Saying Hello To Little E – Introducing Siblings

Preparing Ethan for the arrival of his little sister is something that caused me great concern. I had no idea how to prepare my non-verbal child for this massive change in his life and everyday routine. I wanted to get him a book that we could read together in that last few weeks of my pregnancy but I didn’t order a book in time and Little E’s arrival was sooner and a bit more stressful than expected. This meant a book never got ordered or read.

Ethan did visit me briefly at the hospital as I needed some things brought up. His very quick look went well.

Unfortunately when we brought Little E home and placed her in the front room Ethan’s face crumbled and he started to cry. This broke my heart and I burst into tears, which didn’t surprise me as it had been a very traumatic weekend of events. 
 
To be honest I wasn’t expecting Ethan to show much interest in Little E, I was just hoping her arrival wouldn’t freak him out too much. We tried not to make a big issue of her presence and didn’t push Ethan in any way to show any interest in her. 
  
As expected he didn’t go near her that night. He also didn’t come into our bedroom the following morning, he knew she was there and kept away. 
 
When Darren went into our bedroom Ethan followed him and stood on our bed so that he could look into the moses basket. A very small break through and one we were happy with. 
 
Ten minutes later, with all of us downstairs Ethan started to get closer to the moses basket and started touching Little E’s head in a hello. 
We were both pleasantly shocked and surprised by his reaction. When Ethan returned from nursery that day his interest continued, he even started to give Little E his special Ethan cuddles.
He also pointed out her body parts when we asked him too, making sure he didn’t poke her in the eyes!
We were even able to capture them together in a photo, very staged but one for the memory books. 
We were even more shocked when Ethan indicated to us that he wanted to pick her up, so we asked him if he wanted a cuddle. He got a cuddle with support from us but I don’t think Ethan was totally happy with Little E in his space at this point. 
I’m not going to lie it isn’t totally plain sailing. Ethan gets very excited around Little E and he doesn’t know his own strength so we have to make sure we are there to support him when he is in cuddling mode. He also likes to rock her moses basket which we have to control to make sure he does it gently. We can’t leave them alone together, but I don’t think you would leave any young child alone with a newborn baby. It is very tiring and we are having to keep Ethan busy with things so that Little E can get a break from all of his affections. 
 
We are just so glad that Ethan is taking an interest in her, he could have totally shut her out of his world and this could be a totally different blog post. 

18 thoughts on “Saying Hello To Little E – Introducing Siblings”

    1. Jane - Our Little Escapades

      Thank you, it really has gone so much better than expected. We are so happy Ethan has taken so well to his little sister.

  1. Such lovely photos. I think it is difficult for any child when that first sibling comes along – we had a few issues with Ethan when his sister was born and even now he still gets quite jealous. I am pleased that things are settling down for you all and I know Ethan will be a great big brother for Baby E!

    1. Jane - Our Little Escapades

      Thank you, I’m sure we will have issues along the way but I really did think Ethan wouldn’t pay any attention to her for a while. We do have to watch his affections towards her but I’m sure all parents have the same issues as first x

  2. Very sweet photos. When both our second and third children were born, I was surprised how interested and caring the older siblings were about the new arrivals. I was expecting lots of jealousy and sibling rivalry, and although we have had a little of that develop since (thankfully only a little!), it’s amazing to see how natural and strong the bond between them has been.

    1. Jane - Our Little Escapades

      I’m very surprised how quickly it looks like Ethan has bonded with his sister, so happy about it. I know that we will have issues along the way but it could have started off a lot worse x

  3. Caroline Elliott

    Aww I am really pleased to hear how well it is going honey! He is doing fantastically! I am sure it isn’t easy but like you say you’d never leave a small child with a baby and I don’t think it is ever going to be easy, but it could be much worse so I am really pleased to be reading this!! xx #loudnproud

    1. Jane - Our Little Escapades

      Thank you, it is keeping us on our toes and we really are in tag team mode at the moment but I’m sure it will get better as Little E gets older x

  4. Rather late, but huge congratulations!!! This post is really touching. Those photos of Ethan giving Little E his special cuddle are beautiful. I’m so glad it’s all gone better than expected xx

    1. Jane - Our Little Escapades

      Thank you, we are so glad how it has all gone. Ethan does get a bit over excited around Little E, but he could have spent the first few months ignoring her. It will be interesting to see how their relationship grows x

  5. Lovely, lovely photos and I’m so relieved for you all that E is accepting little E, the pictures together are fantastic. Reminded very much of T in that he will cuddle with his head as opposed to using arms #SSAmazingAchievements

    1. Jane - Our Little Escapades

      I’m so glad he has taken to her, I was worried he would just ignore her. I think the head cuddles must be the ‘in’ thing ;0) x

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