"Mommy's Baby"

Caleb is almost a week old now, and has been home for 4 whole days. James and I are adjusting well to the change, however Colin is having a bit of a rougher time.

Wanting to make this as easy as possible on Colin, and knowing that it probably would be a difficult change for him, we decided to have Colin help bring Caleb home from the hospital. We didn't want to just show up with this new strange baby and have Colin feel like his space was being invaded. So Colin met us at the hospital, helped tuck Caleb into his carseat, and walked us out to the car. The moment we arrived at home, we had Colin show all his toys to Caleb, which he really seemed to enjoy. So far so good.

The next day, however, was a little different. James was holding Caleb when Colin cautiously approached the two of them. It appeared Colin wanted to give the baby a kiss, but when he was within a few inches, slapped his face instead, and forcefully proclaimed "my Daddy!"

Using this possessive word is relatively new, something he picked up at our local play centre from another child. But now he's really getting the hang of how to use it!

When referring to something that belongs to Caleb, Colin adds on "Mommy" to the beginning. For example, Caleb's diapers are "Mommy's baby's diapers." His crib is "Mommy's baby's crib". He really is associating that I am responsible for Caleb's presence in our house.

Colin's behaviour toward Caleb is starting to settle down, though. The first few days he was so confused he was easily irritated and found himself in tears often. (I have always called him my "100% baby". He experiences all his emotions at 100%, nothing halfway!) He still will let us know when the other parent should take the baby, and is learning to understand that we can't always drop everything to do something with him, but generally Colin is doing really well. I've heard much worse horror stories about bringing home a new baby!

Of course, it's still early. The days before Caleb seem so far removed from now, that it's hard to imagine that only a week ago there was no baby! I've always believed we knew our family before we came to earth, which is why Caleb is such a natural addition.