Sisterly Love

Madi has been the centre of everyone's universe since the day we announced we were pregnant with her. She was the only grandchild on both sides for a long time so everything revolved around her, and only her. I have to admit, when I was pregnant with Mya I had no idea how it was going to go once she made her entrance into the world. Despite the fact that we made a big, exciting deal about Mya throughout my pregnancy, and Madi seemed excited about having a little sister, I was never convinced that she really "got" what having a sibling was going to mean for the attention that had previously been lavished on her and her alone.

What a waste of worrying.

Waiting for Bean to return

Madi fell in love with the Mya the minute she walked into my hospital room. There wasn't a moment of confusion about this new little being and I knew right away that she had understood that the Mya we had discussed so much was the Mya that she met on the morning of April 10th. She wanted to hug her and she wanted to kiss her and when the nurse had to wheel Mya away for one of her shots, Madi dragged a foot stool over to the door and watched and waited and kept asking where Mya was and when she was coming back.

Now, 4 months in, Madi is still totally and completely fascinated with her little sister. If I had a nickel for every time I hear "Mommy come lay Bean on the bed so I can play with her" then both girls would be set for university. I can't explain the explosion of love in my heart when Mya does something new or exciting, and it is Madi who is shouting and screaming the loudest in excitment: "Oh! Mommy! She rolled over!" "Mommy! She put her wub back in by herself!" "Mommy she's grabbing onto her toy by herself!" Already she is her biggest cheerleader and it is the best.thing.ever.

Showing Mya the ropes at the  mall,

As pleasantly surprised as I was by Madi's overwhelmingly positive reaction to her little sister, I was not quite expecting Mya's reaction to her big sister. I may be solely responsible for her nutritional needs and change the majority of her diapers and bath her and clothe her - but it's Madi who she has eyes for. When Madi is around Mya watches her every move. Her whole face lights up when she sees her sister. Somehow, some way, in some pre-conditioned instinctual sibling response, Mya already idolizes her big sister and has from day one.

Despite the natural course their relationship seems to be taking, it doesn't hurt to encourage it, either. Aside from the necessary steps we needs to take that Madi doesn't accidentally kill Mya (jumping over her on the bed in her excitement to get to the potty, tripping over her feet and landing on Mya in the carseat) I try to take opportunities to let Madi help me take care of Mya. Yesterday while Mya was having her 4 month shots, I asked Madi to hold Mya's hand while she got the injections - Mya didn't cry on the first shot, and cried for abour 2 seconds on the other one - and of course Madi was beaming that she made Mya feel better.

Having two kids - even when one isn't even mobile yet - can be crazy. Busy. Exhausting. But it is 100x as rewarding as it is tiring, and watching them together becoming more loving and more interative every day is a feeling that is second to none.