avablog

Funny you should ask, Aprille. Partly on the advice of a dear and much-loved friend who may or may not be reading this comment right now, Leah and I took Ava out to Partee Zone and ice cream yesterday for some one-on-one time. It really seemed to make a difference in how Ava was seeing the world, if only for a little while. We showered her with love and made it clear that the time was all about her. Frankly, I think Leah and I needed that time with her just as much as she needed it with us.

Now, obviously, this is not a viable solution to dealing with the day-to-day life with baby, but we've promised Ava that we'd do it again soon ("how about next weekend?" she said).

I don't know what to tell you about preparedness. We tried to stress to Ava that she would always be our very special first girl, and that the new baby wasn't going to take away any of our love for her. But let's face it: Telling that to a five-year-old and having said five-year-old keep it in mind when the new baby goes for her most cherished toys are two different things.

I just thank goodness that Emmett is so good natured. Really, if he'd been as clingy and needy as Ava was, things at home would be much, much more difficult to handle. I vacillate between loving our little family of four and wondering what the hell we were thinking, having a second child. I'm told that's only natural.

Lastly, yes, Ava is wearing a yellow bib in this shot. She was pretending to be a baby. Suck on that, Freud.

Looking back, do you think you would have done anything differently in terms of preparing Ava for her brother's presence? I worry about the exact things you're dealing with. I really doubt you guys are truly neglecting her. Do you think it's her age? Do you think it's just her nature? Is there anything you find helps assuage her feelings?