Proud of you

I’d finally been able to hold him

The boy, second to steal my heart

But you were still there, in the forefront, right after

The night we’d been apart.

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I was nervous about how it would go

I had no idea how you would cope

Being the eldest, the first, the one who made me mama

All I could do was hope.

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It had always been the two of us

A family of three had become our norm

A new addition, a fourth, my shared attention

Would you jump for joy or mourn?

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Post birth I waited for the phone call

To hear that you were being brought in

So you could meet your new little brother, your sibling

And adjust to life with him.

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I heard your feet down the hallway

They sped up as I called your name

“Mummy, mummy I’m coming” you yelled out loudly

Your excitement to see me untamed.

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You burst through the door and hugged me

Peeping at the new boy in blue

Not yet understanding that he was ours to take home, your sibling

That he was our number two.

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But as I cradled him you stopped

Your little face shocked by the sight

Someone else so small in my arms, mummy, really?

Did I get replaced over night?

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It took a few days for me to show you

That while it was no longer just us

You were not forgotten, or less important, not slightly

Your big sister role was a plus.

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And I know some times have been hard

All the sharing and waiting was new

The undivided attention on you much less frequent

The times of me and you now few.

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But before long you came to realise

That this little baby is yours too

You love him just as much as we do, it’s clear

You always want him in view.

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So now I want you to know something

It’s important to me that you do

You have handled it so well my first baby, my girl

And for that I’m so proud of you.

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