Skip to main content


I didn’t plan a six year age gap between my girls. Once Little Lady‘s first birthday had passed, it was time to try again for a second baby. I knew it was going to take a while because it had been a long road the first time. As I had packed away each set of baby clothes all clean and labelled with ages, I had prayed that I would be able to use them again.

When I actually discovered that I was pregnant again for the second time, it was coming up to Little Lady’s sixth birthday. I was in a state of delighted shock and struggled to believe it could be true. I paid for a scan around seven weeks because I just needed to see that there was actually an embryo inside, growing and safely beating away. Thank goodness for my morning sickness confirming that it was all true!

We had left the baby stage behind long ago. Now we were able to leave the house with just a set of keys in our pocket. We had envisaged having children close together, them playing with the same toys and being bathed and put to bed at the same time. How would life look with a six year old to keep entertained and a new born to look after?

From the off, I knew Little Lady was going to be excited about having new baby in the family. She had left me full of emotion in the past when she had actually asked for a little brother or sister. We couldn’t wait to tell her the news and when we actually did, she was delighted.

My dating scan was the day before she returned to school and we took a big decision to take her with us (we had already had the early scan alone). I was fully aware that scans can bring a variety of outcomes. She waited outside with my mum and clearly understood that we would invite her in only if we could. When all was well, she did get to come into the room and it was a very special moment. We wanted her to feel involved and this was the first way that we could truly involve her. She was meeting her sibling for the first time.

As I type, I’m in my seventh month of pregnancy. The age gap is already meaning that Little Lady has a good understanding of what was going on. The pregnancy isn’t abstract, but something that is happening in our family. As my stomach expands, Little Lady loves hugging me and seeing if her arms can fit all the way around my bulging belly. I love it when she feels the baby move and when she can be persuaded to read or sing to the baby.

Little Lady knows an instant playmate won’t arrive and is looking forward to helping. How much she can help with, is yet to be revealed. If you have suggestions, they would be gratefully received! Fetching and carrying can be pretty boring!

So far the age gap, although not planned, seems positive. I plan to update this post once we have lived as a family  of four for a few months. Roller coaster of baby 2 - here we come!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Preparing to Potty Train

I do not have the perfect method for potty training. I am not an expert. I found potty training my daughter to be really, really hard work. This blog aims to share my experiences about how we prepared for potty training. I have found a great deal of support and encouragement from other parents, people who have been through similar experiences. Sometimes conversations make me think- ‘I’d never do that!’ or ‘Great idea’ or just reminded me that I needed to get on and do something. I hope that reading this is like having an encouraging friend. We started quite early for most children in the UK at 20 months. Back in the 70s and 80s this was pretty common from what I can gather so I decided to just get on with it. There were some reasons which influenced my decision- Little Lady wore cloth nappies some of the time and truthfully, I was fed up of the dreaded soaking bucket in the garage. She also hated having her nappy changed by this age and would cry and scream- I’d had enou...
Post a Comment
Read more

Starting School

Starting school is a huge event in a child’s (and parent’s) life. There are new routines, new clothes and other new children. Having seen this transition as a Deputy Head Teacher, and more recently as a parent, I believe that there are some things that parents can do to make this move as smooth as possible. Here are my top four thoughts. Firstly, there are some brilliant books about starting school. My all-time favourite is Starting School by the Alhbergs. It’s obviously dated in parts. For instance, most schools won’t have a mum who comes into school to play the piano! However, it is beautifully illustrated and shows the different parts of the school day and  events during the first term at school which provide lots to talk about. Other great titles are ‘Bella Starts School’ and ‘Harry and the Dinosaurs go to School’, both by Ian Whybrow. It’s well worth investing in a book or two, as they can be revisited lots of times during the school year. Secondly, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra

Birmingham’s Symphony Hall is an impressive venue. What better place, therefore, to see and hear the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) perform a special family concert: The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. When Catherine Arlidge walked onto the stage to present the show, I just knew that we were going to enjoy it. I have been to family concerts hosted by her before and she has a relaxed, fun style that puts everyone at ease. The concert was split into bite sized chunks with children waiting for the pause button visual at the end of musical pieces to shout out “PAUSE" before finding out more about the orchestra and enjoying games with Catherine. The show lasted about an hour and passed quickly- even for my eight month old who was being bounced on my lap. Catherine explained that the orchestra was colour coded for the performance. For instance, all the strings were wearing red. This visual image made it very straightforward for the children in the audi...
Post a Comment
Read more