It’s the last leg of my pregnancy journey and I’m penning this for my elder boy, Gideon, who will soon relinquish his only child status.
Dearest Gideon,
How are you feeling my dear boy? Are you excited to meet your little brother? He will be here any time now; daddy and mummy are nervous yet excited as we prepare to welcome our second baby. Are you feeling the same?
Gideon, my boy… mummy wants you to know that this new chapter is one that our family will embrace together. There will be changes – we know it may not be easy for you to understand – but do know that we will always be here with you.
We know it might not sound like fun to have to share mummy and daddy with another person. This person will cry for attention, sleep most of the time and can’t quite play with you yet. Maybe sometimes, we might not be able to play at the balcony together when you want to. There will also be times we have to wash bottles, breastfeed baby, bathe Didi, change diapers and more… and you may hear us say, “Please wait, Gideon.”
We’re not quite sure how you would take to him, and him to you. We’re uncertain how we will manage our time between the both of you, along with mummy’s recovery during confinement, doing housework, sending you to classes, going to work/work from home and all that… it is after all, a new routine for us too.
But we want you to know that daddy and mummy will try our best to help you be the big brother you’re meant to be. We will spend time with you, do fun things with you that you enjoy, and guide you with learning to love your younger sibling.
This experience is as new for you as it is for us – we are all learning together. There may be days when mummy feels overwhelmed (and I hope it wouldn’t be often) and may need to take a breather by stepping away for some me time. I want you to know that mummy and daddy are learning how to be parents for two. Books can only teach us that much and ultimately; we have to learn on the “job”. We may not be able to do it all perfectly and we know it’s expected because parenting goes beyond pregnancy, delivering babies and mapping out our family’s financial plans… the real test comes with raising happy, healthy children and it involves good communication between daddy, mummy and you, my dear.
Dear son, we can do this together with papa. Our little family is growing and thanks to you, we will be each other’s support as we welcome Didi into our lives, okay? I know it may take some time for you to get used to having another person sharing our home and arms. You’re just 4 years old; I’ve to manage my expectations too. We know you can be the loving older brother as you’ve already shown me throughout this pregnancy. I already love how enthusiastic you are when we talk about him. Let’s do this together, my little big boy! Are you ready to make wonderful memories together with your bro?
Loving you lots,
Mummy
