And I Have More Gray Hair

We are now in the period where Peter’s sister could be born any day, and the differences between now and the lead up to Peter’s birth are legion. While a lot of it can simply be a matter of us now being experienced parents as opposed to parents-to-be, a few things should be mentioned.

 

This time we’re planning on a home birth using a midwife instead of the standard Medical Industrial Complex hospital visit we were going to go with last time. We did the things that new parents were supposed to last time, we took the classes, toured the hospital, signed up for the insurance billing fun-fest that comes with hospital baby delivery. We did want a “natural” childbirth there, but settled for the c-section when Peter did his thing (knowing him all his life, I am not surprised he was breech and wouldn’t budge – the little dude is stubborn as a mule). I think even if things had gone according to plan, we still would have been in the hospital for a couple days, with people (nurses, doctors, you name it) coming in and out a lot. With the home birth we get to have a lot more control over what goes on, and going with a midwife lets us let the labor and delivery happen a lot more on nature’s course than what a chart says. The Missus is a lot more calm about the impending arrival now than she was with Peter. Me too.

 

Another big difference is Peter. He’s very excited and happy that he’s going to be a big brother, which is great. But before he was born we were obsessive about the pregnancy, and devoted the bulk of our energy on it. We can’t do that now with him around, and I don’t mean to make that sound like a bad thing. I felt guilty about it for a while, but I’m past that. We’ve been doing a lot of preparation for the baby, in fact more than we did for Peter, probably. But it doesn’t really register in the same way because- What’s that, Peter? Yes, you can have a cookie. Where was I? Oh yeah, it doesn’t register- Peter, look in the pantry, we put the new ones in there.  Huh? Oh, it doesn’t register be- No, not those ones, I think we should have thrown them out a long time ago. Do you see the new ones in the front?  … was I doing something?

 

We came up with Peter’s name rather easily. I don’t recall the process all that well (actually, I don’t remember all that much before Peter was born too well, so bear with me), but my recollection is we had his name set very early. This time is the opposite. Oh, there are names we both like, but when we speak the name aloud and think of Baby (which will not be her name, I swear!) it will sound different somehow. It doesn’t help that there are more girl names than stars in the sky. It almost makes you want to go with something like… Baby. No! I would never be so mean! And I’d never be able to correct her when she’s naughty by putting her in a corner. I’d sooner name her Nevaeh. Well. Ok, no, that I wouldn’t do. But we’ve been calling her “Baby” since we found out Mommy was pregnant, and it has stuck. But it won’t be her name. I’d sooner name her Peter (which, for the record, is ok according to Peter – the older one, I mean. He said it’s a good name).

 

You know what else has changed since before Peter was born? The Office. Peter’s Mom watched The Office on DVD before Peter was born. Last night we watched it again, and it was a clip show (a clip show! I didn’t even know they made those anymore!).  Peter’s Mom said it reminded her of the fact that the show used to be funnier. But you knew it was in decline when Cousin Oliver started working at Dunder-Mifflin.

 

Peter, when you were a toddler you...

In these waning days of Peter-the-Only-Child, I feel I must record some Peter quirks that may go away as he gets older and more big brotherly.

 

1. "Wissin" or "wissun." This is Peter's all-purpose interrogative pronoun. It can be used for "what," "where," "who" and "why." For example, "wissin Gammie house?" should mean "where is Grammie's house." "Wissin dat?" should be "what's that?"

 

Note that I say "should be." It's a very flexible word, and Peter changes its meaning on a whim, which leads to another Peterism.

 

2. "[X]." "[X]?" "... No. [Y]."  This is a new one in his arsenal. It basically goes like this: Peter makes a statement, X. The statement is then repeated to Peter as a question, so as to confirm his meaning. Peter then pauses and denies that was his statement, with a tone of voice implying the other person really needs to pay attention better, then makes a new statement completely unrelated to the first.

 

3. His right hand. Peter likes to gesticulate with his right hand, specifically in regards to going “dis way.” Example: I tell him we’re going to the car to go somewhere, and he decides he’ll direct us towards the car by saying “dis way” while extending his hand out as if to shake hands. The hand is out firm and straight, and he lightly jabs the air when saying “dis [jab] way.” It’s an endearing little move, and will serve him well as a football referee signaling a first down.

 

4. “Mommy Daddy Baby Peter” or “Mommy Daddy Peter Baby.” Originally this was a specific reference to his family, like “Mommy Daddy Baby Peter go water park?” Simple enough. But as he got to be more of a motor-mouth, he’d start monologues that flow without much (obvious) purpose for many minutes at a time, and then he’d say “Mommy Daddy Baby Peter” at the end as if to signify the soliloquy was at an end. At least that’s how it seems to me. He can go from internal dialogue while playing to full-blown conversation without skipping a beat (or taking a breath).

 

5. I don’t remember if I ever put this up before, but a couple months ago we were reading one of Peter’s books with him and it had a bunch of big letter on the page. We’d ask him to point to specific letters and then go over some words that start with that letter. We were pretty pleased when he was able to identify Q. I asked him if he knew any words that started with Q. Without missing a beat he said “cucumber.”

 

6. His little chairs. He has two small, wood chairs that he doesn’t really use for sitting. Instead, he drags them around the kitchen floor so he can stand on them when at the kitchen counter. It’s actually pretty annoying, because he’ll drag them noisily across the tile, and then leave them blocking the path to wherever I’m going. But I know when he’s big enough to not need them anymore I’ll get weepy. Until that time I’ll just make empty threats to throw them out unless he lifts them properly off the floor and doesn’t leave them in anyone’s way.

 

7. Peter Songs. Peter is picky about what is played on the car radio. He prefers his music (he has a couple of nursery rhyme CDs) which he calls “Peter Songs.” They, of course, drive his parents a little batty after 30-40 times playing them. So we try to sneak in something we would prefer. Peter, though, is no dope, and he knows that what is being played is not “Peter Songs.” We’d tell him it is, but he knows the difference, and has told us that we are playing “Mommy Daddy Songs.” We once asked him if he liked what we were playing, and he said “No. I turn it off.”

 

 

The end of only childhood

Peter's sister is due to arrive on January 30th. That makes Peter the only show in town for only 4 more weeks. He has enjoyed being an only child to a degree (he loves attention, and I don't think that's ever going to change) but I fear that Mommy and I fail to entertain him to the degree we once did on a consistant basis. He asks for new friends, he asks to be sent to pre-school, he doesn't want us to chapperone at the prom, etc.

Well, a month from now it will all be different. He'll be Big Brother Pete, helpful aide to Mom & Dad. Changer of diapers, wiper-upper of spit-up. Maker of dinner, runner of errands. Yes, Peter will be a big boy who makes life so much easier for Mommy, Daddy and Baby Sister.

Right?