The New Baby is Coming!! (well, she's been here for 2 months...)

This entry was drafted on October 28, 2009, after we heard that little Maddy would be arriving in a couple of days. Yes, it is being published 2 months late! WE'VE BEEN BUSY!!

So, the new baby is almost here. She will be arriving on Friday, October 30- not quite Halloween, but, definitely, she will be our new little pumpkin!

So, I cannot help but remember when our own 2nd baby was almost here 29 years ago:

We were our little family of 3. The mommy, the daddy and our little girl, Kristen who was 3 years old. Life was perfect, as far as I remember. Well, maybe not perfect, but very, very nice.

Why then, I thought, did we decide to have another child, when every thing was going really nicely and things were getting easier as our little girl was getting a bit older?? Well, it was always in our plan to have more than one child. I came from a family of 6 kids and Ed was an only child. I loved having the siblings and Ed wished he had some. So it was natural for us to get pregnant again. And we were very, very excited!

But as time got closer to my expected due date, I began to question my ability to love another child like I loved Kristen. The 3 of us had 3 years together to develop that terrific bond that parents and children should have. And we did. So, would I be able to duplicate that feeling with another child?

I remember feeling like I was going to betray my little girl by bringing a new baby brother or sister home. ( we didn't know, back then, what we would be having)

These were not logical feelings, but my feelings just the same. I remember the tears would flow if I let my emotions go to that line of thinking.

So, what happened?

Kristen's baby brother, Brian, was born and all was ok-

I looked at Brian and fell in love all over again. He was beautiful and he was ours, from the moment I saw him, and I forgot all of those illogical emotions I had felt just days before.

When we brought Brian home, Kristen loved him, too! She never once asked us to take him back to wherever we got him. She was a bit annoyed with me ( because I brought him home, I think) and she did stamp her feet more than she did before (and she could do that very well). It didn't last for long. And Kristen was very loving to Brian. ( she occasionally was a bit TOO loving, if you know what I mean!)

She was the perfect big sister to her baby brother! She was helpful and entertaining with him. Brian loved her, too. There were lots of smiles and laughs to and from all of us!

So, I suppose the point of all of this is that those feelings of doubt are normal. I have spoken to more than a few mothers over the years who had similar feelings. And it is definitely possible to have enough love in your heart to give to more than one child.

I have 2 wonderful children. They are not kids any longer, but adults who are caring and thoughtful and family minded. One is not the same as the other. Their needs are not always the same. But I love each of them with infinite abundance.

So, Kristen, my daughter, tomorrow you will have your little Madison in your arms. If you had any doubts, they will disappear the moment you see her. And any lingering thoughts about how your little Kate will love her new little sister and accept her into the family- well, these thoughts will also disappear. All will fall into place.


AND IT DID! Here is Kristen with her little Madison Grace! (on Christmas Eve)







And here is big sister, Kate with here little sister, Maddy.








Is this love, or what?













My girls, all 3 of them!