You know your baby has a lot of siblings when...
1. There are spit-up stains on his clothes that are older than he is. There's history in those hand-me-downs.
2. She's being raised in a minivan. She's got no choice but to go along for the ride whenever the older kids are getting shuttled to or from an activity, lesson, or practice. Which is always.
3. When someone asks "When's the baby's naptime?" you realize you don't really know. She just sleeps when and where she can — usually in between drop-offs and pick-ups (see #2.)
I can't NOT take pictures of babies sleeping with their butts up in the air. |
4. You own approximately one million baby blankets. Even though you don't have baby showers anymore, somehow new little blankets just keep showing up every time you're expecting. You suspect they may be reproducing somehow.
5. When a strange kid approaches him at the playground and smothers him in a hug, he just looks away in annoyance instead of crying. He knows from experience they'll get bored and leave him alone soon.
6. Almost every outfit he wears brings back misty memories of another one of your kids wearing it. Was it really so long ago when his big brother was that tiny?
7. Holiday shopping for her means searching through the right box of toys in the attic or basement. You're saving this stuff for a reason.
8. Despite your best efforts, some of her gear smells faintly musty. Everything needs a good washing after sitting in storage on and off and on and off again.
9. When someone grabs him under the arms and starts dragging him across the room, he doesn't fight it. He just enjoys the ride.
10. He wears pajamas 24/7. You know now that cute outfits are for your benefit, not the baby's. It's just easier in the morning to change him into a fresh pair of footie PJs than find a matching shirt/pants ensemble for him to spit up on.
11. She crawls and walks earlier than any of her siblings did. If she wants to keep up with them, she needs to be mobile. Like, yesterday.
13. Her stroller has a broken sun shade, several scuff marks, and a bent wheel. Ditto for the colored-on crib with tooth marks and the beat-up high chair. Nobody can say you didn't get your money's worth out of your baby gear.
14. He is the happiest and most-loved kid on the planet. No one has a larger or more devoted fan club than the baby of a big family.
12 comments:
Yes! These are all so true, I saw this happen as my younger siblings were growing. And I still see it happening now, since I have my little one-my mom will sometimes give me hand-me-downs for him that my siblings and I used to wear, and she always had stories to correspond to each article of clothing.
Oh #3! The question caught me so off guard. The first time mom's were asking for legitimate advice and I was useless to them. Also, #11 can go the other way. Mine used car double clap with a reach and grunt from the time she could clap to summon her minions. She didn't walk until 20 months!
My husband was just commenting about how many blankets we have. I swear they breed like bunnies. The sad part is that I have gotten rid of any that are not sentimental and we still have a ton. My kids are also very obsessed with them so they are everywhere in my house. I have to tell them to get their blankets out of the kitchen at least once a day. I also get excited to put certain hand me downs on my younger kids because of the memories and emotions that go along with it. I get very upset if I accidentally ruin a sentimental hand me down.
Haha! My middle daughter goes "shopping" in the bins under the stairs. She is baffled when people ask her where she got something, because that is always the answer. The bins under the stairs...
That is true. I've also known last babies who are late to talk because they're siblings do all the talking for them: "Oh, she wants THIS..."
Yes, I don't think my youngest knows that clothes come from stores, actually.
Ha. My husband and I have discussed traits of a younger sibling. He is the baby of three. His dad is the oldest of four. I am the oldest of two but also the oldest of six cousins. We're always fascinated by how these orders make up our personalities!
That's funny, I was just reading an article about the role birth order plays in forming personality so it's good to have big families in society because it contributes to richer diversity in personalities.
Totally true!
I was telling the baby just yesterday that she was so lucky and probably a bit spoiled.
If Mama and Daddy aren't available for some reason, she has a houseful of other rather capable siblings to fill in the gaps.
She makes her rounds every day. She would probably be bored if she didn't get shuffled around with everyone everyday or literally pulled through the house by her foot for fun.
I think that too, when I'm trying to cuddle my baby but he's literally wiggling out of my arms so he can crawl down the hallway to where his siblings are. They're where the real fun is.
These are great!! Me too, with the pix of the babies' butts!! So cute!!
I'm all for the footy pjs too!! No need for socks!!
With a houseful of 6, there was always something going on. But I am so glad for each one. Now they are raising their own families, and I am so glad for their experiences with babies (they can all change a diaper and cuddle a baby to sleep). Even #6, who wanted a younger sibling so he could be the older brother, is great with babies. He has been a wonderful uncle, and the little kids love him. He and his wife are the go to sitters.
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