Sisters – sigh. Love, kisses, giggles, tea parties, Mom’s makeup, late night books under the covers… Baby sisters just make life better – they rejuvenate families and add a lightness that is incomparable.
When my 15-year-old daughter, Ella, walks in the room, her little one-year-old sister, Eliza, starts giggling. She can’t control herself – even if she is nursing. She LOVES her sister that much.
Best Friends from the Start
It started the day Eliza was born. Ella had 3 step-brothers but never a genetic sibling or a sister. This was a whole new game. And one I had longed for – never really knowing if it would come true. And not knowing exactly how Ella would react if it did.
I let Ella stay in the delivery room and she is so proud of the fact that she held Eliza right after me. Even before her Dad did. Ella climbed right up on that bed and cradled her little sister with the biggest smile I had seen in years.
What Ella did not know at the time was that she was also sitting on the blood pressure cuff attached to my arm. Due to misfirings, it kept inflating OVER and OVER again. It hurt – and after 10 minutes – it actually REALLY hurt. My heart was so full with my precious baby girl and beaming teenager all cuddled in the bed with me that I couldn’t say a thing. A little bit of pain was nothing in the face of pure joy.
Big Siblings Can Make Newborn Life MUCH Easier
I knew at that first moment that this was going to be a special bond. I had made the decision to let Ella take the week off school to stay home with us and bond with her sister. We had waited years for this. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made. She changed diapers, helped with her first bath, read her books, grabbed whatever I needed, and loved on her baby sister.
Ella asked to be Eliza’s baby-sitter over her summer break. I thought it might be a bit much initially but she rose to the occasion. She was so attentive and never complained. I would secretly pull up the video camera from work and watch my girls. Ella sitting on the floor watching cartoons or reading to her baby sister she had cradled in her arms. It made me smile.
How Baby Sisters Make Life Better
At a year-of age now, it is clear that the personalities of my little ladies could not be more opposite. Ella is an introverted, quiet, slow-warming, deep-thinker who loves home and time by herself. Eliza is an extroverted, loud, dancing, attention-grabbing toddler who loves being out amongst her audience. Our future veterinarian meets our future actress.
You would never know the differences when you see them together, though. They may be 14 years apart and complete opposites in many ways but nothing makes either happier than seeing the other at the end of the day.
Simple Solution:
It is never too late to add a little lady to your family. The LOVE will just multiply. And it just might bring out a whole new side in your older children. It definitely did in mine.
For more Blog Posts on my Life with My Dynamic Duo:
https://doctormome.com/post/maternal-mortality-crisis/
https://doctormome.com/mothers-day-gift-challenge/
https://doctormome.com/my-baby-bump-changed-my-medical-practice-and-not-in-the-way-you-think/
