Twenty-two months ago I looked like this. I am not hiding a large basketball under my shirt.And today I look like this:
I am being forced to come up with creative ways to blog with pictures since I haven't located the camera cord. Truthfully I do look pretty close to the picture, just with a little less limp-noodle arms. Some days I feel huge and other days I feel like my stomach is pretty small. As I think about the impending months, I have to admit I am feeling a little bit like a first-timer in many ways. The adjustment from 0 to 1 baby was pretty rough for me.
Things I am nervous about with another baby:
1. Giving up sleep
2. Breastfeeding
3. Giving birth (I have not actually given regular birth, remember?)
4. Trying to coordinate schedules with a new baby and Will
5. Interrupting our current routine that is actually pretty easy, most days.
6. Basically the first two months of having a newborn
Will is not a baby anymore. He's a 21-month old toddler who walks, runs, and talks. He is pretty independent and can do a lot of things by himself. He's at least 35 inches tall and 30 pounds heavy (I haven't measured or weighed him in a while.) Basically I have forgotten a lot of how to take care of a newborn. And my next child will be a unique individual with his own preferences. So while it's not completely unknown, like it was with my first, it's still a little nervewracking. Maybe some of the other moms out there with more than one child can lend some comfort?
12 comments:
I'm not a mom, nor do I have more than one kid, but I can offer some comfort:
You look MUCH smaller in the 2nd picture than in the first.
i hope you find your camera cord soon. i love prego belly pics. they are always so cute! glad aaron has a bike to ride to school. i've played the no car game before- it is no fun! as far as having another baby, you will be totally fine. will it be hard? sure- but having a newborn is always hard. cole is 5 months old and i still think it's hard. but that's just babies. you will love it and you will love seeing will play with him. it will take some adjusting and flexibility, but you will be great at it!
I agree with Sunnie--doesn't matter if it is your first or your fourth (I can't speak with authority past that point) having a newborn is tough. You'll do great though. I will say that it took me until #4 to really appreciate how special and SHORT that newborn time is. I feel like I did it right with Mads and wish I could re-do the other 3, rewind them all back to newborns so I can just enjoy it. There is nothing like watching your kids interact (nicely!). You will love it.
I just started this motherhood game, but I'm sure you have nothing to worry about Heidi. Will has turned out pretty great so far and he was your "guinea pig" baby. So if you've managed to do so well with him without any previous experience you shouldn't even doubt yourself for this next baby.
I also found baby number one pretty difficult since it was a complete change of lifestyle and he was a fussy baby. So baby number two wasn't nearly such a shock but still challenging in his own way. It will just depend a lot on the personality of your baby; in other words, it's completely unpredictable. Isn't that reassuring?
The only thing that you can expect for sure is that you cannot predict what to expect and yes, you will be fine. You'll plug away and figure it all out day by day by day. My mantra in the hard times "this too shall pass." It really does help me when I say that- you know when you are ehausted beyond belief . . . it helps to remember that it is only a temporary phase. You will be great, Will will love having a brother and Aaron will be great too.
So I was pretty nervous too, but I have to say, it was so much easier for me anyway, to take care of the new born the 2nd time. I enjoyed it a lot more, and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I adjusted to the sleepless nights a lot faster and it wasn't that hard taking care of the 2 kids during the day. The hard part for me was cleaning house, and going anywhere, but you get used to that too. Don't worry, you'll be fine!
Just wanted to say I like the box of Cinnamon Life in the background of your old apartment. And, as I mentioned to you last night, I am nervous about all those things as well, even though it's my 5th.
loooovin this!!
I think you will do great. It is an adjustment but so much is a lot easier the second time around. And Will seems like a pretty chill little boy so I bet he'll do great with the new little one, too! Can't wait to meet the little guy!
You do look like you have a basketball under there, a cute basketball. I've always thought you made such a cute pregnant woman.
I'm still struggling with one, so I don't have any advice. But I can give reassurance. I think you'll do just fine, with all of the above. :)
No profound advice, but I will say that one of the great joys of parenting is to watch your kids become friends. Of course it takes a year or so before the younger one can start interacting with the older one.
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