The Truth About Baby Sisters

Joy multiplied by three.

I remember when my second daughter was born. I called home to tell my oldest daughter, Carrie, who had just turned two that she had a new baby sister, Bethany. She was excited and looking forward to seeing her.

The day we came home and pulled in the driveway, I saw Carrie’s little face framed in the window of the screen door as she anxiously watched for us to get home. I remember thinking, “Look at those eyes!  She’s so beautiful!  Now I have two.”

In the house, I put the baby carrier down on the couch so Carrie could have a look inside. She smiled, gently touched Bethany’s tiny pink cheek, then looked up at me and said, “Mommy, that’s Bethany? I thought we were getting a puppy.”

Two years passed and I had my third daughter, Heather. I could hardly wait to bring her home. Her two sisters were waiting as we pulled into the driveway, their little faces also framed in the window of the screen door, eyes wide with anticipation.

I remember thinking, “Oh my God, they’re so beautiful! Look at those eyes!  And now I have three.”

After a few weeks, I started to see signs that Carrie and Bethany may be feeling a little left out, probably because of all the attention I had to pay their new baby sister.

I was nursing Heather on demand, which was about every two hours. This didn’t leave me with a lot of extra Mommy-time for playing, coloring, building with Legos and all the other things I usually did with Carrie and Bethany during the day.

One afternoon, while Heather was napping, I sat on the couch with Carrie on my right and Beth on my left. I asked them to tell me what it was like to have a new baby sister. Were they happy? Were they sad?  Did they have any questions?

Their answers were pretty much what I expected. They were happy, unless Heather was crying. Her crying made them feel sad. They had quite a few questions for me, too:

When can she play with us?
When will she have teeth?
Can we still go to the beach?
When will she be bigger?
When can she talk?
When will she walk?
Can we take her to the playground?
Can you still take us on long walks?

I didn’t hear anything at all that would make me think they resented her and that made me happy.

The most telling thing came, when Heather woke from her nap and I went in her room to pick her up. There, beside her on the baby bed mattress, was half of a grilled cheese sandwich.

Someone was even willing to share …

Poet/Writer/Author of 5 books.
Quora Top Writer 2018.
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