It occurred to me that having a baby the second time around was going to be different as I was talking to our family pediatrician for one of Zoie's well exams before Ivie was thought of. It would be different because each child has their own plan that God has already designed for them. Some are here to teach us something, some are here to test our patience, some are here to change us, some are here to bring us sleepless nights, while others are here because we need to learn to be giving and what it means to give up our selfishness. I feel like I have been blessed with all of the above, with both of my mini's.
When Zoie was going through her baby stage, it was our normal. Whatever she did, or didn't do, well, that's what we got used to. She was able to hold her head up at a month, she was petite and stayed in NB clothes through 3 months, she hated breast feeding starting at 4 months, then hated her bottle, she never learned to sit on her own until recently, she smiled all the time, and she slept through the night at 8 weeks. This was all our normal.
After I got pregnant with Ivie, I was excited for that teenie baby again, I was excited to breast feed, I was excited to see my baby sit, for her to love eating, and to be sleeping through the night at 8 weeks just like her big sister did.
Ivie and Zoie are so alike, yet so different in so many ways. There are parts of me that feel like I have a baby for the very first time, and there are parts of me that see Zoie when Ivie smiles from ear to ear.
Some people may call me "weird" or "crazy" for thinking this way, but I feel very very blessed to be able to know what it feels like to have a special needs kiddo, and raise one, and to also know what it feels like to have an "Ivie" as a baby and raise one. Not many people get this opportunity, but I'm sure thankful that Derik and I are experiencing it firsthand.
Ivie doesn't hold her head up steadily like her sister Zoie did, because she has a big one, but she is small and petite (not as) like Zoie was. Zoie got the chance to breast feed, while Ivie didn't, Ivie loves the bottle and is a porker, Zoie never was, and Ivie slept through the night starting at 4 weeks, instead of 8.
We are experiencing a whole new "normal" with our second mini, and it's pretty neat. We are going to see Ivie do stuff that Zoie never has done, and vise versa. One is mini one and one is mini two. So different in so many ways, yet so different too.
I was worried about how I would feel about having one of "Zoie" and one of "Ivie" and now I know. I know that I love it! Derik and I are experiencing things for the first time, with both girls at the same time like Zoie sitting now. Not many people get to experience the special needs journey, and they may not want to, but as for us, it's pretty neat that God has given us a "Zoie" and an "Ivie" so that we do get to experience both. We love them both the same, yet different, they both fill our hearts with pure joy in totally different ways!
Happy Friday <3
I remember when you were born, 4 very short years ago. School wasn't even in your dad and I's minds. It's almost as if we forgot that when you have a child, part of them growing up is sending them off to school. You would think this would have crossed my mind being an Elementary Ed Grad, but we were so caught up in the now, and making sure we took our lives day by day, that no, school never came up. We decided to keep you home for your first year of preschool, due to your Cystic Fibrosis and learning delays. We wanted to strengthen your immune system an extra year, keep working on home therapies to help your brain development, speech, and muscle movement. You also had a very special friend at home to learn and grow with you; your baby sister Ivie. The last year you two have taught each other so much, she has pushed you, and you have pushed her. I'm so thankful we kept you home for that extra year! We have found a great preschool for you! It's called the Monroe Ear
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