Ooooh

Most of the baby books I've read say to wait to tell your child about your pregnancy until the last month. They simply don't understand the concept and will be confused.

But me, well I had to explain to Declan that there was a baby in there so he'd stop pouncing on me. He loves to "bop" and will say "Mommy, I want bop on you?" with a slight swing upward on the word you. He's learning how to ask questions. And sometimes he doesn't ask. He also doesn't ask when he head butts my stomach or drops an elbow on it. My son is not subtle nor does he understand the concept that hitting Mommy isn't a completely normal thing to do once every two minutes.

So, out of necessity, Rich and I explained that there was a baby in there so Declan couldn't hit Mommy's tummy. Then we asked him what he thought the baby's name should be. "Oooh" he said right away. And the baby became "Oooh" (as in Oooh and Aaah). He named two leopards in his book Tub and Dew, so I think Oooh is as good of a choice as we're going to get.

Then, we started to talk about what it will be like when he has a little brother or sister. We talked about how they can throw balls to each other and play together in the playroom. Then we kissed him and said good night with sweet smiles on our faces. Ten minutes later, Declan walked out of his room and called down to us: "we throw balls to each other?". And he spent the next twenty minutes or so in complete mind blowing excitement about having a playmate. Still, a week later at the most random times, he'll turn to me and say "Oooh play in my play room?". And tonight right before bed he said "Oooh gets the little swing". Yep, and Declan gets the big boy swing.

But I wanted to make sure he understood that there would be quite awhile between when Oooh comes (we explain it as when Santa gets here, Oooh will be here too) and when it's big enough to play. And afterward, Dec looked at me and said "I hold Oooh?", "I give Oooh kiss?". I mean...The Notebook tugs no heartstrings like a two year old's earnest heart.

Sometimes mommyhood is simply divine. We'll go ahead and skip my sleepless, cranky days this week and focus on what a sweetheart Declan is. I'm excited for my ultrasound next Friday. Not only will we hopefully find out the sex, but Declan will get to see Oooh. I can't wait.