Congratulations mama you have made it to week 24!
This week, BabyCenter.com says your little Sweet Pea is 1 1/3 pounds and almost a foot long, or the size of an ear of corn. He’s starting to fatten up but still looking pretty skinny if you could see him now. His skin is still translucent, but his lungs are getting stronger as they enter the saccular stage of development and begin to excrete surfactant, which will eventually help baby breathe outside the womb.
As for you, mama, your belly is growing with your little one. The top of your uterus is above your bell button, now, and is about the size of a soccer ball.
This week on the podcast, instead of doing an interview or a birth story, I want to talk about something that’s near and dear to my heart, and that is how to reassure your older children that they’re not going to be replaced with the new baby who’s on the way.
When we knew baby #4 was on her way, it was clear that our older kids were wary of her arrival. No one wanted to be lost in the shuffle. So, while they were excited to meet their baby sister, I knew we needed to give some extra love to each of our littles.
Figuring out your child's "Love Language" is, by far, the best way to make sure you know how to show them the love they really crave. You can go to www.5lovelanguages.com and take the quiz for each of your children from age 5 thru teenager. My oldest, Reese, has the love language of "Quality Time"
Last week I had the pleasure of taking my daughter out as my "plus one" to an influencer event. We were treated to a night out at the theater in Sacramento where we got to see the Broadway show STOMP! As Special guests of the show, we even got some pre-show refreshments at a local wine bar called Downtown & Vine (don’t worry, she only had snacks and sparkling water).
The show was amazing. The choreography and coordination it took to put the show on were truly breath taking!
Here are some great ideas on how to have intentional time with your kiddos. Making time to show them that they’re not going to get lost in the shuffle when your new baby arrives (or even now) is really important to build older kids up and prepare them for the arrival of your little one.
Be sure to listen to the episode for some more key takeaways and ideas on how to spend time with your kids to prepare them for your new arrival!
A HUGE thank you to the following companies who made our Mommy/Daughter date possible and had us a special guests: