Truman's take on becoming a big brother again {Hidden Baby Chronicles}

We didn't tell Truman our big news until after the first appointment, which was kind of hard and a bit sad for me. Dumb, I know, since we COULD have told him right away. But I wanted to wait until we could be more sure a baby will actually appear in July because I cannot ever imagine 'un-telling' my first born this news. (Shudder) Plus, I didn't want him to blab the news all over the great state of Wisconsin (ie the grocery store, church, etc). We would talk about my pregnancy in front of Truman but he didn't really pick up on the concept on his own, so it wasn't difficult to keep the secret from him.

After the first appointment, when I picked Truman and CC up from Lori's, Truman immediately said to me, 'So tell me all about your doctor's appointment, mommy!' How could I resist that sweet boy?

I told him, 'Hey buddy, guess what?' as I buckled him into my car.

T: 'What?' with the widest eyes, said in a whisper.

Me: 'Mommy has a baby growing inside of her belly. You are going to be a big brother again, and a new baby is coming into our family in the summer.'

Truman stared at me and got a huge smile on his face, then he looked over to CC and asked, 'A baby like CC?'

I explained that it's another person all together, but yes--I was going to have another baby like CC. Except not her again. ;)

A series of questions and statements followed as my buddy sort of started to understand. He asked what HER name is because he told me he wants another sister. I asked what kind of names he likes for babies and he said 'monkey'. Hmmmm. He asked if he could look in my belly to see the baby and I said no, but then I showed him the string of US pictures we got from the appointment. He pondered them for a bit, then asked why there were so many dots on there (referring to the numerous pictures of one blob baby?) and said that he thinks the dot looks like a girl. Point taken! He also said that if I eat food, then it will hit the baby since she is in my stomach. I love how their little minds work but assured him mommy would be eating PLENTY of food over the next few months and the baby is totally fine with me eating food.

Next Truman looked over to Cecelia and told her 'mommy is having another baby, CC!' He also explained that she will need to give the new baby all of her pacifiers now, and that Truman will be in charge of giving milk and getting diapers. My rational little guy;) Cecelia didn't seem to pleased with the idea of giving up the pacifiers for some intruder sibling. Another transition we will have to tackle before July...oh, boy.

When we got home Nate was already back from the appointment and Truman ran in to say, 'Daddy! Mommy is having a baby because Cecelia got too big!' Hahahaha. Nate and Truman discussed the other important topics like pacifiers and dots on an ultrasound and the fact that it's another girl for a bit, and then Truman moved onto other important topics like toys he wants for Christmas and the snack he ate at Lori's. It was a cool new piece information for him for all of five minutes;)

A few days later, Truman and CC and I were eating dinner together and we started talking about the baby. Truman randomly asked me, 'When the baby comes to live with us, she will need to sleep in CC's crib. But where will CC sleep?' I told him that maybe Cecelia could get her own bed in Truman's room, since she loves her big brother so much and would probably like to share his room for awhile. I held my breath when I said this, hoping that my 3.5 year old wouldn't freak about sharing his bedroom. He thought for a second and said, 'Okay. She can sleep in my room. But I don't like it to be dark, so I am still going to sleep with my lamp on. And if she yells out 'mama mama mama' in the night, you have to make sure to come and take care of her.' HA. Okay, sounds like a plan, buddy. He doesn't want to be Cecelia's mother but he will accept the role of a room sharer.

I asked Tru a risky question, right around 10 weeks. After T and I listened to the baby's heartbeat on the doppler, I said: "Truman, what are you more excited about? Christmas or getting a new baby brother or sister?" He thought about it for less than 1 second and said, 'Opening presents.' Touche.

I caved and did a little photo-shopping in the name of a classic 'sibling announcement' picture. Couldn't help myself. This was right before I hit 11 weeks and the kids were all dressed up for Truman's Christmas program at church. Merry Christmas, indeed. What a gift!