I always find the comment, “Aaah, you have the perfect age gap between your babies” an interesting one. Number one – I don’t feel like anything constitutes “perfect” when it comes to parenting and number two – two in nappies feels on the other side of the perfection scale.
But, recently I watched the most incredible interaction between my little people. My son was unaware of the fact that I was watching him and he went to his sister during her throwing a little rant and tried to comfort her. And the fact that he did it with the most uncharacteristic sensitivity and maturity just made me teary. He is still a baby himself. Sometimes I think that this whole new baby thing hit him by surprise (at his age, no amount of books on the subject being read to you can prepare you for the fact that you’ll be sharing attention with a little wriggling ball of cuteness and crying) and that he’s still unsure of when we’re returning the little visitor. He has grown up so much in these past few months and I catch him smiling a fascinated smile at his sister when she now grabs for the tow-trucks and excavators he lines up in front of her on her play mat.
Gradually I’m feeling more and more human – his sleep has regressed and her sleep … well, I’m doing the puppy feeding through the night so I’m not even sure whether we’re getting enough sleep or whether I’m creating bad habits, but … I’ve realised that as long as they’re alive and I’m relatively vaguely able to hold a conversation (albeit after 2 cups of coffee which means you finish your caffeine quota for the day by 8 am), I’m not going to beat myself up.
More and more, I’m watching them become friends. Okay, maybe friends is a stretch. More like comrades or companions. The greatest gift is to be able to grow up with a sibling – regardless of the size of the age gap and I’m so excited to watch them grow together in so many ways.
Share your thoughts on siblings and age gaps below and join the conversation. More giveaways coming soon.
Lots of love and light,
Modern Mommy AKA Jo-Ann
modernmommy.co.za
