Just checking in to see how the older sibs are doing now?

[kindacrunchy]

My oldest just told me the other night that he wanted Dylan to go away and he wanted to give him away. He was very sad when he said it. He's missing the old days. I don't want to give Dylan away but I miss the old days, too. We are really having a tough time getting into a groove. Aidan wants to watch tv ALL the time! This week has been better, though.
Just wondering how the other oldests are doing.

[IncaMama]

For the most part, Rowan has done really well...he's never acted out in any way against her and has never said anything negative about her. he actually seems to be very attached to her...refuses to go anywhere unless she can come too...when we take her to ped visits and he doesn't come (he has MAJOR phobio of doc offices so he stays home with my mom) he asks for her the whole time...

BUT - i know he misses the old days. he has started being even more dramatic than he was before. he asks for hugs and kisses all the time and says he's "sad" or "scared" or "hurt" or "sick", etc...he doesn't ever say it in relation to Ava...he always has some other "reason" but i can just tell. i know he misses when it was just us.

there are times that he'll ask me to put Baby Ava in the basket (her moses basket LOL) if i'm holding her and he wants cuddles or wants to play, etc...and about 75% of the time i oblige...unless she really does need me in that moment, i'll oblige.

it's sad to me that he'll never be the "only" ever again...and that he didn't ask for this...but at the same time i see how attached he is to her already...and she to him (my god she loves to stare at him) that it overshadows my fears and sadness.

*hug* this parent of 2 thing is hard sometimes...

[birthjunkie27]

Mikayla is in love with Samara. Jimmy's attitude changes hour to hour. He'll have times when he wants to hug and kiss her (this melts my heart!) and he also has moments when he wants me to put her down and hold him. Sometimes I'll be holding her and he'll be sitting next to us, and she will kick him (she has discovered kicking and loves to practice) and he'll get upset, thinking that she is purposely kicking him. He's also wanting "up" a lot more, and he says "I'm small again." when we hold him.

[judybean]

I think overall, Madeline and Katherine are doing wonderfully with Lucy now around. ... I think that *I* am having a rougher time than they are!!

I was most concerned about Katherine, while anticipating the babe's arrival. With Katherine going to be around 21-22 months old, I was worried that would really cause problems.

Gosh... I didn't have to worry at all! Katherine is completely in love with Lucy and is nearly at her beck and call (or should I say scream and wail?!). Any time Lucy makes a peep, Katherine is quick to let me know that "Louie wake, mom" (Louie is awake), or that she's crying or that she needs boobie milk .. Of course, she is still young (just turned two a couple weeks ago!), so there are precautions that go along with that... but, she loves her baby sister. ... though I think there are times that she misses the closeness and being held more.

With Madeline... gosh... she loves Lucy too. She hasn't been as eager to get in her face as Katherine has, but she's great at playing peek-a-boo with her.

And about feeling badly about bringing a sibling into the world, when your 'babies' before did not ask? ... well, I completely understand. ... gosh, I really do understand.

Even when we arrived home for our first night as a family of five... I just about cried for Katherine. Katherine relished in her role of being the baby. She was, of course, always trying to be big like her sister Madeline, but still was little and loved cuddles and being held.

I couldn't pick her up that night. Or for a while. And I was trying to figure out the whole breastfeeding thing (and it Did Not go well for the first few weeks). And I was trying to figure out what to do with three kids at three and under. ... And I couldn't help her put her pajamas on because I couldn't lift her up to the changing table. ... This, for whatever reason, was nearly my breaking point. And I really almost lost it. (note that I had just given birth at 8:30 that morning in the hospital, but was home by 6:30 that evening, so hormones could have played just a tiny role in all of this as well ... they didn't *create* the feelings, but certainly intensified them).

I can't say how Lucy and Madeline or Lucy and Katherine will interact.

But I do see Madeline and Katherine now. ... now that Katherine is big enough to play a lot more. And, I must say that it is beautiful.

No, they didn't choose each other. They didn't choose to have a sibling of any sort. They didn't choose when, where, why or how. They just ended up in the same place, a little under two years apart. They didn't get consulted on coordinating personalities, or at least ones that would get along the best. ... Nothing, really.

But they love each other. Dearly, dearly love each other. Do they fight? Ha! Do they ever! Especially since Katherine is .. hm... acting very two now... and she's being a bully to her big sister lately, taking toys right out of her hands on a run-by (think 'drive-by' but without wheels ) and such... but if one or the other gets hurt somehow, ... oh... the other one is right there, sometimes crying right along out of concern.

Or one morning when dh and I were still in bed (Lucy was sleeping still!) and Madeline had gotten up to go use the bathroom and Katherine followed her in. Madeline proceeded to tell Katherine all about using the potty, how fun it was to use big girl underwear, how you go about wiping, etc. Katherine was going along with it, inserting "yeah, yeahs" whenever appropriate. ... and then.. Madeline let out a huge fart. And both girls laughed their heinys off!! And so did I.

I don't know... it might not come out as well in words as I'm trying to paint the picture in my head.

It's a struggle to say the least. Some days I'm happy if everybody makes it out alive (seriously). But the bond siblings share is amazing. At least so far it is!

[allnaturalmama]

I guess I'm just blessed. Both Hudson and Amy fawn over Will day in and day out. They want to bring him toys, help me change him, sing him songs, tell him stories, make him nebulous creations out of Legos...

Sometimes it's trouble because they want to be in his face talking to him 24/7 and Will starts to make it abundantly clear that he wants a break. But, I know I certainly have nothing to complain about!

[hottmama]

Julian LOVES Luka. He's such a great brother, he helps change diapers, gives Luka toys, his pacifier, etc. Sometimes when he wants to snuggle, he tells me that "Luka wants his daddy to hold him now" and so I give Luka to his daddy and Julian and I snuggle/nurse/wrestle. Julian spends 2-3 nights a week at his dad's and he always runs to hug me and then Luka when we pick him up and says "Did you miss me, Luka?" When Luka smiles at him he says "He loves me, mom!" It is so cute!
Also, Julian has gotten a lot more helpful lately. He feeds and waters the cat, cleans up his toys, puts his dirty clothes in the hamper and dishes in the dishwasher, and even helps unload the dishwasher (he puts all the silverware away). I think he's really taken to the responsibility part of big brotherhood.

Me, I'm not doing as fabulously as he is. I can't ever keep up with the mess, and sometimes I want to chop my boobs off after nursing each of them 60000 times a day (and the FIVE cases of mastitis I've had in the past 3 months).

[DreamsInDigital]

Gabriel and Kolaiah both adore baby Winter and the only problem I've had is that Gabriel isn't getting enough exercise and has been acting out at school. So we're going to sign him up for kung fu three times a week and hopefully that will give him something fun to do.
Other than that, things are going great and Kolaiah is a great helper while Gabriel is at school. He gets my nursing pillow for me, takes dirty diapers to the diaper pail, puts his dirty dishes in the sink...he's awesome!

[Spark]

Going really well here! Jude and Cicely REALLY like Joie! They're always happy to see her awake! They say, "HI BABY JWEEE!" Now, sometimes Cicely will ask me to put Joie down. And, unless I'm nursing, I will. We did the same thing for Jude when Cicely was little. As long as the baby isn't crying, I think the toddler needs to know they're still important. So, I ditch the baby and hold the toddler.

For me: I think the adjustment to 3 has been just as challenging as the adjustment to 2. The adjustment to 1 was the biggest doozy for me! With 3 I feel so proud when I get them all out the door by myself. I take them all over. At least 4 times a week we go to Barnes & Noble or the Mall Playground or for walks (big ones in the doubler jogger & lil one in the sling) in our cold weather. Getting out of the house makes me feel great.

[amis2girls]

The older two are in love with the baby. I get a play-by-play of her every action.

Individually the oldest is having trouble adjusting being big sister of *two.* Shelby is either her best friend or a nuisance.

I haven't figured out how to leave the house for any length of time yet. Savannah hates any carrier and the car seat. We have some serious cabin fever, unless you count going out in the backyard...

[spiralmg]

Daniel loves his baby sister. But he has been acting just awful towards me. Not all the time. But a lot of the time. It has been a real heartbreaking struggle for me.

[kofduke]

Aaron is crazy in love with Luke, and I think he may be Luke's favorite person in the world. Aaron can always get a smile or giggle out of him, even if he wakes him from a sound sleep! Aaron's been a bit overdramatic recently, but I don't know whether to attribute that to sibling stuff or just being three, or the cold he's been getting over.

Honestly, my biggest challenge is the potty stuff with Aaron since I think Luke's birth is contributing to his refusal -- before he was born he'd at least sit on it, but now he lays on the floor and cries when I ask if he needs to go potty. He says he won't go until Luke goes so I've been sitting Luke on the potty every day...he actually went once. So, now Luke has successfully peed on the potty and Aaron has not.

[darkpear]

Amalie is adjusting really well and is crazy about her baby sister. She's still a wild and crazy three-year-old though

[mariposita]

oh karen, i'm sorry it's been a difficult adjustment for your oldest.

we're doing okay over here. carter loves his brother and talks to him and "plays" with him all the time. like if carter is playing racecar, reed has to have a seatbelt (imaginative seatbelt) on the nursing pillow too.

this has been an improvement though. at first carter was mostly indifferent to reed and ignored him.

the regressive potty accidents are easing up too, which is nice. also, the tantrums are less frequent. overall, it's settling into a comfortable routine.

[aisraeltax]

my oldest is just now starting to pay attention to the baby (oldest is 15). the other day he made a statement that "hes starting to look like a real person now...he was really ugly in the beginning!" (how rude, huh).
but Mikey (8 next month) is a wonder! he is such a great big brother...really loves it. his father and i have joint custody and when he's with his dad, he calls me to ask me about Ethan...what he's doing, etc. (this is a really really interesting converstion, if you want to know! lol!). when hes home with me, Mikey is soo helpful...always goes and gets me a wipe, puts the diapers in the diaper bag, etc. He knows what a pocket diaper is, what a soaker is, etc. DH doesnt know that stuff! Mikey is in LOVE...sometimes, i think he and I are the only ones that really enjoy Ethan (although Mikey will cover his ears adn run to his room when Ethan starts screaming alot!! lol!).
its hard though...nighttimes with Mikey are hard b/c Mikey always had my complete attention at night and now he doesnt...he has never learned to sleep by himself. Also, its hard when Mikey just wants to cuddle..he's always been a big cuddler...and the babe is in the way. Its hard to run after the teenager with the baby!

[IncaMama]

oh yes, kristin, you reminded me of our potty issues. he's sort of regressing a bit. pooping in his diaper sometimes...and constantly peeing in it. we haven't been pushing it but will probably start to get a bit more "structured" about it in a couple of months since we need for him to be totally trained by september (pre-school).

[kris10s]

My now 20 month old kinda ignores her sister. She'll hold her and say "awww" for a second, but most of the time, she just does her thing.

[Thursday Girl]

usually jewely will say "i think she wants to nurse" whne Feeney starts crying, this morning she told me to stop nursing her that she doesn't like it when josephine nurses momma's boobies. It made me so sad.jewely really likes feeney but i think their is a little jealosey. i feel so bad b/c i am always being pulled away from feeney to deal with jewely.i mean i nly really hold feeney when she is nursing everytime i start to get some awake time with her jewely gets into something or pees or poops in her pants. when she's asleep i try to spend the time with jewely. it seems if i do something with jewely she demands my attention forever, but if i let her play by herself and say clean or something she doesn't mind.i just really feel like both kids aren't getting enough attention. (which is part of the reason i have given up the computer during the day. i would sit to check my e-mails and get lost in computer land) oh i just want to make sure they have enough love and enough attention. it can be so hard to balance it all, and the messy house is starting to get to me. i feel so not together.

courtney

[Panthira]

My 14 yr old loves the baby... from a distance most of the time. I told her she won't have to change the baby's diaper until he's 4 months old, so only a month and half to go.

My two yr old loves his brother, but ignores him most of the time. He loves it best when we lay the baby next to him in his big boy bed and they can "sleep" together for a whole 2 minutes or so. It'll be awesome when the baby really notices his brother. He watches him and everything, but it's not the same as that interest that comes later. I'm so tired I can't think to write tonight. I should just give it up.