Summer BanksTHE BEGINNING...
November 8th 2006 07:14
My sister in law is pregnant. My husband (DH) said he knew this would happen, once we were trying for a baby someone else would too. I am happy for them as they have been trying for a long time but to be honest a little disappointed that we couldn’t take this journey together, because of my miscarriage back in July. Will the family think we are trying to compete if we get pregnant this month?
****
All this happened about five weeks ago and today when we were shopping for a birthday present for DH’s little brother we got a call to say that my other sister in law is expecting. Shocked and not really sure how to react politely I told DH to tell them we were too. Of course we were going to announce it before the birthday celebrations tomorrow but we will still wait to tell the rest of the family then…
I decorated a small photo frame with cute stickers and placed a piece of paper behind the glass reading “Watch this Space, ….Baby Coming June 2007” and wrapped it in cellophane paper to give to my mother in law to open. She looked at it “what is it?” and then tried to guess (she hates surprises), “it’s something funny”, “it’s a picture frame with something funny”. Our responses were minimal we are used to her little outbursts by now. Finally she opened the parcel and began to read the words aloud. She paused half way through and went silent. DH’s sister said “them as well?” not really directing her question to anyone in particular, and we answered yes, and that our baby was due in June.
After about twenty minutes the shock appeared to wear off and the new triple granny started to rant about how our children needed to be brought up with the absence of propylene glycol, in order to lead normal lives. DH responded by telling her he would buy our child a block of it to suck on and you can imagine how she went off…
So now, I am going to be a mother and an aunty twice within six weeks. My mother in law has showed no positive emotion or any positive anything since the announcement but insists on telling us how to run our lives, cope with our pregnancies and look after our children. Being seventeen years since she gave birth, she is not using her own experience but that of her younger brother who for some reason is the “father of all fathers” after only having one child. Thank fully, my youngest sibling is only three, so my mother still remembers pregnancy and birth and is still raising young children. Also, she does not claim to be the best of anything despite having six healthy children.
…
Some notes on pregnancy so far ( I am 6 weeks on):
Reading all the baby books available is not going to make you the best pre-birth mother, but they can contain useful facts on what foods help with bubs development.
It is fun having one sister in law happy about your pregnancy and wanting to keep in touch and share experiences.
It is difficult to know what to say when your mother in law rings up and says “what are you doing for Christmas” without a “hello” or “how are you” first.
Having a car accident the day after you discover you are expecting is a very scary experience ( I wasn’t even worried about the car).
…
I feel like a bit of a phoney, I am not sick and I don’t complain about how my clothes no longer fit properly. My stomach has grown, though I think it is mostly fluid retention, but I refuse to stop wearing nice jeans, heels and my wrap dresses just because in three months or so my body will be nearly unrecognisable. About the only thing that doesn’t fit are my bras, and my pants feel a little tight around the waist. I know pregnancy affects everyone differently and right now I am glad of how it is affecting me. From what I have heard from my fellow mum’s and aunts to be their wardrobe options are limited already. It is now I can be truly grateful that I tend to buy clothes that fit for comfort and no other reason.
****
All this happened about five weeks ago and today when we were shopping for a birthday present for DH’s little brother we got a call to say that my other sister in law is expecting. Shocked and not really sure how to react politely I told DH to tell them we were too. Of course we were going to announce it before the birthday celebrations tomorrow but we will still wait to tell the rest of the family then…
I decorated a small photo frame with cute stickers and placed a piece of paper behind the glass reading “Watch this Space, ….Baby Coming June 2007” and wrapped it in cellophane paper to give to my mother in law to open. She looked at it “what is it?” and then tried to guess (she hates surprises), “it’s something funny”, “it’s a picture frame with something funny”. Our responses were minimal we are used to her little outbursts by now. Finally she opened the parcel and began to read the words aloud. She paused half way through and went silent. DH’s sister said “them as well?” not really directing her question to anyone in particular, and we answered yes, and that our baby was due in June.
After about twenty minutes the shock appeared to wear off and the new triple granny started to rant about how our children needed to be brought up with the absence of propylene glycol, in order to lead normal lives. DH responded by telling her he would buy our child a block of it to suck on and you can imagine how she went off…
So now, I am going to be a mother and an aunty twice within six weeks. My mother in law has showed no positive emotion or any positive anything since the announcement but insists on telling us how to run our lives, cope with our pregnancies and look after our children. Being seventeen years since she gave birth, she is not using her own experience but that of her younger brother who for some reason is the “father of all fathers” after only having one child. Thank fully, my youngest sibling is only three, so my mother still remembers pregnancy and birth and is still raising young children. Also, she does not claim to be the best of anything despite having six healthy children.
…
Some notes on pregnancy so far ( I am 6 weeks on):
Reading all the baby books available is not going to make you the best pre-birth mother, but they can contain useful facts on what foods help with bubs development.
It is fun having one sister in law happy about your pregnancy and wanting to keep in touch and share experiences.
It is difficult to know what to say when your mother in law rings up and says “what are you doing for Christmas” without a “hello” or “how are you” first.
Having a car accident the day after you discover you are expecting is a very scary experience ( I wasn’t even worried about the car).
…
I feel like a bit of a phoney, I am not sick and I don’t complain about how my clothes no longer fit properly. My stomach has grown, though I think it is mostly fluid retention, but I refuse to stop wearing nice jeans, heels and my wrap dresses just because in three months or so my body will be nearly unrecognisable. About the only thing that doesn’t fit are my bras, and my pants feel a little tight around the waist. I know pregnancy affects everyone differently and right now I am glad of how it is affecting me. From what I have heard from my fellow mum’s and aunts to be their wardrobe options are limited already. It is now I can be truly grateful that I tend to buy clothes that fit for comfort and no other reason.
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