When Noah met Sophie
We decided to tell Noah when we fell pregnant with Sophie very early on - literally days after we got the confirmation. One of the reasons was because he liked to jump up & down on the bed with us and would sometimes land on Krystin’s tummy. And with a tiny baby growing inside, we couldn’t have that happen.
The magic of children is they surprise you in the most amazing ways. All our fears of jealousy and him not comprehending what a sibling meant quickly faded away - not only did Noah understand, he was kind, attentive and really sweet to Sophie, even from the early stages when she was the size of a blueberry inside Krystin’s womb. He would talk to Sophie through Krystin’s belly and even “kiss” her.
When Sophie finally arrived, Noah’s reaction & affection towards his new sibling was more than we could ever hope for. He couldn’t contain his excitement, exclaiming and announcing to everyone who entered the room “she’s here! Sophie’s here!”
The best advice that friends gave us was to introduce Noah to Sophie at the hospital by leaving her in the neonatal cot, instead of holding her, and then approach her with him in tow to pick her up. The idea was that we’d embrace Sophie together as a family unit, and help Noah to see he wasn’t left out. We also bought him a present “from Sophie” to celebrate the occasion. He‘d been wanting a birthday cake toy, and it felt apt that on Sophie’s birthday, he would get that toy, which made the arrival of his little sister all the more special.
Til today, Noah has been a real sweetheart to his younger sister, something we are extremely grateful for. We haven’t had to deal with any major streaks of jealousy or ill will towards his sister. When he leaves for school, he gives kisses both mummy & Sophie. In bed, he asks for a ‘family sandwich’ - “Daddy’s the bread, Mummy’s the other bread, I am the ham and Sophie is the cheese!” he exclaims. He sings her favourite songs “Incy Wincy Spider” & “Baa baa Black Sheep” when she’s crying in the car in an effort to comfort her. And most recently, while I was trying to put her down to sleep for the night, he will come into her room and sing our bedtime lullaby “Amazing Grace” together. Not to say he doesn’t occasionally get mildly jealous - at times when he sees Sophie getting a cuddle, he wants to muscle in and join in. But all in all, we love that he dotes on his sister so much and we couldn’t be happier.
Sophie, you’ve known Noah all your life, and we hope you will grow to love him as much as he loves you. But you should know, your mummy & daddy loved you long before you were born. And so did your big brother.