A Mommy Story

When I found out I was pregnant in September, one of my first thoughts was: how do we prepare Cordy for this?

She had just turned 2 at the time, and while her grasp of language is pretty good for her age, we figured we wouldn’t tell her right away. Since then, I’ve tried to explain to her why mommy can’t pick her up as much (besides the fact that she’s 33 or 34 pounds solid), and why she can’t sit on mommy’s tummy. But she still shows no signs of comprehending what I’m telling her.

Then a few months ago, there was a special on Nick for the Blue’s Clues 10th anniversary, and it covered the topic of having a sibling. Meet Blue’s Baby Brother is still Tivo’d, because it is something she likes to watch at least once a week. I’m used to her walking up to me, looking up at me with pleading eyes, and saying, “Bwue’s budder? Bwue’s budder?”

So for about a month now, I sit with her when she watches it, and tell her, “Cordy will have a new family member, too.” We didn’t know if it was a boy or girl yet, but I knew that if we had a boy, we could keep using this program to prepare her for a little brother. I was even planning to buy her a Blue’s Clues shirt that features Blue hugging her little brother, saying, “I love my brother!” if it was a boy.

Well, now I need to look for another way to explain it to her. Because it looks like she’s going to have a little sister.

The doc is about 95% sure it’s a girl.

The ultrasound yesterday showed a perfectly normal baby, growing at just the right rate. Unlike Cordy, who at her 20 week ultrasound was moving around so fast the doctor couldn’t get much of a look at anything, this baby was mellow and stayed still – too still, even, which made it hard to get a look at everything. Her knees were pulled up, making it hard to look at “the goods”, but the doctor and I both saw the trademark three lines (indicating a girl) at different times. It’s possible we’ll have another ultrasound in a month or so, to confirm that this is indeed a girl.

Aaron and I are happy about having another girl. While he was leaning towards wanting a boy, we certainly don’t mind saving money by reusing all of Cordy’s old clothes and toys. And it will be fun to see the relationship between sisters. I had a sister who didn’t survive infancy, as well as a half sister who is much younger than me and I saw only a few times a year, so I never got the chance to experience that sisterly bond.

So, anyone know any good DVDs to prepare a child for a new baby sister?