Esther has always been a cuddly child, to say the least. I have certainly referred to her as clingy more than once or twice. But I don't mind. I don't think independence is something that can be achieved by force, so I am more than happy for her to hang on to me as much as she needs to.
I have wondered, though, how she would react to a sibling. Not that we're planning on any family additions for a while, but I have been curious as to how she would handle it. On Sunday, I found out.
We went to see the latest addition to the extended family, Esther's brand new little cousin, Baby L. She had been intrigued by him since we first mentioned his arrival, and was quite fascinated to watch him feeding, moving his little hands, and squeaking his little baby squeaks. But then I got a chance to hold him.
Esther walked into the room, and saw me sitting on the sofa with her little cousin. She stopped in her tracks, and gave us both a stern look. "Baby L sit over there!", she demanded, pointing at the other end of the sofa. I said no, I'm holding Baby L right now. Her reaction was textbook. Her face just crumpled, her lower lip trembled, and she burst into tears, on the spot.
I was surprised by the strength of her reaction. In a way, I had both under- and overestimated her. I thought she'd be too young to feel properly threatened by another baby, and that she'd probably only care if he was in the way when she wanted access. I somewhat foolishly believed that actual jealousy was a more mature response, something you felt once you were old enough to realise that things could potentially be taken away from you. On the other hand, I thought she'd be mature enough to understand that Baby L was somebody else's baby, and not a threat to her in any way. I know, I am completely contradicting myself, but there you go.
In the end, her daddy managed to distract her and stop her tears, and I was able to hold on to Baby L for a while. But she kept glancing over, and she clearly wasn't impressed by what she saw.
I know things would be very different if it actually was our baby. We'd have had time to prepare her, and she would probably get used to the idea fairly quickly. But for now, I'm quite relieved I'm not due in a week or two. (Or within nine months, should this post give you any wrong ideas.)
Comments