Big Sister

I must say, Katelynn's positive reaction to having a little brother has exceeded my wildest expectations. She has been such a sweet girl for the most part, at least when it comes to "baby Tyler" - her official name for her little bro. Now there have been a few ugly moments directed toward mommy, usually in the form of talking back and "having an attitude", but I am just happy that her brother has been spared. And come to think of it, we had those moments before Tyler was on the scene anyway...

The smile plastered on her face in this picture pretty much says it all. That is not her "fake" smile....she didn't wipe that cute expression off her face from the moment she walked into the hospital room and saw that - it was really true - mommy did really have a baby in her tummy all that time!

Since coming home I have attempted to use the never-ending feeding sessions to give her extra attention. Usually I read books to her or we work on her pre-school workbooks. Sometimes she gets to play games on my iPhone or watch a TV show. I think that has helped. It has also helped that Tyler is still sleeping a lot and that he is a much easier baby than she was. If he was as demanding as she was, we would have some serious issues in the Kim household right now trying to tend to both.

A big sister "funny moment" occurred a few nights ago. Tyler was not due to wake up for at least 45 more minutes and I was, for unknown reasons, lying in bed awake. So I decided I might as well get my shower. I was only a few minutes into shower time when I heard Tyler crying very loudly from the other room. (He sleeps in the living room right now.) Then KK came running into the room and informed me that "baby Tyler is crying, mommy." After some investigative questions I figured out that she had gone to "check on him" before coming to our room and had tried to shove a pacifier into his sleeping mouth. Well, if you have followed this blog at all you know that a pacifier is very near and dear to KK's heart. So we had a little talk about how that was very sweet, but please don't do that again if he is sleeping because it woke him up too early!

The only real problem we have had, which seems to be abating, is KK waking in the night. This is extremely frustrating especially since she used to be out like a rock the entire night and I have become very spoiled. Of course, the waking up typically falls exactly half way between Tyler's feedings. And of course, she really really really wants mommy and not daddy. However the other night she managed to have two night wakings and I thought I might completely lose my mind. So Gene and KK are both on notice that she gets daddy from now on if she decides to be up in the night. I think this must be how she is sub-consciously expressing her anxiety about not being the "only" anymore and I am sure it will be a passing phase, as just about all things seem to be with raising kids!