At 24 weeks, I’m still feeling good but looking bigger! The
baby weighs a little more than a pound and is kicking up a storm, getting more
active and itching for more room each day. He can also hear the sounds and
voices around him, which means he will definitely be more than familiar with
his chatty older brother when he arrives.
We have been talking to toddler B about his new little
brother, and reading stories that we hope will help him adjust to life with a
new baby. Aside from his reaction during our gender reveal party, (when we
asked him if he was excited about a new brother he yelled, “no!”) he has shown
a lot of excitement and interest in the new addition, and he’s definitely
noticed my changing belly.
Toddler B has always been talkative, and never at a loss for
words. Sometimes he takes me by surprise. One evening, in an attempt to stall
during bedtime, he called me into his room and said, “I want to say goodnight
to the baby.” He proceeded to touch my belly and tell me babies take nine
months to grow, quoting a book we read that night. Overcome by adorableness, I
have now been duped into letting him stall whenever he wants, because now he
knows he will have success being so sweet.
B showed another surprising side recently when I was trying
to decide what to wear to a formal event and all but 2 of my dresses no longer
zipped. As I shimmied into a form-fitting but stretchy evening gown, I walked
into the bathroom bracing myself for what I was about to see in the mirror when
all of the sudden I heard a small voice say, “mommy you look beautiful!” He was
beaming, and ran over to give me a hug. I didn’t even need to look in the
mirror. I wore the dress.
Unfortunately, not all of B’s observations are so sweet. More
like sweet and sour. One day walking home from the park we passed a woman
pushing a stroller so I pointed it out and said, “did you see the baby?” B put
it together right away. He made me stop and touched my belly and sweetly said,
“there’s a baby in there.” My heart melted! For a second…
Then, he walked around to my backside and said, “there’s
another baby in there!”
You’ve got to appreciate the naiveté and brutal honesty of a
toddler. It keeps you humble.
