The perils of a second pregnancy, and a baby update!

While many first pregnancies are fraught with imagined peril (OH NO!!! I WOKE UP LAYING ON MY BACK! WILL MY BABY BE OKAY??!??), second pregnancies are filled with real dangers. Here's a rundown of the top 5:

1. Registering. Baby showers.

One of the most taboo topics about second babies is the question of supplies.

Even though everyone has a different opinion, it's generally agreed nowadays that it's okay to have a baby shower if:

a. The second baby is a different gender than the first.
b. The kids are separated by more than 5-ish years, or long enough that you already gave away your old baby stuff.

If neither of these are true, people may frown on you, even during this sensitive time in your life.

Clearly, I should not have a baby shower. However, I registered anyway, more so that I can keep track of what I need for Little Sister than anything else. It was fun, and Kalina was patient (I think she was sick, and that's why she was so happy to sit in her stroller, bad mommy), and now at least my shopping list for the "oops, it's my due date and the crib isn't even set up" last-minute run to the store is complete.

Fortunately, it's okay to celebrate the new baby through a formal or informal gathering that generally includes some sort of pampering. Word has it, I will be doing this. Already counting down the hours!

2. Toddler kicks meet Baby kicks.

While a 1.5-lb. tiny baby kicking your tummy is cute, it's far less endearing when your toddler decides to. For the baby, too, I would imagine. Ouch.

Incidentally, Kalina of her own accord, figured out that the baby in Mommy's tummy is generally sleeping (shhh! she cautions). I added to her short list of supposed Little Sister activities by helping her feel a little kick. Whenever I bring it up, Kalina performs her own cute little kick for me, to demonstrate. I just know the two will get along great--they already have so much in common.

3. An inability to sit down, or eat, or anything else that's considered helpful while you're pregnant.

And I thought it was funny the first time around (not to mention after the baby was born) when people told me to take it easy. Now, those who've never been in this situation before still tell me to take it easy, while anyone who has doesn't bother. I also find it ironic that doctors don't even try to warn pregnant mommies of toddlers not to lift more than 25 pounds.

Fortunately, I've also found that toddlers and pregnant women have a lot in common, and so we can get along fairly well at times. These include:

-Snacks. We require lots of them. We can easily agree on ice cream.
-Water. And now we can even share the same water bottle.
-The restroom. It's kind of functional-disfunctional that we're both rushing off to the restroom at various times.
-Naps. Theoretically, when Kalina takes hers, I can take mine. Very, very theoretically.

And that's it.

4. A double-dose of forgetfulness.

Mommy brain meets pregnancy brain. I've never been so double-booked, or short of necessary dinner ingredients, in my life. Last time around, it was nausea that plagued me relentlessly. This time, I'd just like my brain back, please.

5. Doctor visits

The visits themselves are still interesting and enjoyable. Even during a needle stick, at least you're sitting down and making smalltalk with another adult (so you don't think about the needle, at least that's my strategy). However, you have two choices for your toddler:

Option 1: Line up babysitting. And not so you can go to a movie, or get coffee. So you can go sit in a waiting room. Then you owe someone money, time, or dessert which, by the way, if you had on hand you'd be eating yourself.

Option 2: Drag your poor toddler along. Only if you also drag your spouse along, or have no other options, or get sentimental about the toddler hearing the baby's heartbeat. As I did this past week, which brings us to the:

Baby Update

My latest doctor visit was on Tuesday. For the first time (other than the big ultrasound), I brought Kalina with me. My motive was double-sided: not only did I want her to hear the baby's heartbeat, I also thought that seeing Mommy go to the doctor might be good for her psyche--and her upcoming 2-year visit. Besides, it was supposed to be a quick visit, with no needle sticks.

The visit was not, in fact, quick, but it was rather painless. Kalina was on her best behavior, and we brought some of her favorite things along: stuffed animals, plastic animals, and books about animals. She did furrow her brow quite predictably when I mentioned the doctor, but I assured her the doctor wouldn't bother her at all, let alone try to weigh her. She seemed to accept this.

Little Sister also cooperated by only gaining her Mommy 3 pounds (we all celebrated later with a Chick-Fil-A milkshake a few days later) and by registering her heartbeat at a very normal 156 beats/minute. No, Kalina was not too afraid of the doctor (she even showed him, and the friendly nurses, her stuffed cow and horse), and she seemed pretty happy to hear her sister's heartbeat.

Other news:

The baby's nickname on this blog, I've decided (and you've already seen), will be Little Sister. I hope she's not offended, but I thought it sounded cuter than Baby Girl 2. We don't yet have a name for this new baby and, again, probably won't until after we meet her in person. Kalina just smiles when I ask her opinion.

Speaking of which, asking a toddler for their opinion is kind of like asking a Magic 8 Ball. You get a different answer every time and the answer has no relation, outside of sheer coincidence, to the truth.

Little Sister happily kicks and squirms for me all the time, and patiently endures the times when Kalina uses me as a jungle gym. I'll save all my predictions about her for another post.

Pregnancy insomnia has hit really early, but it's fortunately combined with Kalina sleeping in lately--so at least we get to catch up on weekends. I'm generally still pretty comfortable. My maternity clothing situation has had a recent upturn with an influx of clothes given/loaned to me by friends.

While things are going well, I can tell that the time of discomfort is on the horizon. Pregnancy's worst perils: sleeplessness, aches, labor, etc., are still to come. Fortunately, so is pregnancy's great reward. Just, um, not quite yet, please!

Photo: Kalina let me put pigtails in her hair. Once.