So I was thinking maybe people were tired of my blog, but today I got a topic “request” (thanks Jessica!).
I think I mentioned in an earlier blog entry that we didn’t tell Caitlyn she was going to be a big sister before Sue was born. Caitlyn was only 15 1/2 months old when she became a big sissy, so it didn’t seem necessary. We just went and had the baby, then daddy brought her up to the birthing center. Here is a picture from that first meeting between the girls:
She cared more about the balloon and apparently the baby’s feet than who that was in there…
But this time the girls are 3 1/2 and 2, so it seemed like we should tell them; I had thought we would wait longer so it didn’t seem so far away to them, but people were starting to ask them if they were excited for the baby, and frankly, I was getting excited about telling Caitlyn, so we decided after the ultrasound to break the news. I got a book from Borders that I remembered reading as a child, The Berenstain Bears’ New Baby. (Did you know that was published in 1974!) Saturday night, for our night-night book I got that out and daddy got the video camera.
First we read the story, then we talked about new babies. I asked them if they would like a new baby (glad the answer was yes), Caitlyn declared “everyone would enjoy it, but there is no bed for it.” So we talked about the baby could sleep in the cradle Sue used to sleep in (Caitlyn said Sue was boring). Caitlyn first declared we should get a girl baby, a sister, but then decided we should get a baby and a sister (mama stopped that thought).
I asked Caitlyn if mommy’s belly was getting bigger, she said yes. “Why is mommy’s belly growing bigger?” mama said, Caitlyn said, because you have a baby in there. Then I showed them the ultrasound pictures. Sue said, “that’s silly.” And laughed a few times. We talked about it being a long time til the baby came, not until summer time near Caitlyn’s birthday. Sue’s reaction was to pat my shirt and say “baby nurse.” Maybe she will be okay with sharing mama! (okay, you mom’s out there, let me hold on to the dream til it is shattered by reality)
The girls have been really cute, telling people about the baby. I had a midwife appointment this week and when I got home Caitlyn said, “where’s the baby?” I explained the baby was still too little. Then she said, “Mommy’s belly is getting REALLY big.”
Lovely. Thanks kid!
It was really fun to tell the girls and has been fun to talk to them about it since. Now, let’s see how many times I get asked in the next 20 weeks, “Is the baby coming yet?” “When is the baby coming???”
Survive til you Thrive! 
2 responses to “The big announcement, kid style”