It’s an
interesting dynamic, watching a relationship develop between siblings.
Well,
it’s interesting watching how the older one reacts. The baby just has to lie
there and hope that he doesn’t get squashed/ suffocated/ fed toys/sat on.
Now, I
know it must be a total head-melter to be the centre of your parent’s world
since birth and then suddenly, to be told: “Taa daaa, here’s a brand new human
being to share your home and your parents attention with.”
But the
real challenge must be the realisation that it’s not for a few days, which in
the life of a two-year-old must feel like forever anyway, but that it’s permanent.
I think
having a baby around was a bit of a novelty to start with.
My
daughter would invite strangers in the queue of the Post Office to meet her new
baby brother. She’d ask people sat on tables near us in cafes if they wanted to
kiss him. Luckily no-one ever took her up on her invitation, especially as she’s
totally indiscriminate when it comes to who she approaches; in fact her policy
seems to be the weirder the better.
She’d been
excited about his arrival from about month three of pregnancy; the childminder
had been told by her about the imminent arrival before we’d even gone public (we
received a sensitively written e-mail tentatively congratulating us).
But two
months in, and I think she’s starting to get a tad bored. Or maybe not bored,
but wanting things to hurry up a little bit. She’s been promised a brother who
will play with her and so far all he’s done is lie around, smile a bit, sleep
and feed.
As we
were about to leave the house the other day, she suggested that it would be
better if he stayed at home on his own to look after her plastic Peppa Pig guys
as ‘he’ll only sleep and won’t have fun’. And the affectionate hugs are now
getting a bit more like WWF moves.
My younger
sister used to drive me absolutely mental when we were little but now I speak
to her every day and can’t imagine my life without her - from having a buddy on
the never-ending camping trips every school holiday to having someone who can understand
the complexities of your family in a way that no-one else in the world ever
can.
A
friend told me that giving my daughter a sibling was the best gift you can ever
give.
I’ll
just have to remind her of that when she’s trying to sit on his head for the
millionth time.
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