Big sister 1I think it’s fair to say BB has taken to being a big sister like a duck to water. After six weeks of broken nights and being generally unsettled in the run up to Little B’s arrival, almost a week in we couldn’t have asked for a better outcome.

She goes down at night without a fuss about ‘the baby in mummy’s tummy’, sleeps through the night and no longer wakes up grizzling. She loves kissing him, looking at him and lying next to him (pictured), and I may have overplayed the ‘he won’t actually be able to do anything yet’ card as she’s delighted when he simply grips her finger.

I’ve caught her giving him sideways glances with an expression of wary curiosity on more than one occasion, apparently digesting this new little thing in front of her. Books including I’m a Big Sister and Topsy and Tim and The New Baby, courtesy of her Aunty E (pictured), have helped, as has Misery Guts being off work on paternity leave resulting in weekday swimming and coffee shop trips, even if the sleepless nights are making him grumpier than usual.

Big sister 4

And BB’s not the only one taking her new role in her stride. As he did with BB, Misery Guts has adopted the role of ‘nurturing the nurturer’ with aplomb, whipping up nutritious dinners while I breast feed, and I’ve never seen him hang out so much washing.

Of course I know it’s early days, and it will be interesting to see what happens when Misery Guts returns to work. But so far, so good…