The jokes are funny because they're true. A first child gets all the attention to his/her self. First-time parents tend to be much better about things like birth announcements, newborn photo sessions, first birthday parties, all that fun stuff. With each subsequent child less gets done. I still, for example, need to make a couple photo books for #2, and that back-burner has gone a bit cold. Life, of course, is a lot crazier with multiple littles around the house instead of one, especially as they progress with ever-increasing mobility and energy. That drop-off from kid one to kid two isn't all that promising but, regardless, it wasn't intentional.
I'm here to say it's potentially all about to get worse (though hopefully not). I've been trying to build to something here, if you couldn't tell, and it's this. We're expecting our third child (soon, in Sept) and this time it's a girl! We weren't sure that was possible.
There could be some friends (hopefully not family) that haven't heard the news and I wanted to throw it out there. We've definitely been forgetting to tell people this time around, hence my opening paragraph above, and I wanted to utilize this post to spread the word. I'm not sure there's anyone who reads this and hasn't been told, but just in case.
I also wanted to try and explain my feelings right now as well as get into some of the preparations. As it was with kids one and two, the pregnancy stage doesn't feel all that real to me. I know my wife is pregnant, that she's carrying a baby around inside her and that it impacts her a great deal. But it's almost easy to forget it when I'm doing something else or get caught up in day-to-day life because my body isn't impacted like hers. I know our life will soon change really fast really quickly once again. But that reality just isn't nearly as apparent to me, the man, as it is for her. It'll hit me like a wrecking ball at the hospital, undoubtedly.
Perhaps I'm not processing this because I don't yet want to figure how to manage three kids under five. Those 12 weeks of maternity leave will fly by and then, around the beginning of December, I'll regularly be outnumbered three to one. That's more than a little intimidating. Whenever we talk to our similarly-aged friends about breaking the threshold to three there's a discussion of going from man-to-man (two parents, two kids) to zone (more kids than parents). But I think I'm most concerned about when it's a three on one, juggling two kids in diapers, with different nap times, while the oldest always wants a playtime partner or at least someone to watch what he's doing. Day plans will be a requirement, once the baby's on some sort of a schedule, or else we'll never leave the house. That'll never do.
I don't know what to think about it being a girl. I'm sure, before long, I'll love her to death. But right now I'm already mentally zooming ahead to the tween and teenage years and I have no idea how I'm going to manage that. Terrifying. I've always felt I'd be more adept at handling boys and was a little relieved when learning the sex of both #1 and #2. Ah well, that's all far in the future. Who knows, it's very possible she'll be the easiest one of them all.
This is almost certainly the end for us, btw. It was my wife that was most interested in a third and she got her wish immediately. No actions have been taken thus far to finalize that decision, though something probably happens sooner rather than later.
We aren't making all that many preparations. There are enough bedrooms upstairs at our current house for each kid to have their own. What's been a room for wooden trains will become the new nursery, so there'll be an adjustment for the oldest there. We have a second crib, thanks to my mother-in-law, and there's no need to rush the kid under two into a toddler bed, so that's nice. My wife has been gathering some girl clothes but nothing crazy. For the most part we feel like we have everything we need.
What I most need to figure out is the vehicle situation. Since 2018, right after we had our first, I've been driving a Ford Explorer. Going from a manual transmission Honda Civic to a mid-sized SUV was an adjustment, to say the least, but it was necessary and I do like driving it now. However, the Explorer is going to be really tight with three car seats across the second row. It also doesn't have car seat anchors in the middle. At first I thought this meant I'd for sure have to get a new vehicle. This last weekend a friend suggested otherwise, since the oldest is in a booster that uses the seat belt and it doesn't need to be anchored. So the foremost decision is whether or not to get something different. And if I do, what? So far I've been looking at going up in size (to an Expedition), staying with a mid-size (the VW Atlas has three anchors across) or accepting my fate and getting a mini-van (Honda Odyssey). The Odyssey has sliding doors, extremely nice with kids, more space than even the Expedition and better gas mileage too, somehow. Practically it makes all the sense in the world. But then I'll be driving a mini-van and I've always hated them.
Well, I'm rambled on enough for today. I should probably try to make a decision on that car.
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