April 19th, 2009
Written by: Julie Cole
One week today and my baby is going to be here. Is it just me or has this been the fastest pregnancy known to mama-kind? Usually it is only other women’s pregnancies that go quickly. I have now officially run out of time and it looks as though, among other things, I never will get around to having those pregnancy blood tests done.
I will, however, prep the Biggies on the arrival of their new sibling. I have never actually witnessed sibling jealousy in my household, particularly with regards to a new baby. Never has a nose been out of joint over a new arrival. Perhaps my kids don’t know how it feels to have an empire come crashing down since they’ve never really experienced having an empire.
Regardless, I’m covering my bases. I like the arrival of a new baby to be the celebration it should be and whether it’s baby #1 or baby #6, there are some things that never lose their novelty. There are a few tricks I have up the sleeve as a means of avoiding the reluctant sibling:
MAKE IT THEIR EVENT: the night before baby arrives (all c-sections, so no mystery around here), the Biggies make banners announcing “It’s a Boy” and “It’s a Girl” and blow up blue and pink balloons. When the news gets to them the next morning, they have a great time decorating the front of the house with the appropriate sign and balloons. Sharing news with the neighbours ranks high in their books.
FOCUS ON THEIR NEW ROLES: When the kids come to the hospital to meet the new baby, they are all donning shirts that brag about their new status. They wear their ‘Big Brother’ and ‘Big Sister’ t-shirts with great pride.
HAVE A GENEROUS BABY: I don’t know about you, but my babies don’t arrive into this world empty handed. They suck up to the older siblings with books, dvds and craft supplies. Babies who bring prezzies are instantly popular with Biggies.
LET THEM EAT CAKE: Our first day home from hospital becomes a birthday party for new baby, with cake and all. New baby equals cake consumption – no complaints from the Biggies about that.
SPREAD THE BABY LOVE AMONG THEIR FRIENDS: Nothing makes a Biggie more proud than gloating about the new babe. We do the “show and share” rounds for the school-aged kiddos when babe is about a week old. Biggie sits at front of class holding babe while friends gather around and have the opportunity to sneeze on new infant or poke new infant’s soft spot. All that germ sharing is worth it when you see the pride in Biggie’s face.
Check back on or after April 26th for the baby news. Please keep fingers crossed – I’m hoping to prove that six c-sections is not an unreasonable demand put on any one uterus!
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April 12th, 2009
Written by: Julie Cole
I am attempting the autopsy of my journey to NYC while nursing a hideous chocolate egg hang-over, so excuse any oversights or omissions. I have a sugar high and the creature invading my uterus is going bananas.
In a nutshell, the trip was fantastic. I created an itinerary packed with amazing activities all done at a reasonable pace for little girls and women who are eight-months pregnant. Do not plan a trip to NYC with your kids without e-mailing me for my tips. But, like any adventure there were lessons to be learned around every corner. Here are my few:
1) Leaving daddy-o at home? Bring a note!
The nice Customs Officer at the Toronto airport asked for a note. It suddenly occurred to me that there were actually TWO notes I should have had on hand – one from my doctor giving the OK to travel, and the other from daddy-o giving my permission to leave the country with his children. Of course, I had neither. I strategically held my carry-on bag over my baby guts, so figured I was going to have to do some quick thinking and fast talking about leaving the country with my girls. Although it is 2009, apparently Customs Officers expect mothers and children to have the same last name. Luckily when naming the children I predicted future travel issues so gave them all my last name as a middle name. Phew. I pointed that out to the Customs Officer who re-checked the passports and let us through. I would suggest that same last name or not, when traveling solo with the kiddos, have a note on hand to avoid any complications.
2) There is crap on the streets of NYC that kids will pick up and covet!
Every time I turned around, my six-year-old was playing with something shiny or putting a new barrette in her hair. Inevitably when asked the question, the response was “I found it on the street”. For any of you germ-phobia mamas, keep the hand sanitizer close by – the appeal of shiny things outweighed any concerns about the origins of street objects.
3) Don’t be so cocky as to think you are too smart, too feminist, too enlightened, too Canadian or too cheap to be able to visit the American Girl store and not buy as stupid doll.
Or in my case, two stupid dolls. Little girls transform into high pressure manipulation experts. I’m now convinced that if determined, my girls could convince the Pope to start doing lines of coke. Incidentally, a cocaine habit is likely less expensive than an American Girl habit.
I suppose the biggest lesson is that if you leave a three-year-old daughter at home, expect to catch some grief upon your return – especially if you neglect to bring home one of the stupid dolls for her. Don’t assume she’s too young to be clued into what went down. I’ll be paying the price for that one for a long time.
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