The Big Brother

When I first thought of Paxton as a big brother, I honestly wasn't sure how he would do. He loves babies and is very sweet with them, but these are babies that don't come home with us or cry while he's watching Mickey or get all of his mama's attention. He has definitely surprised us with how good he has been with the transition and with how much he already loves his baby brother.

After we had Porter, I was excited for Pax to come up to the hospital and meet him. I didn't know what to expect but followed a few simple suggestions I had heard, like having Porter in his little hospital bassinet so I could hold Pax and waiting until I could be up out of bed so Pax wouldn't freak out (which obviously worked out since it was the next morning). Paxton came running in the room and was really excited to see his Mommy and Daddy. We paid some attention to him and then held him up to see the baby. He was excited. We put Pax on the bed and put Porter down next to him.


He leaned right over and gave him a big kiss. It was such a precious moment. I'm so glad he's such a sweet-natured boy and that his instinct was to give this tiny, red, screaming baby a kiss.


After we let him look at him for a few minutes, we put Porter on Pax's lap. I love this picture as Paxton looks down at him with a look of pure adoration on his face.


He pointed out all of the baby's tiny features and then hopped down to play.When he came back later that day he immediately asked for the baby and gave him several more kisses.

I was excited that the hospital visits went so well, but I was still a little worried about how things would be at home when Porter wasn't just a fun toy anymore.

When we walked in he house, Pax came running up to us and squealed "baby" and leaned in and gave him a kiss.


Since then, he has been really interested in where the baby is at all times. If Porter is on our bed, Pax wants to be up there too.


He still showers him with kisses (which we have to monitor because Paxton likes to squish Porter during the kisses). He also likes to steal his hats, socks and pacifiers.


He hasn't been a big fan of holding Porter on his lap...probably because Porter usually cries during it...Paxton usually tries to get down while Porter is on his lap and we have to quickly grab Porter before Pax dumps him.





So other than one day (maybe the third day we were home?) during which Paxton completely ignored the baby and us anytime we asked where the baby was or if he wanted to give the baby a kiss, he has been really sweet with Porter. He is pretty gentle for the most part while he points out Porter's hands and eyes and hair. He doesn't really get upset when Porter cries, sometimes he mimics his cries which is twice the noise...and he isn't jealous if I'm holding Porter. He usually just brings me the book or the truck he wants me to push or whatever he wants while I hold Porter and hops up with us. We have also noticed how much more helpful he is now. We can tell him to put dishes in the sink or bring us things and he does. I'm sure it's helping that Jared is home so that most of the time Paxton is still getting somebody's undivided attention, but I am really proud of him for how well he has adapted and how good of a big brother he is.

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