Thoughts on Maternity and Pinterest

Consider this your heads up....If you type the word "maternity" or the words "baby announcements" in the search bar on Pinterest you will get way more pictures of bare bellies and other parts then you really care to see.  I am shocked at how "free" some pregnant women are.  I mean to each her own right, but I just find some of it confusing.  Like what does a man and a woman in their underwear with her belly bare, sitting on the edge of a bathtub have to do with anything?  And if that happens to be you and you read my blog I apologize for not understanding your artistic view of pregnancy.  So I asked my husband if he thought I should wrap myself in some chiffon fabric and frolic in the woods for a pregnancy shoot to show off each and everyone of my stretch marks to the world.  Ya, he didn't really go for the idea.  To be honest I wouldn't want to in a million years anyway.  A pregnant belly is a beautiful thing but I don't need my son to some day look the pictures and say, "what the he** were you thinking?"  And actually my pregnant belly really isn't that gorgeous: stretch marks, and three stubborn belly hairs that grow back right over my belly button no matter how much plucking I do.  No one wants to see it anyway.  I will let the other free mothers out there fill the Pinterest world with their bellies-mine will remain hidden under fairly undesirable maternity cloths and pants held together with a hair elastic.

A call for help

To all the mothers out there: someone help me please!!!! How do I teach my oldest child to be soft and gentle to the baby? The phrases:

"Be soft"

"Don't squeeze"

"Don't smash her hand"

"Please get off her arm"

"Don't lay on her stomach"

"Just hold her hand don't squeeze it"

"Get off your sister"

are getting old and worn out around our house and I am at my whits end of knowing what to do. It is like I can't even lay the baby down on the floor without her being malled to death by small fry. She has this thing about squeezing the babies hand and holding it against her (small fry's) eye. She knows the difference between soft and not soft because she can show me how to hold her hand soft. At other times she just hovers over her with her little jaw clenched and holds on to her hand or arm and won't let go. I don't think she is trying to hurt her I just don't know how to teach her that the baby doesn't want to have her on top of her all the time. I tell her that she has to be gentle or she won't get to play with her sister but then that means that I have to put the baby up on the counter in the bouncy seat and the poor girl would like to roll around once in a while. I am just waiting for the day when my little pumpkin is old enough to reach up and sock small fry in the nose and hopefully that will teach her. So what do I do? I know my baby is more resiliant than I give her credit for but do I monitor small fry's every move, do I lay off and wait until the baby is crying before I step in? Someone has to have been here before. How do I teach her how to play properly around the baby?

A little Halloween Treat

I have had a feeling it would happen for the last 2 months and not that I mind because Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Now doubly so because it is also the birthday of our sweet little baby Brailie Ann. She was born Oct 31st at 7:30 am. And she is sweeter than a barrel of candy. She weighed 6 lb's 13 oz and is 20 inches long.

Small fry is doing okay with a new baby in the house. She was so excited to see her for the first time. She goes between loving her and wanting to kiss her and not wanting anything to do with her. But that is to be expected so we are just adjusting the best we can. Will be absent from the blogging scene for a bit while we get used to things. Gotta pick a nick name now for sure.