1m2aSandbox

As I’m sure I’ve mentioned
before, Maddie loves to help take care of Baby Sister. Feeding,
burping, dressing, rocking, all are special fun things to do in
Maddie’s mind. Nothing, however, is quite so fun as giving
Cora a bath.

I have a feeling this is one of the
entries that will get me in a lot of trouble when my
daughter’s old enough to be embarrassed –


All babies have gas; it’s a fact of life. As our pediatrician
says, “All that air babies swallow is going to come out one
end or the other!” I remember Maddie was a pretty decent
pooter, and we got so used to it that we hardly noticed when it
happened, until of course she let loose in public and all the
non-parents looked at us, startled and mortified.


But Cora is in another class altogether.

I think I’ve confessed before that I
didn’t really watch Sesame Street growing up; between
parental controls on television-watching and endless hours of
ballet class, I pretty much missed all the kids’ shows,
making me culturally illiterate around my friends. However,
I’ve been making up for lost time with my daughter.

When you’re unemployed and stuck
inside on a string of rainy summer days, desperation gives way to
inspiration –


A few weeks ago I noticed Maddie was having fun with a
“new” toy in the church nursery: a bowling set.
Consisting of several pins and a bowling ball, the toy was set up
by a fellow parent; he was gravely instructing his daughter on the
finer points of “knocking ‘em down” and
graciously expanded his tutelage to include Maddie. She was
fascinated by the concept of knocking things over with a
ball; at home we strove to avoid that. I noticed Maddie was drawn
to the toy several Sundays in a row.

Cora’s entering that entertaining
stage where she is starting to try to communicate,
“ooh”ing and “aah”ing for all she’s
worth. She’s been doing it for a couple weeks now, mostly
just to me during quiet moments together. But she’s been
gradually coming out of her shell and now speaks to a variety of
people.

Maddie’s a big swinger at the park
– some days she’ll get in the toddler swing and fall
into a near-trance, staying on it as long as I’ll let her.
For some time now, she’s been casting her eye towards the
“big-girl” swings – the regular seats as opposed
to the higher, hard-plastic toddler seats – and I see how
it’s teaching her some valuable lessons.

Last Friday we talked about target="_blank"
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how to get ready for a second baby – all the
things to think about or do in advance that wouldn’t
necessarily come instinctively. Today, I’ll share tips I was
given (or learned the hard way) on how to handle it once
you’ve Brought Baby Home.


First, the hospital. A girlfriend of mine had her second child two
years after her first. When her firstborn walked into the hospital
room to meet his new sibling for the first time, he saw the new
baby in the arms of mommy – HIS mommy, HIS arms – and
promptly burst into tears. She said you could see the hurt and
betrayal on his face.


So ok, not the best way to do it. I hadn’t really thought
about it, but my girlfriend Abby suggested a carefully
choreographed first meeting, and it went like a charm.