With all the sweet big sister love our daughter is showing about her baby brother or sister, there are times when she shows just a hint of jealous tendencies. Nothing major, really; not anything that’s to be unexpected after being the only child for more than 4 years. And, not all the time either.
She still repeatedly talks about how much she loves the new baby. She still says she’ll help change the diapers; only the pee pee ones, of course. She also wants to hold the baby, sing to the baby, and play with the baby.
But, the other day, she randomly asked, “When the baby gets here, where will he sleep?” (She often says he, as if she knows something we don’t.) “The baby will sleep in the room with mommy and daddy for a while. We’ll figure out the rest later,” her dad told her. As she looked around her playroom, she continued with, “And, where will the baby play?” We quickly saw where this was going. “The baby will play in here too. We’ll make room for the baby toys.” After a brief look of shock on her face, we continued to remind her, “Remember, the baby will be sharing everything with us. So, you and the baby can play together in here and share toys. We’ll make sure the baby doesn’t break your toys, though. She or he will learn too, just like you did.” That seemed to please her and provide her with some peace of mind.
Because of this, I try hard to remind her every day that I love her. I know that loving two kids may be a hard concept for her little 4-year-old mind to understand. So, I often tell her, “Remember, you’ll always be my baby girl. Even though I now you’re a big girl now, you’re still my baby girl. And, when the baby gets here, you’ll still be my baby too. I’ll have two babies!” She laughs every time and snuggles up to me as if to say, “I know mami. Thanks for telling me.”
It’ll be interesting to see her develop as a big sister. Knowing how sweet, kind, and generous she already is, I have no doubt that after an initial period of adjustment, she’ll have no issues playing the big sister role. It will be an exciting time for all of us and I’m very glad to be sharing this journey with her, as I am the youngest of my siblings and never played the role myself.
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