Friday, August 13, 2010

Newbie

We couldn't leave well enough alone, could we? Shannon and I find ourselves once again on that wonderful, miraculous journey to parenthood. Somewhere around Thanksgiving Day (the exact due date), we expect to welcome our new little addition to the family. Base on ultrasound confirmation of pre-natal baby junk, we know we are having another baby boy. Sorry Shannon. His nickname has quickly become Newbie. A shortening of the phrase "new baby", which we use frequently, this term is also fitting for a clean new person.

This whole pregnancy and pre-baby buildup couldn't be more different than the first time around. We spend so much time, energy, and attention on our precocious 21 month old that there is hardly any mindshare left to sit and ponder our future with the new little guy. Much is made of the difference between first and second children. here are some of my thoughts on the matter:

Pre-Natal Book Reading
  • 1st Baby: You run up hundreds of dollars of charges at Barnes and Noble acquiring every possible book about pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting. You read about What to Expect. You devour the Girlfriend's Guide. You debate all the way through naming books. You kind of enjoy the Jenny McCarthy belly laugh books. Basically, if it's out there, you've read it and pondered it at length.
  • 2nd Baby: Been there, done that, got the spit-up stained shirt. Besides, any attempt to read a book will be met by an attacking toddler shouting, "I wanna read Thomas Train book!"
Baby Showers and Congratulations:
  • 1st Baby: News of the pregnancy is met with universal glee. You attend a series of opulent baby showers where you receive generous gifts from distant relatives and random friends of your parents.
  • 2nd Baby:  News of the second baby is met with, "Oh cool. Congratulations. So, how about that hot weather?" There is no baby shower.
Nursery Preparation:
  • 1st Baby:  Months before the due date, the nursery is painted and fancy new furniture suite is assembled and ready to go.
  • 2nd Baby: Months before the due date, Newbie's nursery is still a play / entertainment room. We have some ideas about paint and some potential leads about some baby furniture
More to come on this soon. Happy Friday!

3 comments:

amandakoell said...

So excited for Newbie! It is funny how different the prep is for the 2nd one ... or I guess the 2nd pregnancy :).

Sarah said...

I've totally volunteered to host a baby shower for Newbie!! :)

Chris said...

Maybe a non-baby shower party like the one you had a couple years ago?

That would be cool..