BvB Battle Final: Second Child Syndrome

I am the second child. Brad is the second child. We are in fact both middle children (hence our total awesomeness – Middle Children RULE!), but with this awesome sibling order designation comes a few guarantees: Your baby book may only have a few pages filled out, compared to the Encyclopedic and Heavily Documented Baby Book usually reserved for the first born. You get to learn from the older sibling’s mistakes (case in point: Brad’s first car), and there is a general expectation that you will have fewer photos of your existence compared to the first.

So in true Second Born Fashion, I’m a little late to finishing up my belly photos from my pregnancy with Eloise. For Quincy, I was able to do a Due Date Edition (you can view the entire White T-shirt Experiment Series here), but he was two days late, while Eloise had a few practice runs to the hospital before arriving 5 days prior to her due date. I have therefore decided to not try to duplicate every experience we shared with Quincy, but instead adapt to our current, pleasantly chaotic, situation and make things unique to Eloise.

As I mentioned, Eloise had us running (ok not running but rather Brad driving while I was working through contractions in the passenger seat) to the hospital a few times prior to her actual birth. That means we scrambled to take a few belly shots before heading in, and this is our Belly Journey in Photos.

The H-G’s, 37 Weeks

This was my final time taking belly shots for the BvB challenge, as I was working through some contractions and we were headed out to the hospital (this was false alarm number two). Quincy isn’t pictured because I was more focused on the possibility of delivering on the side of the highway instead of holding a squirmy toddler for a photoshoot.

37 Weeks

Obviously, I didn’t deliver at 37 weeks, so we enjoyed some more time out on the patio and Quincy splashing in the pool. I sure miss summertime.

38 Weeks – Patio & Pool

Our garden was also growing well over the summer, which gave us the chance to practice some birth drills in case Brad wasn’t home in time for the delivery. This Cucumber C-Section was especially helpful.

Quincy felt it would help him visualize his role as a big brother by seeing what it was like to be 39 weeks pregnant, just like mom.

Quincy Simulates a 39 Week Belly – Looks About Right

Sensing my milk production may need some assistance, Quincy lovingly was sharing his milk with baby the day before she was born.

Sippy Cup to Baby – Are You Thirsty?

And then the final full-to-the-brim-belly shot a mere five hours before Eloise arrived.

39 Weeks, 2 Days

Our sweet Eloise arrived, and what a wonderful afternoon we had!

Just one last set of photos I’d like to share is really for those of you out there that are curious what happens to your belly afterward having the baby. Spoiler: IT’S STILL THERE!

The Belly – 19 Hours Later

It takes nearly ten months for us to grow these little people inside of us – our bodies stretching and rearranging things to make room – so there shouldn’t be a rush for it to just disappear. These things take time!

Pre-Belly vs. Post-Belly – The Final Showdown

Oh, bellies bellies bellies. Now that Eloise is over five months old, it still blows my mind seeing that torpedo of a belly jutting out of my abdomen. Lucky for you, since I’ve taken so long to post these final belly photos, I also have new Eloise and the H-G Gang photos to share as I finish out this post. Enjoy!