So what does B think?

People keep asking us, "Does B know? What does B think about all of this (pregnancy, baby, etc)?" The answer is... He is mindful and contemplatively absolutely excited! As excited as a 4 year old can be about something that won't happen until almost Christmas time. Let's face it--- Christmas is another 7 months away. That's another 12th of this kid's life. The equivalent of 4 years of my adult time. I can think about, look forward to, and be contemplative about something 4 years from now-- but I'll wait to start jumping up and down until we get closer. But I'd say, in relative terms...he's definitely more excited about his new sibling than about Christmas.

We are quite open with him. He is a wise and happy little boy. He knows that there is a baby growing in my belly, but that little baby is only 17 mm (as of last week) and still spends a lot of his/her time still up with Heavenly Father while his/her body is growing. He thinks it's pretty darn cool that I eat, and the baby has an umbilical cord, and that's how I feed the baby. He can describe the whole process with great excitement, detail, and ferver. We go to the doctor every 2-3 weeks and bring him back a new picture of baby Seven (the official name of the non-gender specific baby in the womb). He saw a picture of a pregnant woman the other day. He said, "Is your belly going to get big like this?" yep. Baby Seven is going to get bigger and bigger and my belly is going to get bigger and bigger to make room. I show him how big my belly will be before the baby will be born. We show him pictures of my belly when I was pregnant with him and how little he was after we had him.

We talk about newborns, what they do, (eat, sleep, and poop) and how they communicate.... crying. He thinks it's funny/cute that newborns cry when they are hungry, need a diaper change, want to be held, want to sleep, want anything. We talk about how Baby Seven will be really floppy when he/ she's first born and it will take a while for him/her to sit up or hold his head up- so we'll have to be careful and make sure we support his/her head. We figure, the more Ian understands about this new little person that will come to our home, the more he will feel comfortable and welcoming. He is really excited.

It's interesting to watch him. Dave talks with him about how I need more rest because my body is growing Baby Seven. B is actually really supportive. Now, he is 4. And I am is favorite playmate. But he's become quite understanding of my need to take naps or sit still and play with him, rather than run around the house. When Dave goes to work he tells B, " You take good care of your mom." It's not like B pampers me or anything, but I can tell he tries to do a few more things for himself, instead of expecting me to be at his beck and call. What a wonderful, sweet, kind little boy!!!