Baby On The Way

I've been anxious to share about these two simple children's books that have really come in handy over the past month and the funny thing is I wasn't even seeking them out.

The first one was available for free to take from the hospital when SJ had her sedated testing. It's called My Own Prayers, by Larry Carney and it has simple little prayers for things like going to school, getting lost, or being scared of the dark. We brought it to the Doctor with us last time Z and SJ had to get shots because Z insisted he wanted to read the "Prayer for Getting a Shot" and we did. It was helpful for SJ too since we have the language barrier where neither of us really know the signs that would apply to this situation I was able to show her the picture and point to her and mommy and the doctor and I think it helped explain what was happening. I do have to mention one prayer in the book that kind of funny to me. It shouldn't be, because it's a very serious topic and I think it's good that it was addressed, but the prayer is for "When My Parents Argue" and it goes like this:

The other book is one that I came across at a thrift store for 69 cents and I LOVE it! I don't want to be overly dramatic, but it has been a blessing in our lives and we read it again last night per Z's request. First of all it is a children's book by the Sears family and if you know who Dr. Sear's is you know his natural approach to child birth and parenting is right up my alley. It's called Baby On The Way, and it's  kind of like a candid, age appropriate version of "What to Expect When You Are Expecting" for children. It's really helped Z to understand more about what is happening. He saw this picture and was surprised to find that the baby inside is naked! It's pretty cool, but the thing that really elated me about this little book is that the pictures are fun and descriptive. It is a way, once again, for me to be able to communicate with my daughter what is going on. In the back of my mind I had been worried about SJ. When she was born Z understood what was going on. He would talk about the baby in my tummy and that he was going to be a big brother. Here we are again, it's SJ turn and she is the same age Z was, but how do I really get her to understand. There is no time to teach all the signs that go along with pregnancy and child birth and I don't want her to be any more blindsided than she has to be when we have a new baby and my stomach isn't huge anymore. Well, the pictures in this book are an answer to my prayers. They go through everything from mommy feeling sick, to mommy going to the hospital, and mommy breast feeding. It even shows the newborn baby with the umbilical cord clamp. When I first read it to the kids there is one picture where you see the mommy's belly while she is at the Doctor and SJ pulled up my shirt pointed to the picture and then pointed to my tummy. You can probably envision my heart leaping in that moment She gets it! She understands! She does this every time we get to that page, probably because she got such a great reaction the first time. I would recommend this book to anyone who has a child that is about have a sibling.

Speaking of which, we are getting geared up for baby #3. I am 37 weeks tomorrow and if I follow the previous patterns we are about 2 weeks away from delivery. Ahhhh! There is still a ton left to do, but having 2 children already I do realize that the baby doesn't need much. No matter what we do or don't get accomplished on my to do list at this point we are going to be okay. I have a baby shower on Saturday, a baby moon with J next week, and my mom and I are going to get a pedicure and go shopping one of these days. So there are lots of exciting things underway. I will definitely keep every one posted if there is any news to announce.