From the time I started sharing that I was pregnant with my third, people have been filling my head with all these wild notions of what having a new baby was going to do to Annabelle. Poor little Annabelle was unknowingly going to be dethroned from her longtime position of being the baby of the family and catapult into a dreaded new role of middle child.
I quickly realized that everyone's opinion on what it means to be the middle child ran the gamut from rambunctious to passive, selfish to selfless and attention-seeker to wallflower. One person will swear to you that the middle child will be a constant over-achiever, while the next will warn you about the future slacker you've got on your hands. All of these people know that their statements are facts because they either have a middle child, are a middle child, or have a sister whose cousin-in-law has a middle child and they just know. And much like everything else related to parenting, those who are imparting their unsolicited opinions on you will always know that theirs are right.
I even had someone once tell me when I was pregnant to make sure not to forget my middle child. Like I might have this baby and - oops - the fact that there was one more between the first and the third was likely to suddenly slip my mind and I would carry on my life, not noticing that Annabelle was there. Would I just not pick her up from school one day? Or maybe leave her behind at the grocery store? Who knows. Thankfully, here we are, two plus years after establishing a middle spot for Annabelle, and I'm happy to say that we have not forgotten her. Not one bit.
So for those of you who have heard the warnings of the dreaded middle child, I am here to tell you that it will all be ok. Smile and nod as you listen to the horror stories and the tales of greatness. As with everything else, your experience will be your own. What someone else has seen first-hand, or heard through their various mom groups on Facebook won't have an impact on how your child settles into the spot of in-between. And besides, if you start to notice that you middle child is becoming somewhat of an unsavory character, you can always have one more baby and eliminate the potential risk. But as for me, I am happy to report that my middle child is doing just fine.
We would like to thank the following brands for their gifted items:
Outfit: Andy and Evan
Shoes: Fab Kids
Stroller and doll: Triokid