If you had asked me four months ago how Dylan was feeling about being a big brother, I would have told you that he was not at all happy about it. While he never went so far as to ask me to return Blake to the hospital from whence he came, he was not exactly excited about sharing me with another little person. In the beginning, it seemed like no matter how hard I tried to make sure that Dylan’s needs were taken care of, I still felt as if I were falling short of meeting them. At first, it … Continue reading →

When I first brought Dylan’s baby brother Blake home from the hospital, I wondered what I had gotten myself into. I wondered, among other things, whether Dylan would ever come around to this new little person who was now a part of his life for better or for worse, for ever and ever. Blake is now almost three months old, and while the past few months have not been easy ones, things are getting better all the time. The other day, I realized that Dylan accepts his baby brother as part of the family. I think that the acceptance was … Continue reading →

As I mentioned in the last post, I am not sure what my husband and I were thinking when we brought our son to the hospital with us. We may not have been thinking, as the whole situation was rather chaotic. Even though there was a bed in the room for my husband and Dylan, it became clear to us at about two o’clock in the morning that we had made a very big mistake. I was in my hospital bed hooked up to an IV. My husband was trying to get Dylan to sleep in the other bed. We … Continue reading →

Since Dylan became a big brother a month before we had expected that he would, we did not have all of the details in place for who he would spend time with during my labor and delivery. Well, that is not exactly true. We did have details in place, but we only had a plan “A” and not a plan “B”. As of a week before baby Blake’s arrival, everything was looking good and it seemed as though my dream of giving birth at home was about to become a reality. My husband and I talked about what Dylan would … Continue reading →

This post is the first in a series about one of the biggest transitions that your toddler may encounter – becoming a big brother or big sister. Dylan became a big brother last Sunday, and while he has had his ups and downs he is doing well for someone so young who is going through such a major life change. My husband and I had been preparing him for the arrival of his little brother, but all of the preparation in the world can not fully insulate your toddler from the feeling of being Mom and Dad’s only child to … Continue reading →