All about the little one

I think everyone has a pretty good idea of how Big Brother is, what he likes, and how much he has grown since I first started writing this column. As for getting to know about Little Brother, in all the articles I’ve written since he was born I have tried to include both kids. As if they might read this and get jealous that I wrote a few more words about the other one. When I think about it they will probably be mortified that I shared all these little stories and not even care who I was really writing about.

I am going to start at the beginning and end with now. Little Brother was a surprise baby. When Little Brother made his grand entrance into the world I was completely unprepared. He came a full month early. I thought I had all this time to prepare, unpack from the move, and nest. I didn’t and time ran out. I felt so bad for my new baby. We didn’t even get his crib put together before he came home from the hospital. He slept in the same basket my grandmother had given us when we had Big Brother. I find it kind of funny that both kids spent their first week as basket babies.

The first month at home was kind of scary. I could really tell Little Brother was early during that time. He choked when he ate. Sometimes I would listen to him breathing and he sounded like he was working so hard. Just the in and out of his breath sounded labored like he was congested. I was always holding him on my chest. Each time I put him down when he was sleeping or just needed to put him down he would scream. His scream was the saddest hurt little cry. And every time I would pick him back up he would go back to sleep or be content as long as he could be held. During those first two months I slept with him on my chest. Always on the couch or the lazy boy chair. My grandmother said, “That’s what you call some heart to heart care.”

When Little Brother’s real due date came around he started doing so much better. Eating without choking and a little more comfortable. He still seemed like he was up all the time. He still had to be held a lot but he wasn’t scaring me with his loud breathing anymore. If I had to get anything done I needed to do it with him in my arms. Another speed bump he had to deal with was he had an umbilical hernia that made his little bellybutton look like an outie. His pediatrician told me most premature babies get it and it goes away on its own. It doesn’t hurt them and as long as I didn’t let him cry or strain himself he would be fine. I was told it’s because their abdominal wall isn’t ready to be outside the mother yet. Little Brother’s went away when he was about two months old.

Aside from being early he was colicky for the first three months. I tried so hard not to “let him cry or strain himself” like the doctor said. When I would feel down about my baby crying (when you’re a mom you think your baby crying means you’re doing something wrong since it’s our job to fix them up) I’d have to remind myself that he didn’t give me a prescription that would cure Little Brother’s colic so I should give myself a break. I was holding him, he had a dry diaper on, was fed, and loved so he was a complainer, that was all.

Now that Little Brother is a few days shy of six months I can’t believe how big he is. He can roll all over the floor now. If he sees a toy across the living room he’ll get to it. It might take him ten minutes but he gets there. He can turn right when he’s doing a stomach crawl but never left. I say he’s crawling but really what he is doing is slithering around the floor like a worm. His stomach stays on the floor but his head and feet are working overtime. When he gets to the couch he’ll headbutt like it will move out of the way. I have to pick him up and move him back into the middle of the floor so he can continue on his struggle to move.

In the last month I have really been given a break considering that Big Brother is out of school. Little Brother can jump really well now and is in love with his jumper. It turns and jumps so he can entertain himself a good twenty minutes at a time. When I play my cards right I get the dishes done and meal prep times in. He will screech really loud when he’s playing. His jumper has toys all the way around it so he works his way around and bounces to his heart’s content. Between the jumper and Little Brother’s love of rolling around in the living room he is so easy to take care of. The only time he cries now is when he is hungry but it’s more of a whine. Nothing like the days of his three-hour crying jags. To me he never cries now.

Little Brother is what we like to call opinionated. If he is awake in the car he will babble and yell so loud he makes anyone in the car crack up laughing. One second there is quiet and the next you are being told an interesting baby story about twenty decibels too loud. There have been times that Little Brother has even annoyed his older brother with his loud shrieking and laughing from the jumper or story time. In the mornings he doesn’t cry but amuses himself by talking to the mobile above his crib or eating his blanket.

Little Brother is a great travelling companion. He can’t walk yet but is fascinated by the colors and movements of people and outings. So he can easily be brought shopping or to parties. Just feed him, maybe bounce him a little and he’ll people watch. I try to get out as much as I can with Little Brother because I know that once he starts walking it’s over. He’ll want his independence not the stroller or cart. He’ll want to grab everything off shelves and run away.

I had a baby nurse here last week and got the ok to feed him cereal now that he’s almost six months. Big Brother was so excited about the idea of him eating something other than just a bottle that he asked if he could feed him. I got Little Brother in his high chair and put a bib on him. When Little Brother is old enough to understand Big Brother will be telling him that the first person to ever feed him with a spoon was him. Little Brother seems to have the hang of eating cereal now. I can’t wait to start the trial of introducing new foods.

Little Brother is really attached to Big Brother. He finds him hilarious when he is being silly. Big Brother is more than happy to make faces and funny noises for the “his baby.” Little Brother can be entertained by watching Big Brother play cars or watch tv it doesn’t matter. He needs to see that brother of his all the time except when he is asleep. The other day Big Brother went to visit his Tota’s and Little Brother was unusually fussy. His dad carried him from room to room to distract him. To me it seemed like Little Brother was looking for his brother. Perhaps it was too quiet at home, too lonely for him, he needed his brother. It was sad but cute at the same time.

As hard as I tried to have you meet the new baby I find that I still wrote about the older one. I guess they go together no matter what. Even when I was determined to make this story all about the little one.