I’ve spent some time recently trying to imagine what it’s going to be like having another child in the house. I find myself envisioning a pinball machine, where the actions of one body in motion constantly puts into motion a body previously at rest. So this – finally — is that presumed mythological real-world application of high school physics I always heard so much about.
We’ve talked with Ava a couple times about how things might go when her brother or sister arrives. As we drove to school the other day, Ava pointed out that it wasn’t such a big deal what Leah would stop riding in the back seat when the baby comes, because the baby will be back there to keep Ava company (Leah continues to lament the fact that we don’t have two cars). I’m trying to convince myself that we’ll be able to stay on top of things. I see mornings being particularly nasty, what with Leah’s daily 45-minute bathroom/dressing routine; what’s going to happen when Ava hits junior high? Is there a house in the world with enough bathrooms and/or electrical outlets to enable these two to get ready for work and school at the same time? Clearly, I have my work cut out for me in getting my shower/sh*t/shave process down to under five minutes.
Most folks with experience in these matters seem of a single voice when they say that adding one child to a brood actually has an exponential impact on the amount of parenting work involved. I hope that doesn’t turn out to be the case. Just as I hoped we didn’t have a child with colic. Or twins (not that there’s anything wrong with that). We’ll deal with it in any case. With luck, Ava will help us, primarily by learning to take care of herself a little more and not requiring our assistance with so many things. I fear something’s going to have to give, and since Ava’s enjoyed(?) our undivided attention for almost five years, I think it’s important we try to shower this new baby with as much TLC as we can. Now that I’ve said all this, I suppose Ava will end up handling the transition better than anyone.