The Human Jungle Gym

Joel thinks my ever growing belly is his own personal chair/arm rest/pillow/drum/playground. He is beating this little one up before he or she even arrives.

I do wonder how he is going to respond to a new baby. Right now he is too busy to notice or care when Mike or I hold another baby. However, I realize that holding a baby for a short time and bringing one home forever are two very different things. My friends who have children close together say they wouldn't have done it any other way. Joel hasn't had much time to get used to being top dog at our house, so I'm hoping he won't be as possessive of us as some older children are of their parents when a new baby is introduced. Either way, we'll adjust.

From the moment I found out I was pregnant my greatest fear has been "how will I possibly ever love another child as much as I love my Joel?" To be honest as I enter the third trimester of this pregnancy I still don't know, but every mother of more than one child assures me that I absolutely will. I'm really starting to look forward to his or her arrival. Joel is growing more and more independent and I'm glad I will have a little baby to snuggle again. I definitely have fears about how I will juggle the two, but I'll save that for another post.

PS. The picture above was taken a month ago. Holy hugeness batman! I was NOT that large at 5 months pregnant with Joel!