Finally, It Is Happening Around Here Too

When the Tot first arrived, S. wanted to hold him all the time. After about a week of him being around, S. was done with this baby. 'It was time to send him back and get life back to normal around here', he seemed to think.

After a few months, it was worse. One moment S. was kissing the Tot, the next he was hitting him. S. never seemed to think that he was getting enough attention, and would 'act out'. I was doing my best to keep from losing it on him. I didn't want to only give him negative attention, but that seemed like the only attention I could give him. I mean how can you praise a child when he's just smacked your youngest? It was a catch 22.

Things finally got better, meaning less hitting, but no real interaction between the boys. I got the sense that S. didn't mind the Tot being around so much anymore, but he certainly wasn't ready to say 'Gee, thanks mom for giving me a brother.' I continued to have to be on the look-out for any 'drive-by hitting', which is our term for hitting your brother when you think no one is looking. S. would walk by and check his brother in the face, arm, or anywhere he could get to. It was not fun.

That has all changed. In the last two weeks S. and the Tot have wanted to play together. They've gone down the slide about a hundred times together, as well as gone in the bouncer, played with their cars or played with their kitchen. They have hugged each other, and I swear I think I just heard the Tot tell S. that he loved him. S. tells Tot that all the time now. It is cute beyond words!