Lily The Big Sister

A lot of things have changed in Lily's life this past week. With the arrival of our twins, Lily started her new role in life as big sister. It hasn't always been easy, but so far I think the transition has been going better than I expected it would!

We spent the last couple months of my pregnancy talking up the babies to Lily, explaining to her what would be happening, and getting her excited about all the ways she can help out. We always made sure that she was as involved in the pregnancy as possible. She was always excited on days that we went to "the baby doctor", as she came to call my OB. (Oddly enough, on my last OB appointment the day before my induction, Lily out of nowhere was calling my doctor by name! ) Lily loved listening to the babies heart beats and giving my belly kisses. We knew she loved the idea of babies, but weren't sure how she would handle them coming home, and having to share us with the new babies. She was so excited both days we were induced. While leaving ( with me a teary mess because I had never been apart from Lily over night before!) she waved goodbye to us and said "bye Mommy!! Go have babies!!" She really seemed to be excited about the new babies!

After they were born, we were so eager to get home to Lily and introduce her to her new sisters! As soon as we got home, Lily brushed us off and ran straight for the babies. We introduced her to them, and she went back and forth between the two car seats saying "This is Eleanor! This is Violet!!" She was so in love!

Lily holding Ella, caught in her "all done" pose:


In the past week that we have been home, Lily has really shown what a good helper she really can be! She loves to help feed the babies their bottles, and cover them up with their blankets. When they cry, she runs to the bassinet saying "Violet crying!!" And will sometimes try shushing them or singing them a song. She loves helping with diaper changes, because she gets to hand us the diaper and wipes, and then throws out the dirty diaper for us! She just loves being around them! Several times a day she asks to hold the babies by sitting on the couch with her arms out and saying "take the Ella! Take it!!" (we could do without her quickly removing her hands and saying "all done!" whenever they make a peep!) She always wants to know where both babies are, and will repeatedly ask "Where Ella? Where Violet?" until she gets a sustifactory answer. Every morning she looks for them!

Supervising Violet's first time in the swing:



The sweetest thing she has done so far with the girls is count their fingers. She loves to sit next to us and count each finger one at a time. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5! Five tiny fingers!!" She also loves to ticket their feet, and compare her feet to theirs. She's just so gentle with them, and love to give them cuddles and kisses!

Holding Ella Again:


It hasn't all been easy though. We have noticed that while he LOVES her new sisters, she is having a hard time with giving up some of our attention. She's having a hard time with listening to directions and discepline. She's very quick to cry if something isn't going her way. She's been having a hard time at nap and bed time, especially if I can't be there to help her get to sleep because I'm feeding a baby. Hopefully this doesn't last long, and we will all find a balance quickly!

Holding Violet:



We are so proud of how well Lily has taken to her new role though! We had anticipated her being rough and overly jealous of the twins. But for the most part she is just thrilled to have them around...as long as she gets a chance to cuddle with Mommy and Daddy too!

Holding Violet again:



Our new family: