metaphortunate: (Default)
metaphortunate son ([personal profile] metaphortunate) wrote2013-04-10 09:10 pm

metaphortunate! Now with 2x the baby talk!

Welp. My trousers gave up the unequal fight on Friday. I told my boss yesterday. This morning we told the Junebug that Mama had a baby in her belly. He poked my belly and said "Baby*!" It's probably time to tell the internet.

Hypo** is due to be released in September.

So, yes: originally I didn't want any kids. Then I decided I wanted one. Now I have decided that I want two. Possibly it's for the best that the inescapable realities of aging are going to cap it there. Not that I have any desire for three, mind you; but then, ten years ago, I didn't have any desire for one.

Part of it, of course, is that the Junebug is wonderful. In fact, that's what kills me: all I want is another Junebug! This little guy is so great! And that, of course, is the only thing I know for sure that I won't get, because as every single person with more than one kid tells me, every baby is different. I know that! I do! I'm just really sad about it!

But mostly it's that Mr. E has turned out to be such an amazing dad. I mean, to be real: we talked a lot about being equal parents, before the baby came, but a lot of guys talk a good game. You don't really know what someone's going to be like until they're in the middle of it. And he's been the best. He stays home with the Junebug one day a week. He makes his lunch to take to daycare every day. He puts him to bed half the time now that he's not nursing anymore. He stays home with the Junebug when the baby is sick. (When he's sick in advance. I'm the one who leaves work when he unexpectedly gets sick at daycare. That is the Deal. Turns out these Deals can take on Jackson's Whole-level importance, when you're negotiating how to raise a little dude.) We took shifts at night when the baby was tiny. He washed all the pumping stuff when I was pumping - that's a bigger deal than you may think. One, the time adds up, and two, I have eczema, so washing dishes is painful. I am so impressed with single parents now. I kind of think our country should not only give them a stipend but also possibly some kind of medal and and free babysitting and maybe special parking spaces. I would pay more taxes for that. I would say I can't imagine doing this alone but actually I can. Oh, I can. Vividly.

And yeah, there are downsides to everything, and we fight about all the Junebug's food and stuff because we're both so invested in raising our kid. But there's no other way I'd rather do it. So, to my surprise, I could totally see having another kid with this guy. And so we're gonna.



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*One of the Junebug's daycare teachers has a new baby, 4 or 5 months old, and she's brought him in for the toddlers to see a couple of times. The Junebug knows his name and when I say his name says "Baby! Baby!" I'm very pleased he's learning about babies. Specifically, about being gentle with the baby.

**Hypo is short for "Hypothetical Baby To Be Named Later". I kind of hate it as a nickname, and it really won't work well eventually. But it's what we started calling the hypothetical baby when we were in discussions about whether there would even be another baby, hypothetically, and despite my best efforts to come up with an alternative, it's just…stuck.
cofax7: XKCD boom de yada (Boom de Yada)

[personal profile] cofax7 2013-04-11 04:23 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, how sweet! Congratulations and best of luck to all of you!
wild_irises: (koala)

[personal profile] wild_irises 2013-04-11 04:31 am (UTC)(link)
When [personal profile] dancingsinging was pregnant last year, her sister told me that she wasn't so sure about having another niece/nephew, "because Older Child is so perfect!"

After the baby was born, I asked Sis what she thought. "They're both perfect!" she said.

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boxofdelights: (Default)

[personal profile] boxofdelights 2013-04-11 04:39 am (UTC)(link)
Congratulations!

(I felt kinda sorry for my second child in utero, because, after Phoebe, how could a second child be anything other than second-best? I still don't understand how, because he is different, but somehow he is just as good.)
trouble: Sketch of Hermoine from Harry Potter with "Bookworms will rule the world (after we finish the background reading)" on it (Default)

[personal profile] trouble 2013-04-11 05:45 am (UTC)(link)
!!!!!!!! Congratulations! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D!!!
thistleingrey: (Default)

[personal profile] thistleingrey 2013-04-11 05:50 am (UTC)(link)
Felicitations!
rosefox: Green books on library shelves. (Default)

[personal profile] rosefox 2013-04-11 06:09 am (UTC)(link)
Congratulations!

I hope you won't follow Naomi Novik and Charles Ardai's example of naming the child Evidence once they're no longer hypothetical. (They really did. Evidence Ardai. I assume they call her Evvy.)

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[personal profile] rosefox - 2013-04-11 06:23 (UTC) - Expand

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ironed_orchid: watercolour and pen style sketch of a brown tabby cat curl up with her head looking up at the viewer and her front paw stretched out on the left (Default)

[personal profile] ironed_orchid 2013-04-11 06:29 am (UTC)(link)
Congratulations.

All your reasons sound very reasonable.

I'm re-reading Harry Potter for the somethingth time, and can't help thinking of some version of You-Know-Who or He-who-shall-not-be-named, like he-or-she-who-is-yet-to-be-named.
lovepeaceohana: Lulu, somewhere around six months old, smiling out from a hooded bath towel. (lucas)

[personal profile] lovepeaceohana 2013-04-11 06:33 am (UTC)(link)
OMG CONGRATS!! <3333

I was the same way, once we had Lulu - it was, welp, we have one, may as well have another. "They'll keep each other entertained" we said. And everyone who knew me from back in the day is like "you said you never wanted even one and now there are two!" Such is life.

BUT OMG CONGRATS!! And good luck!!!

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oursin: Brush the Wandering Hedgehog by the fire (Brush the wandering hedgehog by the fire)

[personal profile] oursin 2013-04-11 07:48 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, how lovely. I'm so pleased for you.
moonvoice: (calm - a cheeky white raven)

[personal profile] moonvoice 2013-04-11 08:30 am (UTC)(link)
Congratulations! :D I am sure your second will be as awesome in Junebug in a *completely* different way, which is probably difficult to imagine, given that you know how *awesome* Junebug is now. :D

I'm glad your partner helps you out so much. Eczema on hands = icky (I get it too when washing dishes and other things), I'm so glad you have someone who genuinely helps out in a consistent and loving manner. That is so awesome.

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copracat: Roger Federer, shirtless.  (roger)

[personal profile] copracat 2013-04-11 08:48 am (UTC)(link)
Congratulations to you, all four!

One of the biggest - possibly the biggest - realisation I had about my niece was that she was a brand new member of my family that I could keep forever. That our family was one more. That was kind of awesome.
tam_nonlinear: (Default)

[personal profile] tam_nonlinear 2013-04-11 10:17 am (UTC)(link)
Congratulations! How about potato chip? It's the term used in pet circles for the 'maybe I'll have just one more' phenomenon.

While I am generally skeptical of the concept of love at first sight, I have found it to be true with The Niblings, and am generally astounded that you can even have love at first sight pre-scheduled (two of them made their appearances into the world by pre-scheduled c-sections, so I knew beforehandish when I was going to meet one of the most awesome people in my life).
kalmn: (Default)

[personal profile] kalmn 2013-04-11 10:48 am (UTC)(link)
Hey! Whoa! Awesome!
cahn: (Default)

[personal profile] cahn 2013-04-11 10:57 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, wow, congratulations!

(And oh man, yes to the Jackson-Whole level Deals and also stipends and medals and all of that for single parents, ouch.)

And yes -- I really want another E, because she's totally and completely fantastic, and I know that if we have another kid that this is the one thing we won't get...
Edited 2013-04-11 10:59 (UTC)
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[personal profile] brainwane 2013-04-11 11:45 am (UTC)(link)
Congratulations! I hope all goes well.
lightgetsin: The Doodledog with frisbee dangling from her mouth, looking mischievious, saying innocence personified. (Default)

[personal profile] lightgetsin 2013-04-11 12:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Yay! I was hoping the silence meant that had worked out. Glad to be right.
kate_nepveu: infant asleep on adult's shoulder (The Pip - sleeping on shoulder (2011-12))

[personal profile] kate_nepveu 2013-04-11 12:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Congratulations!

That Chad would be awesome is why I came around to having one in the first place. (The thing that tipped me over into having another was that SteelyKid would be such a great sister, which in fact she is.) And OMG washing pump parts, you aren't kidding. (I did all my pumping at work, so there was no sharing.)

(I just sent all three of them off to daycare, and the Pip stopped twice to turn around and wave at me, and SteelyKid wanted to do a floor puzzle with me but conceded fairly gracefully to doing it after dinner, so it's all working out pretty well.)

Anyway: there will be new and unexpected dimensions of awesomeness for everyone when TBD arrives, and it will be great. Congratulations again!
laurashapiro: a woman sits at a kitchen table reading a book, cup of tea in hand. Table has a sliced apple and teapot. A cat looks on. (Default)

[personal profile] laurashapiro 2013-04-11 12:19 pm (UTC)(link)
You sound so happy, all I can say is hooray!
loligo: (baby)

[personal profile] loligo 2013-04-11 12:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Yay! Congratulations!!

Baby number one was really, really rough for us. We were planning to stop there, until some woman whose name I don't even know told me that her daughter's neurologist said it was safe to give melatonin to kids. Soon Chuckles was falling asleep promptly (instead of enduring around 90 minutes of exhausted misery each night), and sleeping through the night (instead of starting her day at 3:00 AM a couple times a week). Three long years of extreme sleep deprivation were over, and in our blissful haze of happiness, somehow we decided to go for Baby 2. Honestly, it felt more like alien mind control, but we have not regretted it.
wordweaverlynn: (Default)

[personal profile] wordweaverlynn 2013-04-11 01:55 pm (UTC)(link)
I agree with the Junebug: Baby! Baby! I love babies. More babies should have such excellent parents.
raanve: (awesome! [t-rex by Ryan North])

[personal profile] raanve 2013-04-11 03:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Congrats!! :D
norah: Monkey King in challenging pose (Default)

Ugh, mobile posting

[personal profile] norah 2013-04-11 03:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Eeeeeeee baby redux! So exciting and terrifying (for you) and just exciting for the rest of us! Yay! When due? What hat u want? I did eggplant for junebug, right? Tomato? Punkin?
jae: (partygecko)

[personal profile] jae 2013-04-11 06:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Congratulations!

-J
oyceter: teruterubouzu default icon (Default)

[personal profile] oyceter 2013-04-11 11:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Congratulations! (Also yay having Mr. E there with you!)
jesse_the_k: Drowning man reaches out for help labeled "someone tweeted" (someone tweeted)

[personal profile] jesse_the_k 2013-04-12 01:58 am (UTC)(link)
Congrats! Sounds like your lovely three-some will get more-some.

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