Right now.

Something I often forget when I have a brand new baby in the house is to CHANGE THEIR DIAPER! I feel silly about this one, because I have 4 children. (ages 7, 5, 2, and 10 months.) But every time without fail when I have a brand new one I forget to check their diaper every two hours. Set a timer.
Take LOTS of photos of your pregnant tummy every day up until you deliver. That final huge belly photo is wonderful to have.
Don't feel like you have to legitimize your existence for at least 2 months after you have the baby. Say to yourself "my job is to nourish and love this baby. IF I do that today I am satisfied." It is always very hard for someone like me to feel satisfied with just keeping a newborn happy and loved...I always want to jump back into my very fun full routine. (I am a little ADD...always like to have 5 things going at once.)
Don't panic if you wake up with massive night sweats for several weeks after you have her. This is your body's way of releasing all the extra fluids it has been retaining the past 9 months. Keep fresh cotton tees handy for quick night changes and sleep on a towel for a few nights.
Enjoy. This sweet little creature will be a big grown-up girl before you know it.
I'll be saying some prayers for a peaceful time of transition and a healthy and positive birth for you and your family!
Congratulations, Ali!

Best of luck to you at this time, I'm sure that's coming an wonderful future to your family =)

I'm in your shoes right now- about to pop and wondering when. I am expecting my third, and what I learned with having #2 is that you don't need the same information the second time around. That darling baby will have the same basic, basic needs- and you can certainly change a diaper (love your cloth choice- I'm a cloth mama too)- but really, this girl will amaze you. She will arrive and be her own little person with her own set of needs- and somehow, the miracle of motherhood is that you'll know those needs and how to meet them. It is beautiful- and so exciting! Learning this the second time around has made me so incredibly excited to meet this new person- not just in the cute, snuggly baby way- but really wondering who he is and how he will fit with us. It is such a blessing that they all come so different- such an adventure!
Good luck, Ali! May you have a perfect delivery and quick recovery!

Ali, I am so excited for you.

It is amazing how much you can love a second (or third or fourth) after you have experienced the love for your first child. It doesn't seem possible that you will love the second as much and the worry about how your first child's life will change can be stressful. But when baby two arrives you find that indeed it is possible to love even more.
Your first child's world will change definitely but mostly by expanding to include the love of a sibling. Think of all the chances Simon will have to teach, model, and share he never would have had without his new sister. Your circle of three will always be in your shared past but your new family of four will be a different, richer, even more love-filled place for all of you to grow and flourish.
My first, a girl, was just two when her identical twin brothers were born. The anticipatory stress about how her life would change was great and the adjustment for all of us was acute. Still, despite the roller coaster of the first few years with so many young children, it has been an amazing journey. Several years later we even added a fourth (a girl)!
My advice is remember to "apply the oxygen mask to yourself before assisting others." There will be many needs that must be attended to and as a mother it is easy to overlook ourselves. For everyone to thrive though, mama needs to make sure and take care of herself.
Blessings to you!

Congratulations and don't worry everything will come back to you. Shake off any advice that doesn't work for you...you will know what is right. Such a happy, joyful time.
My first grandbaby is on the way (and is a girl too) in May and I'm so excited. I've been missing babies for so long!

Best wishes for now, the delivery, your recovery and transition. I'm so excited to "meet" baby a.e soon and to see pics of your newly extended family. Cherish and celebrate this special & magical time.

I just wanted to wish you well. I haven't had any c-sections but at the end of the day, it doesn't much matter how the baby gets here as long as she arrives safely for you both. I was an over achiever in everything when I had my first so I thought the second would be a cinch! Please bear in mind that there is only 15 MONTHS between my first (a quiet 7 week premature girl and a loud, unhappy big boy). It wasn't a cinch.
I had to learn that things CAN wait, that there is only SO much I can do in a day, that it is NOT a tragedy if the laundry isn't folded RIGHT AT THAT MINUTE.
I learned to say to family and friends, 'Yes thanks, I would really appreciate if you did .......for me(whatever it was). I learned the VALUE of homemade dinners that were frozen and you just needed to defrost them and hey presto! you have a good dinner with no hard work. I learned the VALUE of a patient husband when the night feeds got too exhausting, I used to express and have my DH feed the baby. I learned the VALUE of my Mother for all the help she gave me, cooking, ironing and just be-ing there with me, for walking my 2nd child up and down the floor to give me a break from his persistent crying for 18 months. I learned the VALUE of my Dad's calmness and presence beside me. I learned the VALUE of a good friend. One who knocked on my door when she knew I might be out on a mercy dash for the groceries and took my herculean pile of ironing from my bewildered husband and brought it all back, ironed and folded.
Yes, when I had my second, I learned MY VALUE. As a wife and mother. A new role far removed from the one I had before children. One full of fashion shoots, fashion shows, full colour spreads in the national newspapers and glossy magazines.
On a completely different note :-) whilst out shopping today, I wandered into a baby shop and saw this uber cute outfit for a little girl. My very first thought was lol, That would go nicely in Ali Edwards' daughters room, ROFLOL. It was the exact same colours as you have going on it there. I thought it quite funny. Scrapping on the brain!
Anyway, in all of this I mean to say 'Good Luck'. It is the one TRUE miracle left in life and it is worth the wait.

Meant to say, also, that just before I went into the hospital to have second and third child, I pulled out the video camera and documented the first child's last hours as our only child and the first and second's last hours as only having each other. I love watching and re-watching it.

Ali
I have two boys 8 years apart. They are now 12 and almost 20. It all came right back except better because I already knew that babies don't break and that with love and nurturing they grow way too fast. So you savor the whole thing more- the baby , Simon, your husband and your own feelings. Enjoy.

One of my favorite things to tell myself when change is coming is not to be scared of it, not to simply expect it, but to EMBRACE it, to embrace the changes in my life. It helps us grow in ways we could never have imagined. Good luck and God Bless!

I'm really excited that you guys are expecting another baby... and that Simon will get to be a big brother. I guess because I think having siblings is important. (I'm the youngest of 3 all girls!) I hope all goes well, and remember to take care of yourself and not overdo it. (that's the only advice I'll give=))

What really helps me (with 2 young ones) is to do my grocery shopping online through Safeway.com. The delivery fees are small and sometimes free depending on your order total. There is a no tipping policy which is cool. I save a lot of time not having to tote 2 little whiny kids in the supermarket.

Since you asked ... I read an article, just before our second was born, written by a doctor. His advise was to NOT look into your baby's eyes during night time feedings. He said it was proven that baby's heart rates increased when they met their mother's gaze therefore making it more difficult to quickly go back into a restful sleep. I tried it. I kept my eyes closed while nursing and gently rocked in our chair while softly rubbing his sweet baby head. It worked. It really, really worked. Our baby would eat and go right back to sleep. SO UNlike our first born! Best wished to you and your family during this exciting time.

I'll repeat what has already been said...way to go for the repeat c-section. Although I don't know the circumstances of Simon's birth, in my case a traumatic emergency section resulting in our daughter making a stay in the NICU was not something I wanted to repeat. The planned c-section as well as the simple fact of having been through it before makes the entire experience just so much better (and come on, how much better to have a spinal while NOT in the middle of having a contraction?!). But, you will know what to expect and that will make it so much easier. I'm not one for offering unsolicited advice, however since you asked, I will suggest following the Tracy Hogg "Easy"...eat, activity, sleep, you. So simple and yet such good advice. Our second daughter fell into sleeping through the night at 7 wks just repeating this same thing I did the first time around. So that is my little two cents.
I wish you and your family all the very best for the next few weeks. You show a sincere and heartfelt way of just "being" there for all in your life and your new daughter is so blessed. Hugs and butterfly kisses to you!

sending you lots of prayers and well wishes for the safe delivery of your newest family member.
and, as a mom, of 3 and "survivor" of 3 c-sections, just take it easy. and i am sure that once simon sees that new baby is he gonna be her shadow.
so wonderful that your mom is there with you! i think having my mom so close saved me each time. i also pre-cooked a few meals so all that had to be done was tossed into the oven. a great lifesafer!
blessings!

You are a wonderful person making this work for you and your family. I wish I could only be as lucky not being afraid of PPD to give this another try. I am afraid of getting off my meds but studies show it is fine to keep taking during and after but I'm apprehensive of having my second baby too. I know you have bouts of depression like I have I would like to know if you are taking yours during and if you will after? Thank you Ali I wish you all the best.

Even though I don't KNOW you, I am just so excited for you and your family right now! Simon is going to be such a great big brother and hopefully the whole newborn caretaking thing is like riding a bike ;-)

Don't worry about scrapbooking, just take photos and write things down every day. You can always add the creative stuff when you have more time and energy!
Don't try to "do it all." Let others do for you. Enlist Simon's help to make him feel needed and important.
Bibs: more than just a fashion accessory. If you have a drooler or a spitter-upper, you can just change out bibs instead of entire outfits, and it really saves on the laundry.
Swaddling: nothing calms a baby faster. Keep doing it for the first months, not just the first days. Swaddle nice and snug if the baby struggles with colic.
Walk daily, with baby on you or in a stroller. Get out there in the fresh air, rain or shine, if only for a few minutes.
Enjoy!

I help women deliver their babies everyday. Which I totally love. My best advice to give is: there is no wrong way. So many of my patients are concern that they didn't get to hold the baby immediately or that they didn't breast feed immediately and they baby won't bound with them. You have probably already learned with Simon that you have to roll with the punches. So just enjoy the moments. If she is hungry feed her; if her diaper is dirty change. Love her. That all!

I like you, had a boy of 8 with PDD-NOS when my second child arrived. We made sure that my oldest had a special part in the day. (planned C-section) we had his grandmothers with him at the hospital and we had made him a special package of stuff for him to use and give to Dad to help take care of the new little brother. Fun stuff, like goggles, nose clips, tool belt full of goodies such as the flashlight holder became the bottle holder etc. My oldest loved it! When we got home the biggest hurdle was keeping the noise level down. The noise of a colicky little baby was too much stimulation for my oldest, we really had to make sure he was able to have some decompression time and had family help to keep him on his schedule so he wouldn't have a harder time adjusting to so many changes. Good luck and God bless your little family!

don't forget the alcohol for the belly button cord. i purchased the alchol swabs that came in little packages, handy for the diaper bag. Good luck, sweetie!

Ali, thinking about you often throughout the day. I have 4 month old twins, my surprise babies, their siblings are 5, 3 and 19 months! Yes, we are busy here but what a special kind of busy. I didn't take the time to read the comments of others so I don't know if I'm doing a repeat but I found that I have done my children a favor by trying to relax about their interactions with the twins. It is amazing how much babies can handle even by way of what can seem to be rough treatment. I have found that my older 3 children do not seem to resent the babies as long as they are not jumped on everytime they get too close or "rough" in their loving. Of course, gentleness must be taught and enforced but I try to be careful that I don't push gentleness too far. I believe the bonds between my children (on the sides of the older three and the babies both) have been strengthened because of the times I sat back and let the interactions happen when actually I ached to "rescue". My reward at 4 months is the achingly beautiful grins and coos my babies give my "big kids" and the cuddles and stories my "big kids" lavish on the babies.
All the best. I eagerly wait for the fantastic news of Baby Girl Edwards' safe arrival. Strength, energy, and wisdom as you raise both Simon and this little one, all going well.

Be gentle with yourself. Enjoy the moments - you know how fast they go. Do not stress about how you are doing things - all this babe needs is the warm comfort of mom - any minor hiccups will not be remembered by baby, so let them go. And if you are nursing and very sore, baby orajel works well for numbing until you toughen up a little bit.

Ali, you will LOVE having a daughter. My best advice, enjoy the time in hospital...make the most of the "magic nappy bucket" in there as we called it....not sure how long you can stay in over there but 2nd time around I took full advantage of the 5 day stay and got all my Thank You cards written and sent....that was a god-send. Bonding with your baby girl is just the best!! God bless!