Everyday Cori By Corine Ingrassia

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3 Cute Ways We Announced We Were Expecting Our Third (The Sibling Pregnancy Announcement Is My Favorite Ever!)

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You may have seen on Instagram that this week we had big news to share!!!

Baby number 3 (or Blueberry, as the kids call him/her) is on the way and due early November!

We are all OVER-THE MOON excited and kind of love having fun with the whole baby announcement thing.

Announcing your first baby, second baby, or your third– I say every baby is a celebration and should be announced with some excitement!  Here are 3 fun ways we announced our baby news this time around.

Fun Ways To Announce You’re Expecting… Again!

1. Get The Siblings Involved

We really wanted to include the siblings in our announcement this time– and we researched and came up with a lot of ideas. We selected this one because it was fun and playful and I loved the idea of Ryan showing Laina ‘the ropes’ so to speak.

I could not possibly be more obsessed with the way the sibling pregnancy announcement any more. It really displays the genuine excitement of big brother and big sister!

2. Early Morning Donut Surprise

This is how we let the kids know they were going to be getting a baby sister or brother. Delaina (4) initially thought the booties were a toy/gift.  She excitedly shouted “PRESENTS!!! The pink ones are mine!” Then we asked Ryan (8) to look at the sonogram picture and asked if he knew what it was. Slightly confused, he replied “A Flood?” …ummm not quite. ha

Once we clarified, the grins were ear to ear with lots of follow up  “For real?”s

We have the whole thing on video, ending with Ry turning to us and asking … “How did the baby get in your belly?” … Uhhh.

3. Bun In The Oven

The kids couldn’t wait to share the news, so we announced baby #3 to our parents over Easter by delivering a special “bun in the oven dessert”.

As for me?  No nausea, but the exhaustion this time around has been debilitating. I had exhaustion with Ry, but this time? ALL NEW LEVELS, my friends. ALL. NEW . LEVELS .  Of course not to over look the obvious, my husband did point out that I am “older” this time around. We’ll give him a pass. He is a saint in picking up the extra slack as we attempt to pack up the house for our move, and all I want to do is sleep.

The good news though, is that the first trimester is almost behind me (thank God for that) and this week I am feeling back to my old self. Woohoo!

First Child. Second Child. – What’s changed?

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Have you seen LUV’s new first child, second child campaign?

While I don’t know that we ever become a “pro”, as a mom of 2 I definitely think you learn to let slide a bit more with the second, third and so on- for better or worse. A perfect example of this was my not planning Laina’s night owl birthday party until a week before!

Here are some other things that sometimes slide…

The Baby Book

My siblings and I always joke about this with my Mother. One time my brother called me to tell me that it was official… I  was the favorite because they had found yet another box of “Corine’s memories” after I had been out of the house for well over 6 years and he and my sister (the 3rd and 4th child) couldn’t even locate their a baby book. My mother later confessed that by the time they were born 18 months apart, with a 3 and 13 year old as well, she resorted to just filling in a baby calendar– that she sure was around… … somewhere.

The Professional Photos

For me it was the  professional pictures. With Ry he had them done religiously as an infant every 3 months, then every year… and every holiday- up until he was 5. With Laina, that lasted until she was 2- and then… well,  who carries wallet photos anymore right?

The Monthly Online Photo Albums

With both of our kids we took tons of pictures- we still do, but with Ry we would upload them and email monthly photo albums to friends and family every month. With Laina? …. well wasn’t everyone on Facebook?

The Stressing Out In Restaurants

The video I posted above was totally me whenever I went anywhere with Ry as a baby. I had to be prepared for it all, God forbid he… CRIED at dinner. With Laina, I let her play with the sugar and jelly packets. We make it a building game- one that she still plays today.

Have you changed as a parent from your first, second, or third child?

What have you decided is good enough?

Knowing When Youre Done

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Lately it seems everyone is all up-in-my-ovaries. Everywhere I turn I’m being asked the question that, if we’re being truthful– none of us like but all of us ask…

“Do you think you’ll have one more?”

My mother and sister are jointly texting me their not so subtle hints of :

“We’ve discussed. We think its time for one more” [SEND]

My gynocologist inquired “So, are you here because you’re breaking the tie?” – Really, you too?  I was just stopping in for my annual exam.

But perhaps the part that I loath most about this line of questioning is pressure-statements that follow. “Well the boy *is* already 6 years old– you need to make up your mind soon” … “You’re already 31. You only have what? another 4years?”

Societies window of  “have time to decide” to “You need to hurry up, the clock is ticking” comes slamming shut in a way that I can only compare to when we were planning our wedding. No one wanted to talk to you until 6 months before because it was TOO early, then suddenly its 5 1/2 months before your wedding and in what seems like a blink of an eye everyone is in panic mode because “you don’t have much time”.  It’s insanity at best. Only when you are taking in terms of biological clocks… its way more stressful.

For me, my answer to “Do you want to break the tie?”  changes literally- every.single.day. I have days that I look at my kids and could cry because they’re so big. I look at newborns and my heart melts. But then I ask myself, do I just miss my kids being babies or do I want actually want another child? There is a BIG difference there, and honestly I don’t know.

My husband comes from a a simple family of 4 (only one sibling) and so he is perfectly content the way things are now with our boy and our girl.  But I look at the big family I was raised in and think- somehow growing old seems more bearable surrounded by a big family. The kids having another sibling, the house always being full for the holidays– but am I willing to tack on more years of diapers and sleepless nights (not to mention an extra 20 minutes of prep time onto even the quickest store runs)?

Thoughts of having the 3rd baby isn’t filled with the same visions of tiny cute clothes or “I’m a big brother” t-shirts your first 2 were. And I am constantly playing devils advocate with myself because the thought of having a 3rd child is harder  than the thought of having the first.

I have one friend who has told me in the past “If you are not sure, you are not done.”  While I don’t know if that is true, I ‘m wondering– how did you know when you were done?

{{ Ironically, as I sit here writing a post about having a 3rd , my 3 year old has decided to have a meltdown because she doesn’t want to go to sleep. So, um… tonight? 3 sounds like a future in a padded room to me.}}

In related news: Scary Mommy just posted these HILARIOUS Congrats on Baby greeting cards. A MUST see.

Cheeks.

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Oh my gosh, her cheeks are HUGE. …

{Over heard in the background as I lie in the operating room  “Baby, she has your cheeks!”}

… oh, no he didn’t.

Yes, those were my very first thoughts when I looked at my baby girl for the very first time, 3 years ago today.  Maybe not the sweetest story, I know. But its true, her cheeks were the chunkiest little cheeks I had ever seen. I couldn’t wait to pinch them. I couldn’t wait to hold her. To dress her in all of the pink, frilly, outfits and bows I had been collecting for 9 months, and dreaming about for a life time. She was finally here, my daughter. My mini-me.

She went through her bought of colic, and never wanted to be put down for the first 3 months but when I held her, her sweet, lovable disposition was obvious and we were all (even her then 3 year old brother) instantly in love.

She would suck her thumb and snuggle up next to me, trying to tuck her little face into the corner of my arms- something she still does when she comes into our room to sleep at night.

She inspired this blog.

And before I knew it- I was planning a first birthday.

Where did the time go?

We watched her go from baby to toddler, still with those sweet chunky cheeks, packing up her purse before she left the house at just 18 months. Sometimes, the items she packed were questionable, but one thing was for sure this little tot had a mission to be her own person.

And suddenly she was 2.

Where did the time go?

This is when I believe she made the executive decision to NEVER . EVER. look at a camera again. Maybe she thought it we would give up, boy did she have a lot to learn about her parents. We continued to be her paparazzi, hoping to hold on to every last baby moment. We also continued to kiss and pinch those cheeks repeatedly because- well how could you not?

She became curious to know what the hype was?

Tea parties became a daily routine. She discovered her inner fashionista this year, dressing up in tutus and princess dress, sun glasses and plastic heels, which we all know now as “hot shoes”.

And though sibling rivalry reared its head this year, just as she learned to play Mary when her brother wanted to play Cake Boss,

her brother learned to slow dance when she was wanted to be a ballerina and become Flynn Ryder when she was Rapunzel…

And now, today… she is 3.

And I am picking her up from pre-school where she is celebrating her very first in-class birthday party.

Where did the time go?

 Happy Birthday to my sweet, adorable, pinchable cheek’d fashionista.

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