Sometimes, during the difficult days with a small baby it is easy to feel guilty about the effect their arrival has on their older sibling. Monkey doesn’t get as much time and attention anymore, he has been snapped at and had two pretty tired and at times grumpy parents to deal with. It feels mean the way his world has changed. Then you look at the way he looks at his baby sister, and the way she looks at him and you remember why you did it.
She follows him around the room with her eyes all the time and I wonder if she will always be so in awe of her big brother (I imagine not!).
He still thinks she is “so cute” and always wants to wake her up (I am less happy about this) even when I try and explain that if she is asleep it means he and I can play together! He likes giving her toys to play with (not that she is old enough to appreciate them) and the other day when she was in the bathy came in and starting “giving” her loads of toys to play with, saying “here you go, here you go” – it was very cute though I was slightly concerned she was going to get bonked on the head. He is happy to include her in his games too, we were having a “picnic” the other night and he gave her a biscuit, though we did have to remind him to be gentle as he shoved it in her face!
He also likes holding her hand, which is lovely, he keeps naming the four of us and calling us a happy family, making the four of us all old hands around the breakfast table 🙂
He even came and held her hand while I was feeding her the other day, melted my heart!
He can be a bit heavy-handed with her as I am sure any toddler can but I have not seen any real jealousy aimed at her. He sometimes get cross if he wants my attention while feeding her but it’s not too terrible and now we are doing better with her naps and sleep we are a bit less tired and grumpy and he is getting some more quality 1 on 1 time with us. Life has changed so much in the last 2 1/2 months since she was born, and their relationship is constantly eveolving. When I think about how much more it will change over the course of the year, well, I am just so excited to witness it :).
A lovely collection of sibling photographs Caroline… Its such a lovely way to document our little ones relationships, isn’t it? I sometimes used to feel guilty about the time you can’t spend one on one time when you have more than one, but now they’re older, its easy to see how enriched their lives are by each other.xx
thanks lovely, it is a fab way to watch how they grow together isn’t it and thank you that is what I always hope to hear! xx
Ah, they’re getting on so well! Toddlers are heavy handed with babies, and I was then amazed by how much Little Man liked Boo’s rough and tumble ways when he was growing! Lovely that Monkey wants to include Little Miss in everything he’s doing. Sweet photos x
Thanks lovely, we are definitely off to a good start 🙂
Aw so cute Caroline! I remember that heavy handed toddler stage – it really reminds you how different the experience is second time around and the reasons why first and second children can have such different traits. I expect she will continue to follow Monkey around and be fascinated by him for some time to come! 🙂 X
Ahh That is so lovely, toddlers are great and can be so adaptable with new siblings. Monkey sounds like he is a fab big brother and Little Miss looks like she adores him. I hope that my little ones love their new brother as much when he is born!
Aww that’s a lovely set of photos – especially the ones where they’re looking at each other – just so sweet!
Always find it fansinating to read about siblings and their little relationships. Thanks for sharing #brilliantblogposts
Gosh, you make seriously gorgeous children. I can’t quite imagine managing a toddler on top of a newborn – or newborns, in my case – so hats off to you for juggling their different needs so well. I love that picture of their hands together, and the way that Little Miss looks at Monkey – too cute!
Lol thank you, I think they are gorgeous but I may be ever so slightly biased 🙂 Well i sturggle to imagine looking after two newborns so it really is hats off to you for juggling them! 🙂 xx
These photos are adorable and take me back a year. It is so sweet to see them together. My two youngest are 16 months apart so I have had this fun journey you’re on now. I can honestly say the first year is difficult but when they start to play together like you said, it makes it all worth it. They are gorgeous and I’m looking forward to all the pictures this year x #siblings
It’s so lovely reading about the relationship between siblings – and the more I see these posts, the more broody I am getting! It’s lovely seeing the evolving dynamics. Gorgeous photos x #brilliantblogposts
So gorgeous! You’ve inspired me to go back and look at our baby photos, coz I’m sure our eldest must have had times when she felt loving towards her younger sister… I just remember it all as her nose having been put out of joint!! 😉 #siblings
Whilst it feels hard now and you do feel guilty – it will be so worth it. The relationship they have will only continue to blossom and these tough few months at the start will completely melt away x
Aww she is beautiful. Aren’t big brothers just the cutest? My son does just the same as yours with our baby. So sweet x
Hi, I’ve just come across your blog thanks to the Siblings Linky. How old is your tiny one?! I have a 15 week old. I’m looking forward to seeing your siblings grow.
Awww, these photos are so lovely. And they really take me back in time to when our little girl was still new and my two were still finding their way as siblings. Two and a bit years down the line, she still follows him around the room with that look of total adoration and I don’t see it ending any time soon. Thanks so much for linking up with us. x
Just gorgeous-loved this post! Thanks for linking up to #brilliantblogposts x
these are beautiful photos, what a lovely bond they have already.
Lucas says – We always knew that Monkey would make a great big brother and just wait until Little Miss starts crawling. They’re gonna have so much more fun…………. #brillblogposts
Such a sweet post and I love the photo of them holding hands. She’s growing up so fast and Monkey seems to be adoring his little sister. Love reading about them so much 🙂 #brillblogposts
If she’s anything like my little girl she will adore her big brother 🙂 Love the photos of them together, it’s really lovely watching the interactions isn’t it? #siblings
Lovely pictures! Love the first one, the way they are looking at it other is so cute x