Everyone has been asking how Ava is doing being a Big Sister and how she is liking her Little Sister. Well for now she is doing great. We have been doing everything we can to include her and to make her see that she is still loved. I do get busy with Hailey, and when Kenny is working, I can only do so much by myself but she has been doing good. She doesnt seem mad when I tell her I cant because I am feeding or taking care of Hailey. I ask her to please wait until I am done, and when I am done doing whatever it was, I will put Hailey down and go play or take care of Ava's needs. It sure is a balancing act. Sometimes its hard and I feel bad because I cant do it all at one time and take care of both of them at once, but Ava hasnt made it a big deal.
I honestly had prepared myself for the worse, we are also dealing with the terrible 2's so I thought bringing home baby #2 would do us in. But since day one she has been loving towards Hailey and tells her all the time that she loves her. Sometimes it can be a little too much, Ava will try to kiss her and squeeze her hand to hard, or try to press on her belly or something so we are consistly reminding Ava to be easy and that Hailey is just a baby and cannot do a lot. Ava wants her to play so badly. She tries giving her toys and wants her to take them.
When Ava tries to include Hailey, I try to make it seem like Hailey is there 100%. If she tells Hailey, "I love you" then I reply "Hailey loves you too", if Ava tells Hailey "Bless you" after she sneezes, I tell Ava that she says "Thank you".
I will say one thing, Hailey knows Ava's voice. There are times that Hailey will be fussy and I will ask Ava to talk to her and give her kisses. Once Ava is beside her Hailey will quiet down and looks in the direction Ava is talking from. It is really sweet.
There's only been one person I can honestly say that Ava has acted jealous around and that is her Aunt Ashley. Ashley was over holding Hailey and Ava asked her to give Hailey to me so that Aunt Ashley could play with her. It was really cute and I know it made Ashley feel loved. Emily used to do the same thing with Ashley when Ava was first born.
Ava has also gotten used to Hailey being around her, almost like she's always been here. When she goes to leave now she asks if Hailey is coming and will get upset if she doesnt. I went to drop Ava off at Becky's last week and she got very upset that Hailey wasnt staying. I love it. I thought for sure she would ignore her or totally not like her for a while but she has been wonderful.
I know within a few years that can all change and they will argue and fight and I will be busy yelling at them to be nice to each other but it has made the transition a little easier with Ava not being so difficult during this process. So I love that I can answer people when they ask, "Ava loves her and helps take care of her and is a great big sister"