I recently posted my blog entry from when I was 17 weeks pregnant with Sam and thought it would be interesting to compare it to what things are like for me now, at 18 weeks with baby boy #2.
It's funny to read that I tried taking zantac to help with my heartburn when I was pregnant with Sam. I had never even heard of zantac before and had to write it down when my ob suggested I take it. Now, zantac is a household word because Sam had pretty bad reflux from birth until about 10 months. He regularly took prescription zantac 2-3x/day for 10 months...we were intimately familiar with zantac.
I have heartburn again with this pregnancy, but apparently I'm carrying the baby low - rather than high which is how I carried Sam. So interesting.
I am particularly interested in how I tried to compare bringing Lucy (our dog) home from the shelter to what it would be like bringing the baby home from the hospital. We adopted Lucy, our wonderful lab, in 2004, a few months after we got married. For the 4.5 years we had her before Sam's birth, she was truly our baby. We took her everywhere with us, we planned Burke Lake Park outtings for her to swim in the lake, we'd cuddle with her, talk to her constantly, etc. I still talk to her, but it's amazing how much she has changed in our eyes.
When we first brought Sam home from the hospital, we both were amazed at how quickly the dog transformed from being our baby to quickly becoming a dog (now that we have a human baby). We still love her and talk to her and take her with us to the park (sometimes), but her role in our house has certainly changed and we spend much less time with her than we used to. Sam, however, is completely in love with the dog and thinks it's hilarious to throw food to her. Lovely.
Anyway, going back to the 17 week pregnancy comparisons - I still love eating pizza and berries. When I read about my previous poptart and popcorn cravings, I immediately thought YUM, those both sound terrific right about now! Guess what will be added to our grocery list this week?
I feel much more knowledgeable about baby items and have a few additional items that I discovered from other people that I think would have been helpful with Sam. I have come to love Buy Buy Baby and no longer feel overwhelmed by it the way I used to. Whenever I see pregnant women in the store, I recall that sense of fear and panic of "what the hec are bumbos and how do I know if I need one?"
I think that my emotions have been somewhat more in check now than during the pregnancy with Sam, but Brad seems to disagree (shocking). There have been a few crying at nothing moments, and there are some commercials that I can't watch without tearing up. Or maybe I'm in denial and Brad should do a posting on this....
The biggest difference is that now I know what I'm doing as a mom. I made some mistakes with Sam that I will not repeat (like waiting for him to fall asleep before putting him into the crib. Now I know that it's actually a good thing for infants to learn to fall asleep on their own) - although I know I'll probably make other mistakes too. But, I feel so much more prepared and know what to expect, along with some healthy fear about how to handle a very active 2 year old plus a newborn.
Although my life will certainly change, the changes won't be nearly as dramatic as the changes from before/after we had Sam. Long gone are my days of sleeping in until 10am and having "lazy" days. But, before Sam, I never knew how sweet it sounds to hear your child say (or shout) "Mommy."
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