Better late than never, part II « Back to Group Discussions

[sarahb79]

Hello everyone,

Following close on the heels of ann030, I also wanted to say a quick hello.

I also found this forum quite recently and combed through some previous posts which were very helpful. Thanks for creating such a reassuring, supportive (and well-informed!) group. I've learned a lot from the posts and particularly appreciated some of the older threads about preparing a sibling for homebirth, links to kid-friendly birth videos, etc.

My DD will be 3 this weekend and I'm both overjoyed and over-nervous about the prospect of being a mom to two. It's been great to hear how many of you have managed this transition so successfully. 

I live in Vancouver and am hoping for a second homebirth. I'm due March 10 with another daughter.

I'm a grad student and my "leave" starts at the end of the month, so hoping to have more time soon to post/share instead of just lurking/tapping your collective wisdom.

Congrats to the mamas who gave birth today and looking forward to hearing more happy news very soon...

And of course thanks to ann030 for getting the ball rolling with tonight's first newbie introduction. We're practically neighbours!

All the best to you mamas! Take care.

[ann030]

Hi neighbour! I too have really appreciated all the information and shared wisdom found here. Glad to have found the forum!

My partner was present at the births of two of his siblings and when his sister was born was the first to hold her. Is your daughter excited about being there? Good luck with everything and hope the wrap up at school goes swimmingly!

[sarahb79]

Thanks!

Yes, DD is really getting excited about being there for the birth. A neighbour asked her the other day what she thought about being a big sister. Her answer didn't have much to do with big sisterhood: "It's hard work to push a baby out. My mom's going to make SO MUCH noise. Don't worry, it's okay." Turns out we might be "over-prepping" her?!

Also might have been TMI for the neighbour, but I was loving it.

And really great to hear that your partner had that experience with his siblings' births! So sweet...

[Chapsie]

Originally Posted by sarahb79 

Thanks!

Yes, DD is really getting excited about being there for the birth. A neighbour asked her the other day what she thought about being a big sister. Her answer didn't have much to do with big sisterhood: "It's hard work to push a baby out. My mom's going to make SO MUCH noise. Don't worry, it's okay." Turns out we might be "over-prepping" her?!

Also might have been TMI for the neighbour, but I was loving it.

And really great to hear that your partner had that experience with his siblings' births! So sweet...

Hi and welcome Sarah!

Your DD sounds so cute!  I have a 4.5 yr old and 2.5 yr old and they are super excited about the birth, too.  They love looking at my old college anatomy book, especially the pregnant lady picture.  I told them something similar: "when the baby is big enough and strong enough, the mommy's tummy gives it lots of tight squeezes which opens up a special gate in the mommy and then the baby gets squeezed out the gate.  It is a lot of hard work, and the mommy might roar like a dinosaur, but she'll be so happy when the baby comes out!"

My 2 year old went around for weeks telling people: "my mommy is going to squeeze a baby out her gate!"  Hahahaha.  :)  

[ann030]

Oh that's awesome! I love both of those explanations for kiddos and will surely use some variation when the time comes! And so cute how they interpret it and tell others.

[spughy]

Welcome neighbours!  (I'm just across the strait in Victoria )  Weird that there's a bunch of us named Sarah all from the same region...

I love the "roar like a dinosaur" bit.

[chocolatechip]

Welcome, sarahb! I love your daughter's description of you giving birth - she sounds ready! (Chapsie, yours too!)

What are you in graduate school for?

[sarahb79]

I should definitely borrow the 'dinosaur roar' from Chapsie's description. DD loves dinosaurs these days... and that's definitely what I sounded like last time!

Spughy - that is crazy about all the Sarahs. Although I guess it's been the story of my life all along, and I still give my parents a hard time for their lack of naming originality. I'm never the only one! All through elementary school, I was "big Sarah". Um, thanks?

Chocolatechip - I'm doing a phd in human geography (my particular program of study is pretty similar to anthropology), but it'll be on the back-burner pretty soon which I'm totally looking forward to!

[spughy]

I do the same thing to my mom.  "You couldn't have CHECKED to see which names were the most popular and avoided them???"  She's all "but they didn't have the internet back then" which is BS because they totally still had Vital Statistics and published that stuff. 

Then my sister went and named her first kid Isabelle (4 years ago) so I guess that kind of thing is hereditary.  I'm totally paranoid about it though and I refuse to even consider any names for this baby that are in the top 20 in BC.  I was Sarah P. all throughout school (and probably occasionally "little Sarah" although I don't remember specific instances - I must have blocked them out).  I'm even facebook friends with a woman who shares my LAST name as well - we met when I got a wedding invite meant for her and I tracked her down - the local college had managed to combine our transcripts, too.  There are just too many Sarahs.

[SlimP]

Welcome Sarah and Ann,

This DDC has been such a tremendous support for me during this pregnancy and beyond too no doubt. I'm looking forward to continuing our chats through babies early days.

Chapsie, I love the roar like a dinosaur and 'gate' analogy. I had to change the subject when my 3 1/2 yr-old DS wanted specifics as I knew he'd repeat it. Every second thing out of his mouth these days is prefaced with 'Mama says.......' I think I'd really enjoy the distraction of his chatter during labour but there's only a slim chance of a homebirth working out.

To all the Sarah's, but what a beautiful name to share! Thin Lizzy's 'Sarah' is one of my favourite songs.

[scruffy too]

Originally Posted by SlimP 

Welcome Sarah and Ann,

This DDC has been such a tremendous support for me during this pregnancy and beyond too no doubt.

I agree!  I couldn't imagine the last 8 months without these wonderful ladies!!  Well, I'm sure I would have survived, but not thrived and learned so much.  Everyone is just wonderful! 

Always nice to welcome another Canuck!!