"Baby" Education

As you can probably guess, with an 8 year old (girl, I might add), I've had a lot of "explaining" to do lately.  Don't get me wrong, Camryn and I have an amazingly open relationship, but something about the most recent events in our lives have had me a bit nervous.  I made sure that if she had ANY questions, she was more than welcome to ask me anything at all.  I also have been showing her the antiquated book, "A Child is Born" written in the 1970s.  With it's very graphic pictures, I am perfectly comfortable describing female anatomy and birth events (thanks to my job, of course).  I am thoroughly enjoying this bonding experience with her and we've even had conversations about her being in the room when her brother or sister is born.  Just wanted to share some of her questions/comments that I thought were adorable... 

1.  "Mom, why does the baby have to be down low?"

(I had to have her describe what she meant by "down low"...)

2.  "Mom, if I'm in the room (when the baby's born)... and Daddy's in the room... he's gonna be with you, right? So who's gonna be with me???"

3.  After seeing pictures of Blake right after birth- "Mommy, I'm ok with being in the room when the baby's born- as long as it doesn't look gross like THAT."

4.  "Mom, I still don't understand how the baby gets food from your blood."

(No, I didn't get into a talk about the physiology of maternal-fetal blood exchange...)

5.  "So, Mom, if the baby is still really small, then why is your tummy big already???"

(Yay.)

I'm sure there will be many more "interesting" questions pop up, but for now I'm having fun with it. :)

Happy New Year (in February...;)!!!

 Happy New Year, everyone!!

Ok, I know it's February and all, but we've kinda had a lot going on lately.  "How busy", you ask? Well our Valentine's Day card should answer a few questions:

  YES!! It's true! We're crazy enough to "add a fourth" or "even out the crew"!  Matt and I (and I think the kids even MORE) are so excited.  It's been a lot of adjusting lately as I have pretty much been "out of commission" most of the time.  All I can say is that I have the most AMAZING husband!! I am starting to feel a little better, so it's been nice to return to my world of inspiration.  As you can probably guess, cakes aren't exactly what I'm talking about (even the smallest speck of frosting makes me gag...).  So the next few months should be fun in our household- getting ready for a new little one HAS to include some redecorating, right??? ;)

One thing I have to say is that we've been getting A LOT of mixed reactions to our news.  Mostly it's been great, but you know- there's always a few...  I stumbled on this article a few weeks back and got a kick out of it. Actually, Matt more than I, but he REQUESTED that I copy it onto our blog... :)

Written by Kylie Orr for EssentialBaby.com

For anyone who is tactfully deficient, I have included a list of answers to some of the questions I have been asked with the announcement of our fourth pregnancy.

Let me know if I have missed anything!

Yes, it was planned.
No, we are not crazy, insane, demented or a sandwich short of a picnic.
Yes, they all have the same father.
No, we didn’t have anything better to do (what would you rather be doing?).
Yes, we own a TV.
No, the power was not out that night.
Yes, we know how babies are made.
No, we don’t rely on the rhythm method.
Yes, we understand the concept of contraception.
Yes, we know that four children is a lot.
No, I wasn’t that attached to my pelvic floor.
Yes, we know we may have another boy.
No, we didn’t “try for a girl”, we’re not “hoping for a pink one”, or “praying for more oestrogen in the house” (but of course, a girl would be lovely, as would another boy).
Yes, we have sorted out names.
No, we won’t be finding out the gender.
Yes, this will be our last.
No, we are not hoping to start a football team.
Yes, we realise how much money children cost.
No, we didn’t do it for the plasma bonus.
Yes, we know about the need for a bigger car.
No, we will not have to buy a mini-bus.
Yes, we’ll have our hands full.
No we don’t value sleep, we’ve forgotten what it is.
Yes, we have enough space (is it illegal for kids to share a bedroom?)
No, we are not gluttons for punishment (you see children as a punishment?).
Yes, we’re taking congratulations!