I look like a bad actor portraying a pregnant woman.
Obviously all this has not gone unnoticed by Anna. So the question is, how is she coping with the idea of being bumped along the food chain?
For months, apart from sporting her own phantom pregnancy, she really couldn't have cared less. In fact she could hardly be engaged on the subject. The first I heard of it was when one of her little school friends went crying to her Mum saying that Anna's Mom was going to have a baby sister and that she wanted one too. I was completely gobsmacked that Anna was even thinking about creature #2 let alone bragging. Things have changed though, and her baby sister is literally in her face. Nose to distended navel. We like to talk about how much work baby #2 is going to be, and how Anna will be my 'big helper'. She is assisting me in 'decorating' the baby's room which is beginning to take shape (although as you can tell by the photos below - we still need to paint). We bought a lovely changing table/dresser on Craigslist last weekend which Anna covered liberally in sea glass. How baby friendly! We have also unearthed all of Anna's old baby toys.
Now, several people have told me that when a new baby arrives your older child will regress in some way. Some will revert to toddler-style temper tantrums, others will lose ground with potty training (please God, no). Anna is embracing her babyhood. The arrival of all her old baby toys means that's all she wants to play with. She's even started to demand we watch her old 'Baby Einstein' DVDs again. We draw the line when she starts 'pretending' to be a baby. Lying on her back waving her limbs in the air talking gibberish. It's laughably transparent. "Look! We don't need to introduce a new baby - I can be all the baby you'll ever need!".
We're trying to let her know that we loved her when she was an infant, but we love her even more now - now that she's a big girl and so accomplished. We try to emphasize all the things she's capable of that 'Fahan' won't be able to do, like helping to bake cookies, running through puddles, and drawing monsters - all the important stuff. It doesn't seem to be working though.
Anyone have any advice or suggestions in this area? So far we're humouring her, I assume it's a phase that she'll just work her way through, but right now I'm wondering just how far this regression is going to go.
3 comments:
Oh yes. Wynnie regressed, played with her old baby toys, sat in the bouncy seat we brought from the basement, wanted to be in the crib, etc. It took her a good 4 months after Mack was born to cope. She was a good little helper, but she was a mess. The sad part is that even now, 2 years later, she's started talking baby talk because she sees how overjoyed we are when her little brother talks.
I'm not sure you can save her from the inevitable trauma of no longer being an only child. I think it just has to happen.
In my mind, the regression bit is the LEAST of your worries. You'll let Anna do anything ... dummies again, popsicles for breakfast, whatever it takes just to get some damn sleep! Unless, of course, she wants to breastfeed, that might be a liiitttle uncomfortable... Love, Jennifer
A nice article in the description, time respected, I will!! good luck for you
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