Mason As A Big Brother
We are enjoying watching Mason develop into a loving big brother. Like with most other aspects of bringing home twin babies, the beginning was a little rocky. Mason's world was turned upside down, suddenly, nonetheless. He spent the three nights we were in the hospital at home sleeping with "Gran-fart" and "Boppa", coming to visit us for a little bit each day. When we returned home, there was a lot of baby care taking place and little time for playing with our then 22 month old. Naps were hit or miss (mostly miss), which just set us up for even bigger challenges.
When I refer to those first few months of the girls' lives as being rough, Mason is also a factor in this. He was used to being the center of attention, and while we still wanted to give him all he needed, that was pretty impossible. Those first couple months there was WAY more TV viewing than I ever thought I would allow. We were in "survival mode" and just tried to make it though the day (and night)!
In the beginning, Mason would have moments of pinching the baby's face and doing other not so nice things. It was (and still is) important for us to remember he isn't trying to be mean. He is simply a toddler with complicated feelings, not yet sure how to express them. He still has moments of ramming tractors into their heads or pushing them out of the way to build more train tracks, but he is learning kinder ways to express what he wants.
He often comes up to Elliot and Finnley when they are in their exersaucers or jumpers and wraps his arms around their heads to give them hugs. He also enjoys group hugs and giving kisses every once in a while. Sometimes he will give a toy to one of them to play with. But, most of the time, he takes toys away. I'm not sure where he learned the whole claiming "Mine!" from, but he sure picked it up somewhere! Classic sibling lingo, no?
When he goes to bed at night, it is very cute hearing him say, "Goodnight sister Finn. Goodnight sister Elliot." Finnley and Elliot absolutely love watching Mason. If he is playing, jumping, running, talking, their eyes are on him. It is going to be so much fun seeing them all interact together as they keep growing!
How did your older children handle gaining new sibling(s)?
When I refer to those first few months of the girls' lives as being rough, Mason is also a factor in this. He was used to being the center of attention, and while we still wanted to give him all he needed, that was pretty impossible. Those first couple months there was WAY more TV viewing than I ever thought I would allow. We were in "survival mode" and just tried to make it though the day (and night)!
In the beginning, Mason would have moments of pinching the baby's face and doing other not so nice things. It was (and still is) important for us to remember he isn't trying to be mean. He is simply a toddler with complicated feelings, not yet sure how to express them. He still has moments of ramming tractors into their heads or pushing them out of the way to build more train tracks, but he is learning kinder ways to express what he wants.
How did your older children handle gaining new sibling(s)?
Comments