She's Having a Baby

 

It’s a whirlwind of activity around the Rose Household these days. Officially, Mom’s not due to give birth to my baby sister until Sept. 20, but I keep hearing her and Dad exchanging big words like “contractions,” “centimeters,” “dilated," and “holycrapareweseriouslyreadyforthis.” So they’re either studying for a spelling bee or this little brat might be on her way sooner than we expected.

Do you think they’re mentally prepared for a second baby? You tell me.

Regardless, they’re still doing a lot of last-minute work to make sure they’re as ready as possible when this baby does come. The bag is packed for the hospital, the bassinet is out of storage, all of my newborn clothes have been re-washed (mixed in with a few new ones so she doesn’t feel neglected), car seat bases are ready to be installed … you get the idea.

As part of getting to this state of readiness, Mom and Dad have been slowly preparing me for what life with a newborn will be like. Sofia, my Chinese teacher at school, taught me to say “mei-mei,” which means “little sister,” so Mom and Dad use that around me pretty regularly. Mom also makes sure to give me a lot of quality time around her belly (as you can see in the picture up top), although half the time I end up trying to jump on it like a Hippity Hop. Plus, not a day goes by where they don’t spend a few moments teaching me how to say my little sister's name.

They also gave me a present a month or so ago – my own little baby. It has a little outfit and diaper that can come on and off, so I started learning to change diapers before realizing they were only teaching me to do it so they could get out of doing the work on my sister. I haven’t done much with that diaper since. But I do take good care of the baby for the most part, although occasionally I forget that she represents an actual little baby and will chuck her across the room or bite her face.

But I’ll tell you, the realization that you’re going to be a big sister in a matter of days really gives you a new sense of perspective. Recently, I’ve spent plenty of time reflecting on what I can do to help make things easier for Mom and Dad once they’re busy taking care of two kids. I’ve made a lot of changes, knowing that it’s time to grow up and be a productive member of this household. Here are just a few of the ways I’ve bettered myself in recent weeks.

I'm learning to help out in the kitchen to take a little bit of pressure off of Mom.

Nobody can handle a salad spinner like me.

Part of being a big girl is putting on a happy face and taking one for the team,

even when your parents make you wear some stupid new hat that makes you look ridiculous.

As you can see here, I gave myself a black eye a few weeks back.

Knowing that I need to stay healthy so I can pull my weight, I've decided to be as safe as possible at all times.

Growing up also means taking responsibility for good oral hygiene.
Those giant Rose teeth can't take care of themselves.

OK, so maybe "growing up" wasn't the right choice of words.