My seven-year-old son had begged for a sibling for years, so when his baby sister Brenda was born, I thought his sudden obsession with sleeping under her crib was sweet. Then one night, I heard him whisper something through the baby monitor that made me stop in the hallway.
My seven-year-old son, Ben, begged for a sibling for almost three years.
Every birthday, every Christmas, every random Tuesday when he thought persistence might finally wear us down, he asked the same question.
When Brenda was born, things became more complicated than we expected.
“When am I getting a baby?”
So when my husband, Daniel, and I finally told him I was pregnant, Ben screamed so loudly our neighbor knocked to check whether someone was hurt.
When Brenda was born, things became more complicated than we expected.
The doctors explained that Brenda had Down syndrome and started walking us through tests, specialists, therapies, and things we might need to prepare for.
The first time he held Brenda, he stared at her tiny face for about ten seconds.
Daniel and I were overwhelmed.
That first week, every appointment seemed to introduce a new question, and I barely knew which one to ask first.
Ben wasn’t.
The first time he held Brenda, he stared at her tiny face for about ten seconds.
He picked her clothes. He sang badly whenever she cried.
Then he looked at me.
“She’s perfect.”
After that, Brenda became “his baby.”
He picked her clothes. He sang badly whenever she cried. He showed her picture to cashiers, teachers, neighbors, and one confused delivery driver.
I found him under Brenda’s crib one morning with his pillow, blanket, and stuffed dinosaur.
At night, he would stand beside the bassinet and whisper goodnight as if Brenda could already understand every word perfectly.
For the first two weeks after we brought her home, I thought Ben was handling the transition better than any seven-year-old possibly could.
Then he stopped sleeping in his bedroom.
I found him under Brenda’s crib one morning with his pillow, blanket, and stuffed dinosaur.
I almost laughed.
“You have a bed, you don’t have to sleep here.”
“Ben, what are you doing?”
He blinked up at me.
“Sleeping.”
