We've reached the two-week mark; well, two weeks and two days. I should have written and posted this two days ago but I guess with two kids now I get an excuse. Anyway, I like to start by saying that I am an only child so this whole sibling thing is really new to me. I have no idea how exactly to handle sibling jealousy issues especially with a two year old who doesn't yet grasp the concept of reasoning. Two weeks in and we are in full crisis mode. I get the whole "this is mine thing"; being an only child everything thing was mine.
In the picture above you can see that Sofia wearing a onesie that's way to small for her; it is in fact a newborn size onesie. Despite being so tight her arms are going to fall off, she still wanted to wear it all day. We went from "I want to hold my sister all the time" to "I want to wear and use everything that was mine even if it is unreasonably too small".
After that, we moved into the aggression phase, which I don't have pictures of. I get that sticking your fingers into your baby sisters ears sounds like fun and maybe it is but do you really need to try and dig her eyes out as well?
Lastly, we have denial of all baby needs. Everytime I need to feed, change, burp or hold Viola, Sofia insists that she doesn't need these things and starts to cry and scream. Our pediatrician says put the baby down somewhere safe and redirect the situation. Redirect? How can you even think straight when the baby is crying, your breast are leaking, and the toddler is screaming and rolling around on the floor in a tantrum?
Luckily, Viola makes really stupid and silly faces like this one above and it saves my sanity. I'm doing a lot of laughing around here lately. Especially in car rides when Viola screams every time we stop at a light and then Sofia joins in because the baby is doing it too. I just laugh at the crazy vibes coming out of the backseat. Laughter truly is the best medicine.
And then there are moments like this when you are out with two kids trying to get a sandwich and the baby is crying you can hardly think straight enough to remember if you like tomatoes or not, when the big sister kneels down to a crying baby to hold her little hand to her mouth so she can suck on her fingers for comfort. Children are such an incredible roller coaster ride.
Please share with me any stories or advice if you have multiple children or if you have siblings!
Nice skirt!
ReplyDeleteI see Viola takes after her papa & his crazy faces.
ReplyDeleteOh Gosh, you're in the thick of it now...it WILL get better! Everything that Sofia is doing falls within the range of totally normal when it comes to adding a baby to the house. My oldest tried to cram his little body into all the clothes, wanted to wear diapers and stole the pacifiers to go suck on them in the corner of the room...gah! She's just unsure about her place in the family now that this new little babe is around. It's gonna be crazy, and it might get worse before it gets better, but trust me when I tell you that they will be the best of friends at some point in the future and their affection for each other will melt your heart. Hang in there, and keep laughing!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the encouragement! Since writing the post things have gotten a bit better. She's not trying to wear Viola's clothes anymore. She is still aggressive but we're working on that too, much like training a puppy.
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