you get into college."
"You will find a job you love - it just might take a few tries."
"The next guy you meet will probably not mysteriously elope."
"Buying a house is more than an investment, you need a place to live."
"Ultimately, no one cares if they are invited to your wedding. Stop worrying about the guest list."
But as I've started to talk to people about finding a good day care situation come the Fall, let's just say the positive energy is hard to come by. From all reports, finding child care that both you and your partner are comfortable with is tough. And just the research process itself is causing me tremendous anxiety.
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For the past decade or so, my cousins, aunts, and I have gotten together for our annual Dead Mothers Club (DMC) dinner on Mother's Day. When my mom was still alive, we would drive to the designated restaurant together and talk endlessly about my two grandmothers, both of whom passed away when I was in college, and how much we missed them.
In the early years of the DMC, before I was formally initiated, I would look around the table at my family and wonder how these women, including my own mom, could laugh so much when someone so important was missing in their lives.
I remember at one point asking my cousin Judy how she felt, and she explained that Mother's Day was also a day to celebrate being a mom.
My mom's been gone for nearly five years and I "talk" to her all the time, but holidays definitely make me take a step back and think about all the events that have happened over the past few years and how I hope that somehow she knows what's been going on. It's amazing, but as they say, the world does keep on turning.
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