One of my biggest worries about having a new baby this August is getting Tula prepared.... and by prepared I mean helping her grow up a little bit! Ivy and Tula are almost exactly 3 years apart, and Tula and the new baby will be the same. But Ivy seemed so ready and so big! I am not sure if it was because Ivy was my first and I rushed things along a bit quicker or if Ivy's personality is just one to mature a little faster than Tula's.... regardless the reason, when we talked about adding to our family again we both were worried about our Baby Tula.
It has never been my intention to have my babies very close together (if I could help it). In fact, before Ivy was born it was my original plan to have my kids 5 years apart! I LOVE the baby years and I knew I might rush it away if I had two little ones at the same time. When Ivy was a little over 2, Greg and I thought it was a good time to start trying to add to our family..... and 9 months later our little miracle, Tula, came along. At 3 years apart, Ivy adjusted really well! She took to the role as big sister with ease and has asked for the past year when she would get to be big sister again. At age 6, she thinks she will be like this baby's other mama (oh no, poor baby!) and she is excited to show all she thinks she will be able to do as a big sister this time around.
Tula is not so excited.... or I should just say she hasn't really accepted it! She laughs or yells "no!" when we talk about having a baby at our house. We play up being a big sister and she still doesn't pay much attention to the thought. She loves playing with baby dolls and is a sweet little mama. And she loves live babies (like Baby Graham) as long as she can SHOVE a paci in his mouth. But as far as her having a baby sister or brother- she hasn't really began to acknowledge the upcoming change.
Change is a coming and every pregnancy seems to fly by faster than the last..... and in a little over 6 months we will welcome a new baby and Tula will hop right into the role of big sister!
READY OR NOT!
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She is ready because she is now sleeping in a big girl bed! We transitioned around the time that Greg had surgery and couldn't lift Tula in and out of bed. She did a great with the change. This will help her and Ivy move into the same room with ease. We still plan to buy her a new toddler bed rather than a twin bed because she is still so tiny! They both can't wait to share a room (hopefully that lasts) and every night Tula wants to sleep with Ivy and Ivy would gladly allow it. We will probably make that move at the start of summer- if not a little before :) Tula are ready for this change!
Panties: Day 1
Panties: Day 2
Panties EVERYDAY! Tula is also READY to be a big sister because she is potty trained.....something I thought might never happen! Again, when they are ready they are ready and mamas can't go back. We were able to potty train over our sick days at home. She requested to wear panties and for the first time she made the choice to use the potty. She has surprised herself a few times in the past, but this time I could tell she really had total control. We praised the successes and didn't have an accident until day 4 (in time out)! She has had one accident when she went back to school but otherwise has been a very easy potty trainee. I am very thankful that we have some time get this fully established before the baby arrives.
Our last step is moving on from the paci! And she is NOT READY to move on. Our little Tula loves, loves, loves, her paci. I really am not sure when this is going to happen. I had planned to wean from the paci (which is currently limited to bed and car) on February 5th. This was a recommended weaning day from the Farmer's Almanac.... thankful my friend Cicely is quite the farmer and she shares this information with me! But with potty training success right before that I didn't want to regress in that area to give up another one of her baby vices. We will continue to work toward giving it up completely but I am not going to rush it as much. I know it will happen over time and I have been so proud of how much less often she has it in her little mouth. She is extremely oral (still puts EVERYTHING in her mouth!!!) and I worry that taking away the paci could lead to other issues for Tula. Hopefully, it will happen in due time!
I am thankful (but sort of sad) to see my Baby Tula growing up. She has definitely reached 2 of the 3 milestones I was hoping to master before the baby comes and a lot can happen in 6 months.
If you have any super easy, super successful "operation no more paci"stories please do share!
