let's hear it for the boys!

Our 17 month old 'baby' boy cuddling his newborn baby sis. 

After "Is she a good baby?"....

(She's a wonderful baby - of course! Aren't all babies 'good' babies? I can't imagine any Mommy actually saying 'Oh no she's bad... really very baaad!') 

and "How's Momma doing?" (Sore hooch, actually... thanks for asking... Oh, TMI? Well then why did you ask?)

The next big question on everybody's lips is:

"What do those big brothers think of their baby sis?"

I was pretty sure easy going big kid - our almost 3 year old - would handle baby sis's arrival no bother. The little 'un though - our 17 month old 'baby' - I was a little more concerned about.

Up until a couple of days before the birth he'd been my all night snuggle buddy. And his name had been 'baby' (y) ever since he was born. (Our firstborn was 'baby' (x) also, even though he had no bigger siblings - lots of older cuz's though - Momma just likes the 'baby' prefix).

Dropping the prefix 'baby' has been a big step for all of us.

Our newborn daughter 'baby' (z), has now picked up the prefix, and middle kid loves LOVES calling her 'baby'. He's got the word and the sign down pat!

Whereas before he'd enter the room and point at me in glee exclaiming "Momma!", Mommy may now just as well be chopped liver. He only has eyes for 'baby' - well, unless Kitty Cat is in the room.

Our timing with the kitten couldn't have been more perfect. We've seen a nurturing side develop in middle kid (I really need to think of better kid code names) over just a few short weeks.

He picks that kitty up and carries it all over the house, and the eager look in his eyes when he approaches baby sis makes Mommy a little nervous.

Kitty's getting a little quick for him. Baby sis is ripe for the picking up!

But as sweet and loving as he may seem, the 'Hyde' in him can come out of nowhere at anytime - so I have to watch him like a hawk. His behavioral pattern is pretty random:

Baby (y) kissing baby (z)

kiss, stroke, WHACK!

kiss, kiss, WHACK!

kiss,stroke, pat, kiss, kiss, stroke..... going good...

"Aww, what a good big brother....!"

WHACK!

Don't worry, he hasn't made contact.... yet. He gives the rest of the family including poor Kitty Cat the same tough love treatment, so it's nothing personal. It just has Mommy on eggs.

She'll be a tough 'un for sure!

I find though, that the more cuddles he's allowed with his baby sis the gentler and more helpful he is. He just handed Momma a wad of wipes - like 15 - and a swim diaper when he saw me changing her.

OK, so neither were needed, but any 'help' from my 17 month old is very much appreciated!

Our eldest holding his baby sister.

Big big brother is brilliant with both his siblings. He has the patience of a saint with little bro, and he loves holding his baby sis.

"She's sooo cute!" is one of his current catch phrases. One I find particularly endearing when he uses it to refer to Mommy!

He gently cuddles, strokes and kisses baby sister all the time.

Incredibly we've had no jealous tantrums - not a one - due to Mommy spending so much time with baby. Their maturity, and acceptance in my telling them "Mommy can't right now" is mind blowing. I'm so proud of them.

I think Mommy is feeling the rift more than the boys are.

*Sob... They barely miss me!

OK, so I know that's not true. But they've quickly gotten over their sad bereft moments that inevitably surface every now and then when Mommy's not around.

It has so much to do with Daddy being on summer vacation and all our fabulous friends and family rallying around us. The boys have had a blast over the past week.- particularly while we were in the hospital!

With all the extra attention and activities there's been no time to really miss Momma.

Even at night- they've been so shattered - not snuggling Momma hasn't been too much of an issue....

When everything gets back to 'normal' - whatever normal is - that will be the real test of their willingness to share Mommy with the pink clad cuckoo in the nest.

I've definitely noticed a quiet concern for Mommy - and baby sis - in big kid. He's been privy to all the Mommy's-having-a-baby conversations, and I think he got the gist of it all as best an almost-three-year old can:

Mommy needs to see the Doctor............Mommy is sick.................
Baby sis is coming out of Mommy's tummy...........
Mommy has a boo boo..........Mommy can't pick up big kid or little bro.......
Baby sis wants Momma's milk...

His incredible understanding of it all and his care and concern for Momma makes my heart clench.

Our middle 'baby' pointing at baby sis
 and exclaiming "Baby!"

When they all arrived at the hospital on Tuesday morning to meet baby sis I was desperate for my boy cuddles. Those 14 hours had been the longest I'd ever been away from either of them.

Little brother is definitely a snuggler, but he only cuddles on his time, so I was lucky to get a brief squeeze before he wanted down.

My big kid, however, wanted nothing to do with me.

That was hard to swallow. I thought perhaps he was miffed that I hadn't been around.

I tried hard not to be concerned about it and thought if I gave him some space he'd get over it.

Both boys were really excited about meeting baby sis though. They fawned over her with delighted squeals of "Soo cute!" (our big kid) and "baby!" (our former baby).

When big kid was asked if he wanted to take little sis home with him he looked genuinely horrified.

"No! Baby needs to be with Doctor!" He patiently explained to us all.

Eventually he agreed to sit in front of me on the bed.

"Hi baby," I said to big kid (I know... confusing, right? But he's still my baby after all!)

"Hi Mommy," he said (he likes it when I call him baby)

I put my arms around him and kissed his temple. He leaned back against me and patted my leg before asking tentatively.

"You OK Mommy?" followed shortly by "Are you sick Mommy?". I reassured him that I was OK. He pointed to the band-aid where my hep-lock had been.

"What's this?" After I told him it was a boo boo he leaned over and kissed it.

He's my angel baby.

Big kid softly stroking baby sister's head.

We've had a handful of similar heart clenching exchanges since the birth. He always asks if baby sis is OK too. Especially when he sees that she's missing from my arms.

Then the other night I leaned in to tuck him in and kiss him good night and lighting fast his little arms wound around my neck tight and he wouldn't let go. He whispered the same few questions over to me.

I swear it just about broke Momma's heart. He had missed me - but more than that - he was afraid to lose me again.

We all accompanied baby sis to see the pediatrician yesterday afternoon, and our big brave kid was a little perturbed to be hearing the word 'Doc' once again. Still trying to figure the world out, he put two and two together and made cinco.

On his way out of the Doctor's office he didn't want to go on ahead to the car with Daddy and leave Mommy behind to settle up. A momentary panic set in.

"You coming too, right Mommy?" He cried out in alarm.

"Right angel."

My boys couldn't have handled the arrival of baby sis any better. In fact, they've both come along leaps and bounds in the short week that baby girl has been in their world. I swear they both grew 12 inches while I was in the hospital - but of course we've got a new(born) point of reference now...

*Sniff.... Neither of my baby boys are babies anymore.

They are protectors now and I know they'll do a great job taking care of and watching over baby sis - even if that means roughing her up and getting her ready for the real world!

Our little lady is the luckiest little sister in the world, after all, no one messes with a girl with two big brothers!

the fight for Alpha!

Between the hubbie and I, there's really no question of who 'wears the pants' around here - the good fellow let me win that particular wrestling match a long time before he asked me to be his wife!

Big kid and both doggies have happily filed into rank behind Daddy, but our littlest hasn't quite gotten the message yet. He's making it a point to challenge Momma at every juncture - and he makes no bones about it!

Just today he had a bit of a strop when Mommy's bowl of yoghurt and cereal was 'all done', standing up indignantly beside me on the couch his little feet started to trample angrily, when I wouldn't relinquish the bowl and spoon for him to play in. After setting the bowl out of arms reach, I tried to temper the storm and leaned in for a kiss. The little thug gave me a kiss alright - a Glasgow kiss - smack dab on the nose!

Between themselves the toddlers are tousling more and more for third rank - baby just won't let up on big bro. He's constantly dogging him, and pulling his T-shirt, or muscling in on our eldest's game and spoiling his fun. On the whole, he's not intentionally trying to rain on big bro's parade, but trying to convince our 2 year old that he should be flattered at all this hero worship and attention is nigh on impossible.

Big brother, who is barely more than a babe himself, has an accelerated role, with the little one growing up fast behind him, and his responsibility is great for one so young. I try to get him to nurture, and love baby bro, in spite of baby's tendency to shove, and bite, and hit. And for the most part our eldest is forgiving, and will walk away from our naughty nipper when he's got the devil inside him.

But of late, baby's gotten too big for his boots, and big kid has started to push back. He stands his ground more, less willing to relinquish his toy to the terror tot who wants everything that big bro has. I can't say I blame my two year old (in fact I'm glad he's asserting himself) and yet I continue to discipline him and not my youngest.

I definitely intervene and distract baby, but he's still too young for 'Time out'. So heartbreakingly, big kid is already learning that the world is not a fair place - he gets into trouble for hitting back, and baby appears to get off scott free! But not quite...  and despite my reticence to unleash 'Time out' on his hellacious hiney, the clever mite seems to have connected the dots that he ends up confined in the horse bouncer if he plagues his big brother too much....

As if there isn't enough civil warring between our toddler troops, there's trouble a brewing in the base 'K9' ranks. Our senior dog, only four years old, decided who her boss was from the get-go. Her love of Momma hasn't let up since I walked her out of the pound she was raised in. It took some time for her to warm to Papa, and though she readily heels for him, and heeds his commands, she'll always be a Mommy's girl. Her gentleness and easy respect and care around the bairns wins her Top Dog prize.

She's never had to play the 'bitch' to establish her rightful position as first place hound -at least until the pesky pup showed up. Unfortunately now our lady is having to defend her pole position every day.

Having much less time to 'parent' the new pup, we put our mature dog to task, hoping  she would whip him into shape for us. And up until recently, she's been doing too good a job of cutting pup down to size - he wears a bump on his skull to prove it.

I sometimes worry about their doggy dramas. Most of the time they play incredibly well together, but our lady likes to mount her buddies - not very lady like I know- and the guttural barks that accompany the shag-orama are enough to make a porn star blush! I can't help feeling a little like a pimp, putting puppy to 'play' with such a dominatrix doggy! Ah well, nature can be cruel, and I try not to interfere too much - after all, pup was only brought into the equation to keep our lonesome doggy 'entertained' since all our attention is
now maxed out on toddlers.

Puppy (white dog) getting the better of our lady (red dog).

Even though we've tried hard to stay out of it, at times we've scolded our bigger dog for 'too' rough play, taking pity on pup, but now he's reaching a comparable size, I'm feeling the need to help her out a bit.

Their feisty play reaches a nasty climax daily, usually ending in pup being pinned by the throat. But still pup continues to challenge her, and beating him down looks to be more valiant a victory each time they clash. It's time the little upstart got a bit of a handicap in his quest for Alpha-dom. Our far reaching rover may submit to his lady leader a little easier with no balls in his court!

Pushy pup also dares to be a little defiant around Momma and Daddy - especially when there's love in the offing. He vies diligently for the same attentions that lady receives, and trying to satiate a second pegging, stroke starved hound dog is a never ending challenge. But, I try so hard to make sure the endless pool of Mommy love extends down to pup, as I've always thought that the key to obedience and loyalty in both kids and dogs alike is to lavish them in love and hugs. In all our doggy dealings, we reinforce our first dog's Alpha status; she's fed first, petted first, and always released first. Pup knows where he stands in the pecking order and acquiesces on most every issue - but there's an inherent rebel lurking beneath his demureness.

Getting the doggies to know their rightful place - beneath the tots - is really important for me, and because of their comparable heights, it's a little harder for the kids to pull rank, especially with pup who can be clumsy and unaware of the kids when he's playing, and, despite our reprimands - and much to the kids' frustration - delights in licking their mucky chops. Both boys love to pet and 'walk doggies', and a Mommy approved mutual respect is building between K9s and kids. Our eldest boy does a good job at ordering the pooches around -  imitating Mommy and Daddy's gruff commands - and I've no doubt that the littlest will soon come in to his own,  especially as he has no problem asserting himself with the 'leaders' of our pack.

The fight for Alpha is still an open battlefield - and with another female competitor on her way to the front line - the natural order of things is sure to get a good shaking up. I have a feeling baby (and possibly Momma) is in for a rude awakening!