Hadley’s Adjustment to Being a Big Sister

When Hadley is an adult, I can’t wait to tell her a million times what an absolute rockstar of a two year old she was around the time that Sadie was born. For the last two months she’s been sleeping at Grandma and Grandpa’s house in a new room in a bigger bed and going to a brand new school with new teachers, routines, and friends. She got to see, love on, and play with her daddy for 10 straight days after not seeing him for six months, but then had to ask him why he was crying as he said goodbye to her again. She watched as I lethargically made my way through my final month of pregnancy before welcoming a brand new baby to our family, who has ended up stealing Mommy’s lap the majority of the day. She’s gotten to spend time with all of her grandparents and other family members as they’ve come and gone, spending nights in hotels and just going with the flow. She’s just had so much change. Not bad change (at all), but just a lot of it, and in a very short amount of time.

She has been the most adjustable, resilient, flexible kid since the moment she was born, and I’m just so dang proud of her. It’s important to me that she knows this one day.

In general, Hadley had adjusted really well with having Sadie around, but of course we’ve had a few hiccups. Here are some stories that will paint a better picture of how things have been going.

1. She didn’t want to hold Sadie until she was five days old. Now she can’t keep her hands off of her and wants to hold her constantly (especially when I’m nursing, so that obviously doesn’t pan out too well.)
2. The first time we put Sadie’s car seat on top of the stroller, Hadley lost it. She didn’t understand why she couldn’t sit in it anymore, so the stroller thing is an issue. I don’t have a double stroller yet simply because they’re so dang expensive, and I was really hoping to wait until Sadie could sit in an umbrella stroller and just get a nice double umbrella stroller. I’m not sure if we’ll be able to wait that long though. Any suggestions?
3. She wants to see Sadie every morning and goes to find her as soon as she wakes up.
4. All of the change has caused Hadley to go through potty training regression. She’s only had a few accidents at home and out in public, but most of her accidents have happened at school. Her teachers have been so patient, but I had to start sending Pull-ups to school because it got that bad. She’s doing better now though. Many people warned me that she would experience regression, and they hit the nail on the head. It was obvious that she was having accidents out of pure defiance because she would stand five feet from us, look us dead in the eye, and just pee. She’s been 100% potty trained since January! Y’all, it was so bad.
5. When Sadie was four days old, Hadley went a little bananas at school, and I got my first ever report that she’d  acted out. She’d apparently been very defiant, and the teacher’s exact words were “We basically just couldn’t tell Hadley no today.” Supposedly Hadley also crossed her arms and refused to sing the “babies” part of The Wheels on the Bus during song time. That part was a little funny. 🙂
6. When Sadie was around a week old, I left Hadley on the couch watching TV and Sadie (unbuckled) in her swing so that I could go upstairs to change clothes, brush my teeth, etc. After being upstairs for just a couple minutes I totally freaked out and ran downstairs because I had this idea pop into my head that Hadley would flip Sadie out of her swing. Sure enough I found her standing by the swing slightly rocking it back and forth. I was so glad I came downstairs when I did!
7. Bringing Sadie home has resulted in the biggest gift-giving season Hadley has ever experience. I’m not kidding when I say she’s received more gifts in the last month that she ever has before for a birthday or Christmas. Our family members and friends have been so generous and loving with Hadley and have spoiled the new big sister absolutely rotten. I’ve continually been so thankful and in awe of my loved ones’ generosity and thoughtfulness toward Hadley during this time of transition for her. It has truly meant the world that people have loved on her the way they have. It really does take a village.

How did your kid(s) react to becoming a big sibling?

Any tips for how I can continue to encourage Hadley as she adjusts?