Oh Baby!

“Siblings are the people we practice on, the people who teach us about fairness and cooperation and kindness and caring – quite often the hard way.”   –Pamela Dugdale

My sister Deb is three years younger than me. She is one of my best friends…now. But, when she came home from the hospital, I was foursquare against giving up my rightful place as the only girl. One afternoon, my grandmother was holding sweet little innocent newborn Deb and I said, “Granna, put that dumb baby DOWN!” Fortunately, the rivalry was short-lived and Deb and I ended up being favorite playmates and shared a room until I left for college. (Of course, my grandmother insisted on retelling that story to her friends every time I came for a visit.)

My parents could have benefited from the Community Hospital class I took with my kids this week: “Siblings class.” It’s a ‘what to expect when your mom brings that little interloper home from the hospital’ class designed for the new baby’s brothers and sisters.

I have four children. My older boys, ages 10 and 12, were not too excited about going to the class. I promised them that they would not have to change any diapers and we’d get pizza in the hospital cafeteria afterwards. My younger kids, ages 8 and 6, were looking forward to the class. Especially my daughter, Claire, the 6-year-old, because she WAS hoping to change a diaper!

The siblings class is a wonderful, one-hour introduction to life after a baby comes home. There are several ‘stations’ set up that teach older siblings how to keep their hands clean (thanks to glow in the dark sparkle hand gel and a device called ‘Mr. Germ’), how to diaper a baby and how to buckle a newborn into a car seat. They also learn how they can contribute by being the ‘big helper’ around the house, and there is even a small library with books about new babies that families can read together. The kids watch a short video about what will happen to mom while she in the hospital and then the entire family gets to tour the maternity floor and peek into the nursery windows.

Although my older kids had their doubts, the siblings class turned out to be a fun way for our entire family to get ready to welcome our newest member.

What’s happening to baby this week?
*Baby now weighs almost five-and-a-half pounds.
*Most babies will now be head down (the traditional birthing position). Less than 5 percent of babies are breech (bottom down).
*Many parents begin narrowing their list of baby names now. Keep in mind that while a unique spelling or name may sound interesting now, your baby will have this name for the rest of their life. Some parents wait until their baby is born to name them in order to see if the name will ‘fit’ their baby.

What’s happening with ME this week?
*I am amazed that after finally being free of a diaper bag, wipes and the need to buckle children in their seats, I am entering the world of babies once again.
*My children suddenly seem very grown up and tall.
*I am getting excited to have a new little one, even though it will be chaotic.

Community Health Network’s siblings class can help you prepare your other children for baby’s arrival. Click here to register!

Let’s hear from you!
If you have other children at home, what are some successful ways you have prepared them for a new sibling?

“Writing is like driving a car at night. You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” –E. L. Doctorow

Of all the good things I did during each of my pregnancies (diet, exercise, vitamins, etc.), there is one thing of which I am most proud: I’ve always kept a pregnancy journal. This is quite the accomplishment, because I get panicked looking at a blank page. But with each pregnancy I forced myself to put pen to paper and keep an account of my progress. Nothing noteworthy or profound, simply a short page here and there, whenever I found the time; I tried to document the growth and changes of each of my children before they were born. (Past journals have proven invaluable for easing my constant neuroses and worrying…I look back through my past pregnancies and discover, “Why YES! I was a weepy mess with THAT pregnancy as well!”)

Surprisingly, with this pregnancy, journaling has been getting easier…because moving my body is becoming harder. I used to be an avid exerciser. I would work out almost daily, even if all I could accomplish was just a 30-minute walk. However, I was most happy when I finished a back-to-back kickboxing class followed by weight training. These days, I am happy when I can climb up to my bedroom at night without a two-minute pause on the landing halfway up. My 30-minute walks have turned into laborious quests to the mailbox at the end of the driveway, and resistance training means doing Kegels while I am in the carpool line.

So now, while I elevate my swollen ankles on the couch, I grab my journal and pen and begin writing. Things like, “I’m lying on the couch elevating my swollen ankles,” and other such Pulitzer Prize-winning thoughts. I talk about my doctor’s appointments, my fears about labor, my crazy middle-of-the-night dreams that make no sense. My journal is filled with the hopes and joys (and fears and worries) that every expectant mother experiences. It also contains pages and pages of detailed notes of each kick and twist of the increasingly large bump in my belly.

But the most wonderful aspect of journaling is that now, when my children ask me what they were like inside of me, I can open their journal and read to them; that even then, I could tell what kind of personality they would have. Most often they snuggle tighter to me, and ask me to read it to them again.

What’s happening to baby this week?
*Baby now weighs almost five pounds.
*Baby’s lungs have been developing since the fourth month and with the exception of the air sacs, are now mature enough to breathe air.
*The first breath will be five times more difficult than an ordinary breath. Similar to the effort it takes to blow up a flat balloon.

What’s happening with ME this week?
*Catching my OWN breath is difficult; I have to take frequent breaks to sit down otherwise I feel faint.
*Turning over in bed is becoming increasingly difficult.
*I still worry over the health and safety of my baby and breathe a sigh of relief each time I feel her move or kick.

Become a myCommunity member and set up your own SharingSite page to document your pregnancy and share baby photos with loved ones.

Let’s hear from you!
What is your favorite way to document your pregnancy and child’s birth?