it’s come to this …

Growing up & even after getting married, I was not one that dreamed of having babies.  Not because I didn’t want children, but because I was truly scared to death of giving birth.  The thought of being pregnant was fine – but knowing the process of how a baby was born was something totally different.  Throughout my first pregnancy, I literally had to keep reminding myself that we’re all here because of childbirth.  Plenty of women had done it before me & plenty would do it after. 

But once I had one child, I always knew I’d want them to have a brother or sister.  I always “thought” it was because I just didn’t want him to be an only child.  Yes there’s that whole spoiled child factor (no offense if you’re one of those … I know plenty of only-children that are NOT spoiled & I know plenty of children with siblings that ARE spoiled!), but mainly because I grew up one of four children.  My older sister, Staci & my younger twin brothers.  Sure we fought alot, but every family memory I have involves them – both good & bad.  And I couldn’t imagine my childhood any other way. 

Fast forward three years after Evan was born.  We brought Megan home about two weeks after Evan turned three.   I was nervous about how he would react.  I was expecting jealousy and fights for attention.  But instead I was absolutely in awe at how much he truly loved his baby sister.  He had the big brother mentality from day one.  He was protective of her, loving towards her & wanted to give her whatever she wanted or needed.  Instead of getting upset at Megan for crying, he would get upset at me or Pepper for not giving her what she needed.  He’d say “Mommy.  She WANTS her bottle!!”.  He would tell her “it’s alright, we’re almost home” or “it’s alright Mommy’s coming”.  He would hold her hand in the car & he would race to her room when he’d hear her wake up through the monitor.  He would get the biggest grin on his face when he’d see us coming to pick him up at school – not because of me, oh no.  The first person he wanted to see was Megan!

The feelings were mutual.  Megan would just look at him in awe & laugh & smile at whatever he did.  Her eyes would follow him around the room just to see where he was going.  She already has a love for dinosaurs, horses & soccer balls because that’s what her brother loves.  If he wasn’t with me to pick her up out of her crib, her head would circle all the way around & she’d point towards the door as if to say “where is he?  let’s go find big brother”. 

I’ve realized the very best part of having more than one child – it’s watching them with each other! 

And now, fast forward to the present.  In just a few weeks, Evan will turn four years old and Megan will turn one.  My days are now often filled with “don’t touch here”, “just please, leave her alone”.  While he’s excited to see Megan grow up and he’ll tell her what “a good girl” she is for standing up all by herself, he’s also starting to fight for a little more for attention, get a little more jealous and definitely get a little more aggresive.  In fact, I’ve had this post in draft status for some time now & decided I’d better put a rush on it before I forget the gentle, sweet relationship they shared the first year!!

So I know their relationship will have its ups & downs over the years and some days will be better than others.  And on those off days, I’ll remember when they played “Peek-a-boo” and made each other (and me) laugh!