Being a big sister

We've been able to post plenty of pictures since Will's birth, but we haven't done much typing. This oversight needed to be rectified because we need to brag about our big girl's transition to becoming a big sister. (We also hope to have Will's birth story up sometime soon, because it was a truly awesome experience.)

Avonlea Jane has been doing really well with all of the changes. We tried to prepare her for a sibling as well as we could. She was the reason we found out if we were having a boy or a girl, because we wanted her to be able to better conceptualize the idea of "baby brother." Avonlea Jane was also the only one who knew what we were going to name him, and being able to talk about "Baby Will" was helpful. We talked a lot about how Will would sleep and nurse a lot and wouldn't be able to talk or do much of anything for several months.

We were concerned she might be jealous of Will, especially because of how much time he would get to spend on Mommy's lap. However, we have been pleasantly surprised. We mentioned previously that Avonlea Jane weaned of her volition on Thanksgiving, and her having been a nursing toddler has been incredibly helpful in her transition to being a big sister. Out of all of the benefits of extended nursing, we have been the most surprised by the sense of empathy it has given her. She knows how much she loved nursing, and it makes her happy that Will gets to have that same experience.

Every time he cries, she runs to him and is very excited that Will gets to have "mummies." (When he is asleep, she constantly demands for "Will having mummies!") When he is nursing, she loves to crawl up next to me to put her head on my shoulder, watching Will, while telling me, "Will happy now; having mummies." Even though we didn't get to experience tandem nursing, they've both been getting the benefit of sharing time close to mom. It's been really sweet to watch him stare at her while nursing as she pets his head. The same sweet sight has happened while co-sleeping.

We felt hands-down that that sharing a bed with Avonlea Jane was the best parenting decision we could have ever made, and we again feel this way with Will. It has allowed all of us to sleep well every night. Waking up as a family is also a wonderful way to start the day.

Avonlea Jane started falling asleep in her own bed around her first birthday. She went right away to sleeping in her room for the whole night. However, she wakes up earlier in the morning when she's sleeping alone. So, on weekdays, when David leaves for work, he puts her in our bed so she'll sleep later. While I appreciate being able to fall asleep without her sprawled in bed, I love waking up in the morning to my girl saying, "Mommy, I love you. Time to wake up," or her kisses all over my face.

This week, when David was back at work, he put Avonlea Jane in bed with Will and I, and all three of us were able to share our morning. There was nothing so wonderful as waking up to the sight of Will and Avonlea Jane staring into each other's eyes while she whispered, "Will's awake, Mommy. He likes me."

She was also a good sport in sharing the bed for naptime. I was worried about how I would put her down for a nap once Will was born; however, she was perfectly fine to hear her stories and songs while Will lay between us nursing.

She has been a better big sister than we could have hoped. We even had high expectations, because when I was pregnant, she looked at a family picture confused, asking us where Will was. We are eager to see how their relationship progresses as they both age.