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I’ve been asked quite a bit to share how Gigi is adjusting to her role as Big Sister… Honestly, she’s doing great. She doesn’t show all that much interest in Lulu, actually. She doesn’t really want to hold her, she doesn’t like when Lulu’s little hands or legs unintentionally grab her or kick her. She says, “I don’t like that!” when Lulu is crying. Up until just a week ago, Gigi just kind of did her own thing. Sometimes she’ll get excited and want to play with her and say, “Baby Lulu smiled at me!” or “Silly Baby Lulu!!!” Overall she is very accepting of her new sibling. As much as I want her to be excited about and engaged with Lulu, I also appreciate that she gives Lu space, and takes her own time and space. I never push it or force it. I make it a point to ask her if she’d like to help dress her, change her diaper, hold her but I don’t make a big deal out of it. I seriously thought that Gigi would be constantly wanting to wake her little sis up, wanting to hold her all the time. At first I felt a little disappointed that G didn’t seem as excited as I expected, but I’ve really learned to appreciate it.
In the last week or so Gigi seems to be getting more and more excited. Yesterday she said, “I sure do love my baby sister!” Which was wonderful to hear, and she’s been reading to her, sharing her blankies with her, and showing a lot more interest in engaging with her which makes sense because Lu is a lot more engaged with all of us.
As for meeting Gigi’s needs, I’ve noticed that she’s turning to Daddy a lot more for comfort, but sometimes she has a “mom only” day and I do my best to give her the attention she needs. In some ways bringing the baby home has made G regress a little, she wants to play baby, she once asked to breastfeed but then started laughing hysterically when I said “okay”, she has been a little more whiny, a little more sensitive. In other ways she has really “grown up”. She is now 99% potty trained (before Lu was born we were still having constant accidents), she gets cups of water for herself, can (kind of) get dressed on her own, and is showing lots of interest in other “big girl” tasks.
I’ve also been asked a lot how I’m handling having two kids. Honestly, most of the time it feels really great, doable, rewarding… and then there are the inevitable challenging days. There are moments where both of them have needs that need to get met at the same time and they’re both crying, both tired, both needing baths, both needing cuddles and I find myself trying to prioritize and execute meeting their needs as quickly as I can. In the “mom” department I feel like I’m doing a really great job. I feel mostly organized, on top of things, and I’m definitely keeping my head above water. Getting out of the house is challenging, even going to do something fun and fulfilling can feel draining, and I don’t even want to talk about how much I dread running errands! I know those things will get easier.
I’ve found it challenging to eat enough and to get enough exercise and often find myself having a string cheese for lunch, which doesn’t help with the depleted feeling. My foot is pretty badly injured still so getting exercise, going for a walk, etc. isn’t an option. I’m trying to be patient and take care of myself too but that has, by far, been my greatest challenge in the last couple of months.
For those of you that have two (or more!), did you have similar experiences or completely different? What did you find helpful?
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