With only 12ish more days to go in this pregnancy, I am getting a little anxious. But rather than complain, I wanted to post a few things I am a little sad about. I realized today that this is the last 2 weeks of the Babe being an only child. Which some would say is a good thing, but I realize that after this new one comes I will no longer be able to give him my undivided attention all the time. I will no longer be able to think only about what we are going to do with him all the time. My thoughts and time will be split between 2 children. Of course I've heard how other mothers don't understand how they can love the 2nd child as much as the first only to realize after the birth that they can. But not being to the 'after the birth' part of that I still don't understand. And the poor Babe has no idea what he's in for. I mean sure we've told him that mommy is going to have a baby and he'll be a big brother. But he doesn't understand what that really means.
The other thing I realized is he will now have to share everything. Today I was cleaning out a cupboard that was a mess full of the Babe's sippy cups and old bottles. I threw out a bunch of junk but then decided to use half the cupboard for the new baby and the other half for the Babe's stuff. This is just one example of things he'll have to share. Now I'm not against him learning to share but I feel for the poor kid.
On the brighter side, he will have a sister; and anyone who has a sibling knows that there forms a relationship that can only form by living with another person and growing up together. It's unique in that you develop memories together and the memories you chose to remember differ by personality. There are always situations that are funnier or sadder or happier because of some experience you had together with your sibling. This may not be the case in all families but I think in most. My brothers have memories of my birth (or lack of because they were sent outside) and perhaps the Babe will have memories of his sister being born.
As a child, nobody ever told me that the best part about parenting is watching your children grow. I think the new baby will help the Babe grow from a baby to a boy and I'm excited to see that happen.
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It's amazing seeing how the first one copes with the arrival of the second. Every child is different and you can't predict what will happen - and to be honest I don't think you can influence it that much other. It comes down to personality types. One thing I did do was get Firstborn a dolly with all the accessories (bottle etc) so that when I was nursing she would sit next to me and nurse her dolly, and so wouldn't feel left out. I also read somewhere that you should sort out the toddler first before doing anything with the baby that is going to take a bit of time, so I always made sure Firstborn had juice and a snack before the nursing or nappy changing commenced - less painful for everyone in the long run.
You'll be fine, and you'll all adapt. Some children hate having a sibling and some love it, but however they behave at first, it gets better with time and as the age gap narrows.
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