The Biggest Best Gift

This weekend Matt and I shared some very exciting news with Natalie: SHE'S GOING TO BE A BIG SISTER IN JUNE! I am 14 weeks pregnant, and my due date is in exactly six months from today.

The news for us wasn't hard to keep secret from her for a couple of reason. Number one was because I was (and still am) terrified something will happen and my pregnancy will cease. Number two we were a little hesitant to tell her because we expected her to have some feelings of apprehension, maybe even a little jealousy mixed in. We sure were wrong about how she would take the big news. She is beyond excited!

We decided to tell her on a weekend so she would have time to process her feelings and deal with any negative emotions or concerns that might come up before she had to deal with her daily responsibilities of school. I though it might be anxiety inducing for her if we sat her down with a, "we need to talk," or, "mommy and daddy have something important to tell you," so I tried to keep it casual.

I ordered her a shirt that says big sister on it and selected the best sonogram photo I have and told her we had a special shirt and a special picture to give to her. She just was like, alright, cool, can I see it? So I gave her the picture first and waited. She had no idea what it was (and I don't blame her) and said, "maybe I'm holding it upside down" then flipped it. Matt said, "maybe the shirt has a clue on it." so we gave her the shirt.

The first thing she noticed about the shirt was the reindeer on it, so she pointed that out. We told her to read what it said. She said, "big sister" and then nothing else. For a split second I was thinking she was upset and trying to ignore the news. She then just looked at me. Not upset, not excited, not confused, she just calmly looked and waited for me to elaborate. 

I finally said, "I'm going to have a baby!" and she almost jumped out of her skin! She was so happy, so excited, erupting with joy! We talked about the baby and she kept telling me how excited she was and how she couldn't believe it.

She had a moment when she realized the gravity of it all and said, "what if you and daddy don't give me attention anymore because of the baby?" then started to cry. That broke my heart but I promised her we would always make time for her and no matter what she is SO important to us, a baby wouldn't ever change that. My answer sufficed and we carried on celebrating!

We told my parent's, siblings and nieces later that day (I already swore Matt's parents and brother to secrecy before we revealed it to Natalie) and Natalie and my niece Bridget started coming up with baby names and constantly hugging and kissing my belly.

I am so thrilled with Natalie's reaction and her enthusiasm has been very infectious! She is already the best daughter, I know she is going to be the best sister ever.