Tuesday, December 16, 2008

The Big Sister!

So, we did tell our daughter about the baby last night. But it turns out that I was the big baby. We all got home later than usual and when my husband walked in the door at 7:30 my daughter was in the bath and dinner was no where in sight. So when I suggested he go get the video camera he told me didn't want to tell her because it was already late and she'd be too excited to sleep. I knew he was right but I didn't care, so I proceeded to pout all through dinner. It worked. So, after dinner he brought up the video camera.

I had really convinced myself that she was going to look at us and say "I told you so!" But she didn't. My husband was the one who announced that "mommy is going to have a baby". At first she just looked at us and said "what?", so he repeated it and she just leaped off the couch and started squealing and dancing around the room.

Once she calmed down a bit I told her that she was going to have a baby brother. I'd been a little worried that she'd be disappointed, but she was so excited. At one point last night after she'd calmed down a bit she did say "I really wanted a little sister, but I wanted a little brother too." She immediately asked if she could call her grandmother and tell her -- we did not tell her that she is pretty much the last person to know. ;) So she called my mom and at one point said "I'm just so excited I can't concentrate on talking!" After talking to my mom she called my in-laws and told them too. Throughout the rest of the evening and this morning she has repeatedly asked me to tell her when I feel him kick. Every now and then she'll look up and exclaim "I'm going to be a big sister!" She has also asked me a few times "are you REALLY going to have a baby?" and this morning she asked me if she could tell her teacher.

She was up late but I don't care. I've been waiting to tell her she was going to be a big sister for years now and her reaction was just priceless.

Ever since she was a baby I've called her my little Lulu Ladybug. As she was crawling into bed last night she asked if the baby would be another ladybug. I said "no, you're my little ladybug, maybe he can be our little bumblebee." She liked that. And this morning the weirdest thing happened. We've already decided on Ben for the baby's name, but we did not tell her that. While we were snuggling in bed this morning she said "I know, we can call him Ben Bumblebee!" My husband and I looked at each other and said "what made you think of Ben?" She replied "it rhymes." I did double check with the grandparents and none of them mentioned the name Ben to her!

I know this is getting long, but I want to record this as much for me as anything else, so one more story. But first a little background. Sometime between a year to 18 months ago (long before IVF cycle that produced 14 eggs or the thawing of the 3 that made it to freeze) my weight really started to creep up and it was pretty obvious that my belly was growing. My daughter would look at me and insist that I had a baby in my belly. I've always tried very hard not to talk about my weight or diets in front of my daughter, but given her insistence we had a few conversations about eating healthy foods and getting exercise and I told her I hadn't been doing those things very well and so I'd gained some weight and I wasn't happy because it was bad for my health. While I told her I was trying to lose some of the weight, I tried very hard to stay away from discussing size and focused on the health issues. She has occasionally since then commented on the obvious fact that I hadn't lost any weight. So, back to last night. She was getting ready for bed and finally said what I'd been expecting all along "I knew you were pregnant". She proceeded to tell me that the baby must be the reason I hadn't lost any weight (I wish!) and that while I hadn't known because the baby had been so small and I hadn't been to the doctor yet, she knew it because I hadn't lost any weight.

Just because... here's a recent picture of the big sister on the night she lost her first tooth.


In other news. The Bumblebee has been making his presence known more and more. Truly sometime between last Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning my stomach just sort of exploded. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but it just seemed so sudden. Saturday I was still feeling pretty camouflaged in my sweaters, but by the time I was getting dressed for Sunday's Tootpu Cookie Exchange not a sweater in my closet was hiding my growing belly. I've also been feeling the little bug kicking on a regular basis. Still pretty mild little pokes, but no doubt about what they are!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glad you told her.

Shelby said...

That is just the cutest reaction!! And that she picked Ben out of the air like that- it's just perfect!

Meghan said...

Yeah!!! Her reaction was too cute. I love that she was too excited to talk ;) And crazy that she picked the same name, looks like it was meant to be. Of course, now she'll say I told you so about that also!

And I meant to say the other day that I'm very excited for Sweetness and Bumblebee to be daycare buddies...provided we ever get in ;)

Jendeis said...

What a great story!! Love the name too. I'm so happy for you guys! I'm smiling like a doof. :)

Unknown said...

Your daughter's reaction is incredibly sweet! She will be a wonderful Big Sis to the 'bee, I'm sure. And re: Ben. That is freaky, but lots of freaky things have happened to us, too, when it comes to coincidences around our kids, both adopted and bio. Makes you wonder...