Big Brother

Big brother testing out his old equipment. Safety and weight limit inspection!

I have yet to document what a fabulous big brother Jackson has been. Yes, he makes the same mistakes any three year old would make with new siblings: he kisses them too much and sometimes with too much force, he gets too wound up and doesn't always slow down when they are playing on the floor, he gets too close to them with his toys that have sharp edges (like airplanes with sharp, pointy noses), he jumps on the bed or couch when there is a baby laying on it and of course the big one, he recently picked one of the babies up (fortunately he was laying on the couch, so he really just rolled the baby over on top of him). Recently we also had to instate a new rule at our house, "We do not suck on babies," not a rule I ever thought I would make, but when Jackson gave Kynlee a hicky on the cheek, it was a necessary rule (I thought he had leaned over her to kiss her, but when he sat up he said,"Look momma, I sucked on her cheek and she has an ouchie") We get onto him or correct him when he does these things, but he is also very caring toward them and protective of them.

Picking up Gage last week.

Watching a movie with Daddy, Brooklyn and Kynlee. He insisted on holding Kynlee for a minute.

When people come to the house, he watches them like a hawk and often makes sure that they are aware that the babies are HIS. He does not like when anyone talks about taking one of them. Anytime he enters a room or sees a baby he says, "I want to kiss her/him", as a matter of fact I no longer get a kiss in the morning because the babies get them all. He tries so hard to be gentle and soft. He keeps tabs on them all the time. One morning he walked out of his room and went to check on the babies. There were only three in the cribs (my mom was holding one in the living room) and Jackson came into the kitchen where the following conversation took place:

Jackson: Mommy, do you have a baby?

Me: No

Jackson: There are two babies in one crib and one baby in the other crib, somebody took one of our babies!

He was very concerned until he found the missing baby.

He wants to help care for them too. He often gets the burp rags or the baby wipes when asked. One day when it was just me and him, he told me that he could feed the baby all by himself and when I told him that really I needed to do it, he told me with some indignance, "Momma, I can do it, I am being patient." When mom was here one time, all the babies were crying at once and mom and I were each feeding one while the other two cried in their bouncy seats. Jackson got a bottle and tried to hold it for one of the babies, but of course had difficulty and milk ran down the baby's chin. Then he huffed and said, "I need a burp rag, this is a mess." I'm not sure how we would ever manage without his assistance and constant vigilance.

Prepared to help Westin and wipe his face when it gets messy.

Kynlee getting too much help!

Cuddling with Westin on the couch (back in Sept)

Jackson frequently shares his toys with the babies. This is Gage with a train last week (all the babies had been given a train that afternoon). When he passes out toys to the babies, he tries to give the girls toys that are for girls. For example, he passed out cars to all of them one day and he made sure his Sally car (from the Disney movie Cars) went to a girl because Sally is a girl!

I have been impressed with how little jealousy I have seen too. Don't get me wrong, he has his moments when he does not want to wait for someone to feed a baby or he does not want to share his mommy, but overall, he has handled the waiting and sharing with more grace than I expected.

He has been asked to wait and told no and asked to back off so much in the last 7 weeks and I just needed to brag on well he has handled it and how sweet he has been. On a daily basis he tells me how much he loves the babies. As a matter of fact last night I was on the phone with him and Kynlee was in my lap crying. He asked who was crying and I told him, to which he replied, " She is crying because she misses me and she needs me." And, he has already gotten a jump start on the big brother advice giving, he told Gage the other day," Gage, do not pee on your sister. That's crazy!" I don't think the advice can get much more sage that that:) He also cannot stand it when they cry, not because it drives him crazy, but because he does not want them to be sad. When Westin and Gage were crying on the couch the other day, he went up and put and arm over each of them, his head in between them and said in a soothing voice, " It's okay babies. I know, I know. It's okay." What a sweetie.

We'll see how he blossoms in his role as big brother. I fear that down the road that role will shift to more of a ring leader, but only time will tell. For now, I am enjoying the sweet and caring attitude that he has adopted toward all 4 of the babies. In his eyes having all 4 of them is perfect and normal and I guess for our family it is!