9 Weeks Out!

So, before I had Bailey I thought that first-time motherhood would be the end of freedom as I knew it. And, perhaps it was, but I didn't really notice it all that much. This time, I'm acutely aware of how much more difficult 2 kids will be. Now, I know it will be awesome, but I'm also preparing myself for a lot more chaos. The reality is that my 3-year-old will not automatically start being self-sufficient, take great naps, and give up temper tantrums and her sense of entitlement just because I'm having another baby.

On the flipside, I'm so very excited to see what a little boy will bring for us! It's going to be a whole new experience, for which I'm very thankful. Once I get over the hurdle of dealing with a pee-pee (the 7-year-old me says "GROSS!"), having a boy will be really cool. Since I grew up with 3 brothers, that's what I was used to before I had Bailey. But, for the past 3 years, I've been absorbed with PINK, and HAIR ACCESSORIES, and PLAY KITCHENS, and "PRECIOUS" CLOTHES! What a change it will be to focus on some different things (I hope!!!!!).

At 31 weeks pregnant, here are some things I've learned the 2nd time around:

1. You get bored after about 6 months. With a first baby, there's all the new and exciting chapters to read in your "What to Expect When You're Expecting" book, registries to coordinate, showers to fuss over, the room to deliberate over, and varied-angle pictures of your belly to take. With a 2nd baby, you might get out the "What to Expect" book, but you read straight through and realize you already know all you need to know (or are willing to find out - sometimes ignorance is bliss) and put it back on the shelf in Month 2. As for the registry and showers, you don't know whether it's kosher to ask for things since it's your 2nd baby. But, when your friends convince you that, yes, you need a registry if only for those family members that will buy you a little something something, you go online (why waste time going into the store) and pick out a few things and call it a day. And, that brings us to the room. If you're like me, the room is really important, but you just don't have the same energy as you did with the first. So, the decisions are easier, the painting job a little less meticulous and the overall product just shy of perfect. I won't even address the belly pictures, because it goes without saying that pictures of yourself at this point just aren't your favorite things in the world. :-)

2. As if to illustrate the meaning behind the previous sentence....your belly gets bigger the 2nd time. You start out about the same, and may even gain about the same amount of weight, but your belly will be bigger. I feel as though I'm as big right now as I was when Bailey was born...maybe I'm really not, but perception is reality, right?! I told a friend recently that I'll be okay until some stranger asks me if I'm having twins. At that point, I might snap and go postal...who knows?

To be continued....