Table for Five

It’s the Two’s A Charm Virtual Baby Shower!

When Kristen from Motherhood Uncensored invited me to this virtual baby shower for our friends Mrs. Chicken, Chicky Chicky Baby, and Her Bad Mother, I got a little teary, I did. I haven’t been to an actual baby shower in years, and the only bad thing about a virtual one is that I don’t get to give each of them my favorite baby gift, which is a soft teddy bear completely dressed in baby clothes. They’ll each just have to close their eyes and image it, just like I’ll close my eyes and pretend I’m playing “baby bingo” and “guess what kind of baby food this glop on the paper plate is”.

My gift to each of them is to debunk the worst advice I ever got while pregnant with my second child. And then, I’ll tell you about the great door prizes you can win from the host of the shower, Cool Mom Picks and Better than a Playdate!

By far, the worst thing I have ever heard anyone say to a woman pregnant with her second child is “ooooh, your first child is going to be so JEALOUS. He/she is going to HATE the baby! Watch out he/she doesn’t try to KILL THE BABY IN IT’S SLEEP!!”. All right, so that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but there does seem to be this general feeling that the first child will automatically be jealous of the second. I’m here to assure you that this is not, in fact, always the case.

Ryan was 26 months old when Nathan was born. For a long time, it was like having two babies. My diaper bag was stuffed with two sizes of diapers, the whole tub of wipes, sippy cups, bottles, two sizes of clothing in case of accidents, two sets of blankies and lovies and oh my GAH. How did I ever manage to leave the house?! At first, Ryan didn’t really pay much attention to Nathan, except to come running to find me anytime Nathan so much as mewled, saying “Mama! Babeee cwying! Babeeee cwying!” He also felt the need to point out crying babies everywhere we went, and I had to reassure him that the other baby’s Mother was right there and everything would be okay. It was sweet, really.

Because we had a small house, we moved Ryan out of the crib and into a twin bed and put Nathan in the crib, in the same room. I am convinced that Nathan woke up crying far less than Ryan had simply because Nathan wasn’t alone in the room. And once he was big enough to climb out of the crib, I would go in their room in the morning and find Nathan had crawled into bed with Ryan and was fast asleep. Once Nathan started walking and interacting, Ryan picked right up on his playmate potential, and soon the two of them were a little team, playing together, eating together, watching cartoons together. There was never any jealousy on Ryan’s part, ever.

So my dears, please don’t listen to the ass-vice givers who will try to tell you that your first child is doooomed to hate the new baby. Help your older child feel important about their new role as big sister, play up the fact that you are now a TEAM, that everyone is important and needs to HELP. And whatever you think you need to leave the house now, take twice as much.

You can play along too and enter to win some kick-ass gifts courtesy of Cool Mom Picks. Write a post sharing the worst advice you ever got, and send your link to motherbumper@mac.com by Sunday, May 4, along with the name or number of the gift basket you want if you win in your email. Your post will be shared on Better Than A Playdate and three posts will be chosen at random to win one of these gift baskets:

#1 Her Bad Basket ($200 + Value!)

* Rowdy News Scoop Bag
* Puj Baby Sling
* Bla Bla Bird Rattle
* Belly Ups (2 sets)
* BOOB Nursing Dress (size Large)
* Pedipeds Boys (12-18 months)

#2 Mrs. Chicky’s Chick Basket ($250 + Value)

* O Yikes! Diaper Bag (Magenta/Orange/Brown)
* My Turtle Baby Nursing Cover (pink)
* Pedipeds Girls (6-12 months)
* Pink Oopc Bib
* Zutano Snapsuit in Floral (12 months)
* Bella Tunno Bib (pink/black)
* Flower Child Poetry DVD
* B Delicious Onesie
* Bink Link Paci Clip

#3 Chicken, Cheese, or Whatever Else You Want ($200 + Value)

* $100 Credit for Gift Certificate of your choice from Leverage, that you can use at any of dozens of shops including Amazon, Home Depot, Macy’s and Bath and Body Works
* “Love Life” Hand stamped Concentric Circles Necklace by Lisa Leonard
* Mominatrix T-Shirt
* Crystalyn Kae Vegan Leather Clutch in Green

Seriously, that is AWESOME. Each Mama is also getting a $25 donation made to the charity of their choice through Johnson’s Global Charity. You can also stop by Better than a Playdate to grab the code for the cute baby shower button up there at the top of the page if you want to use it on your own post. Congratulations, HBM, Chicky, and Mrs. Chicken!! You’ll be just as awesome at parenting two babies as you are at parenting one

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