Big Brother Jacob

Things surely are different going from one kiddo to two kids. For at least the last half of my pregnancy with Noah, we were talking about and planning ways to make the transition easier for Jacob to have a new sibling in the house. For the last 2+ years, Jacob has been the center of our world and the focus of all of our attention.

We knew and heard from several others that Jacob would probably regress some in a few areas of development once the baby arrived, so we planned accordingly. He hadn't had a paci in at least 7 months so we weren't worried about that. We got him successfully transitioned to his big boy bed a few months ago and out of his crib, so that was great. We made sure to talk about his baby brother and baby Noah ALL the time with him. So, all that was left was for Noah to arrive and just see what happened!

The first time my parents brought Jacob up to the hospital, he saw Noah for a few minutes and then wanted Badi to hold him and go play outside. Ha, not quite what we envisioned, but, still better than some horror stories I had heard about new sibling jealousy. For the most part, each time he came up to the hospital to visit us before going home...he did well and wanted to kiss and hold Noah. He didn't start showing much jealousy until our first day/night home from the hospital.

The second we pulled into the driveway, he ran outside and wanted Badi to pick him up for a hug. Annnnnd, that didn't really stop with the hug. Poor Jacob wanted to be held ALL. NIGHT. LONG. He saw me holding Noah and wanted the same for himself. He had several extra tantrums that night and was super clingy. He would steal Noah's paci and run into another room and hide while he put it in his own mouth, ha. But, by the next day, he was starting to warm up some more. Each day he got better and better.

Now, a little over 2 weeks in..he's a fantastic big brother. He LOVES to help us out. Getting a new diaper for Noah, throwing away diapers, he loves to help me pick out a new outfit for him to wear, help him put his paci in his mouth, hold him, kiss him, anything! Another idea we had to help with the transition was to get Jacob a gift. For a while now, we had been looking at getting Jacob a chair to sit in while he watched cartoons, played in the living room, etc. We had one picked out, but, just never got around to going to buy it before Noah came. Turned out, it worked out perfectly that we waited. We went to buy it a few days after getting home from the hospital. Badi had the ingenious idea to tell him it was from baby Noah to thank him for being such a great big brother. So now, if you ask him who bought his chair he says "present from baby Noah!!" It's so sweet. :)

Here's some pictures of my two sweet boys together. I can't wait to watch them grow up together and become close brothers and friends. I can only hope and wish that their sibling bond is as strong as the bond with my own siblings. I think we're off to a great start...

Haha, jealous much??? Shortly after getting back from the hospital. Had to turn away from Noah and didn't want to smile for the picture. :)

Muuuuch better! :)

Cuddling with baby brother...  :)

In his new Mickey Mouse chair from Noah...watching his favorite show - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!

Introducing Noah to Jacob's favorite park to play at...he was telling him about all the fun slides and swings he will get to play on later. :)

More kisses for Noah!

Good grief I love these boys so much!!!!!!!  :)