Our first baby conversation

Yesterday, when we went to pick up Ivan from daycare, Emma, a cute talkative three-year old in Ivan's class, was showing us her "baby." A doll she had put under her shirt. I don't know if she has a younger sibling or not.

Today, Ivan got his stuffed dolphin and stuck it under his shirt. "My baby, my baby," he told me. Had I not seen Emma do this yesterday, I would've been concerned where he got it from. But it made sense.

"Mamma has a baby in her belly, too," I took the opportunity to tell him. It was our first baby conversation. I'm sure he has no clue what it actually means, but he did show interest in my growing stomach and the baby that's inside.

Maybe this makes more sense to him now, than our elusive "don't hit mamma on the belly, gentle with mamma, etc" warnings.

I suspect that he's been aware for at least a month now that something is going on with mamma. Ever since the sonogram to which both he and Andy came, he's been acting more clingy around me. When I hold him, he doesn't just relax and lay limp in my arms, but rather hugs me back with all this toddler plump might.

I especially noticed it this week at daycare. Each morning when we dropped him off, he really didn't want to let go of me. When he saw me in the afternoon, he'd rush to me and hug me real tight. He'd rush to me past Andy, even though in the past he'd always primarily go to him not me, since he's the primary daycare drop-offer and picker-upper. And Ivan, like all toddlers, is all about a routine.