What's different...

As far as we know, the next Baby Tackett is still head down. Based on Katie’s braxton hicks contractions and the fact that most second babies come earlier than the first, round two will be here before we know it.

When I recently looked back through previous prenatal posts for Maya, it quickly became clear that I’ve blogged relatively little about the Littlest Tackett. The next Baby Tackett deserves some more love from dad on the blog.

While I feel the same amount of love and excitement, and the same level of responsibility, there is also an entirely new set of emotions for round two. I feel like the bar is raised for my abilities as a dad.

Because I’ve been to the rodeo before, my margin for error should be slimmer. Katie likes ice chips for pushing, check. I’ve developed an effective “shush” to calm infants down, and my swaddling skills are on point, check check. When this baby become a toddler, I will not ask rhetorical questions like, “Are you ready for a bath?” when there is really no choice and when the toddler’s answer will almost always be “no.” Experience is the best teacher and I’ve got some. While I’ll certainly avoid many of the mistakes I’ve made with Maya, there will undoubtedly be others.

Perhaps my strongest emotion now, which is pretty different than the way I felt with Maya, is a strong awareness of time. Several serious bouts with cancer in the family, living in a bigger city with a longer commute, and Katie’s two jobs have made us both realize that time on earth, especially time with our family, is precious. There is just not enough of it.

Despite hectic schedules and a constant sense of wondering how we’ll get it all done, Katie continues to manage the pregnancy with humor and grace. She does most of the heavy lifting around here and has got it all done. We have everything we could ever need for a second baby—child care for Maya, family members at the ready to fly in to DC to lend a hand, friends and neighbors willing to step up if labor comes earlier than planned, and stuff (we have lots and lots of baby stuff). What we don’t have is enough time…

Other than my emotions, experience, and the scarcity of time, another issue with the Littlest Tackett is simply what to call the Littlest Tackett. We have two great names picked out for when he or she gets here, but have struggled with what to call him or her in the meantime. The most obvious nicknames are #2/the second/II/deuce/etc, but I hesitate to even refer to him/her as any variation of the number two. That denotes some sort of secondary status, and the Littlest Tackett should never think of himself or herself as second to anyone. Baby Tackett 2.0 (a great reference suggested by Aunt El) sorta works, but it implies that we significantly improved the technology after Maya. The first iPods were pretty awesome, but the later generations are cheaper, hold more songs, and can even play movies. The analogy slips there.... We’ll stay with the Littlest Tackett for now.

So, LT (not to be confused with, or be secondary to, the original LT), we couldn’t be more excited for your arrival. We’re ready for you. Katie, Maya, Abe, and I can’t wait to get to know you. I’ve got a calming and soothing “shush”, and a warm and cozy swaddle to ease your transition into this loud and busy world. Please know that we’ll avoid some of the mistakes that we made during the first round of parenting, but we’ll still make others. While there will never be enough time to spend with you, every minute we do have together will be the best. Bottom line is, we love you. So stay head down, enjoy your last few days in uterine bliss, and get ready to be a part of a complicated, challenging, and beautiful world.