With This Baby

I have been thinking about the differences with this pregnancy and the last one. When a person is pregnant the first time, it is easy to get wrapped up in thoughts, feelings, and movements of the baby. Everything else (big or small) takes a back seat. Besides the emotional and physical aspects, there is so much preparation, shopping, and getting the nursery set-up.

The second pregnancy is much different. I have been through this all before. My bodily changes are not new and neither are the baby’s movements. Plus, the nursery is set-up and we basically have everything we NEED. So far, I have bought boy clothes and an old fashioned rocking chair, which I have been wanting since I was pregnant with Lexi. There are a few things I want/plan to get like this tandem jogging stroller, a bottle of gripe water, and blue pacifiers. When I think back to my preparations last time, there are some purchases I would have changed. Instead of getting the entire matching set of baby stuff from Graco (stroller, carrier, pack-n-play, swing, high chair, & diaper bag), I would have nixed the swing (likes it more now than she did as an infant), bought a stylish diaper bag, and gone with Combi for the stroller/carrier. I probably had more fun shopping for the matching stuff though.

During this pregnancy, I feel like I am mostly working on preparing Lexi for the transition. I will be using the next few months to get her used to a toddler bed, potty trained (hopefully), and being a tad more independent. She has already made big steps in becoming more comfortable with me holding babies. When we first got to Texas, I held my friend’s baby in a carrier (not so snuggly) & Lexi began screaming like an insanely jealous person. Now, I can hold and comfort the baby without it bothering her. Hopefully, by December, she will even be excited to have one around full time.

Of course, the new baby is always in the back of my mind, but it isn’t my main focus. Sometimes, I wonder if I should feel guilty about that, but I have too many things dividing my attention. It is just the fate of the non-oldest kids.