A Brother's Love

When I got pregnant with Ducky, our 3rd (and final baby), Punk was a very mature and opinionated 3 year old little boy. He was excited at the idea of having a new baby. But because Twinkletoes who was 1 1/2 at the time drove him crazy on a daily basis by following him around, copying everything he did (you know, typical little sister worshiping big brother stuff) he was bound and determined that this new baby was going to be a boy.

He'd tell me on a daily basis leading up to the ultrasound that this baby was definitely going to be a boy. He just knew it. And to be honest, so did I. I had correctly guessed the sex of Punk and Twinkletoes from the moment I was pregnant with them. Call it mother's intuition or whatever, I was POSITIVE that this baby was going to be a little boy, whom we would name Wesley Scott, and he would be just as adorable and smart as his big brother! My husband, on the other hand was sure that the baby was a girl. Because I was SO SURE that it was a boy, I never could finalize a girl name with my husband. We went over and over names, just like we had done with the other 2 pregnancies so that once the ultrasound was over we could stop calling the growing baby "the baby" and start referring to it by it's name..but this time. We went in with only a boy's name, and my positive feeling that not having a girl name would be fine, because we wouldn't need it.

Ha.

During the ultrasound, I spotted it first. The 3 little giveaway lines that indicate the baby growing inside of me was definitely NOT a boy. (Remember, I already had had one of each so I knew what to look for). I remember saying "It's a girl," and the ultrasound tech saying, "Hmm, let me..Oh! You're right!"

And then, Punk burst into tears. "NO! I wanted the baby to be a boy! I don't want another sister! And on and on it went for the remaining 4+ months of my pregnancy.

"Mommy, when this baby grows up will she turn into a boy? Because I really don't want her to be a girl."

He asked questions like that on a daily basis. And yes, poor Ducky was referred to as "the baby" until about 2 weeks before she was born because SB and I could NOT come up with a name that we both liked for her.

But things changed for Punk as soon as she was born. He fell in love with her. His little baby sister could, and still can, do no wrong in his eyes. He is as sweet as honey to her, while on the other hand he treats Twinkletoes like his arch enemy. Every day he covers her in kisses, even now that she is getting closer to toddlerhood every day.

Just this morning I said to him after he sweetly greeted Ducky good morning, "So, Punk. Aren't you glad Ducky is a girl now, even though you wanted her to be a boy?"

He replied, "Yeah, but you know. I don't know know if she'll still be that cute when she gets bigger."



Huh. I hope his love for her holds on even if she isn't "that cute" as she gets bigger. Because it is the sweetest, purest love I've ever witnessed in my life. And also, I don't think I can handle much more sibling fighting. Those two are the only 2 of my 3 kids who don't fight with each other. Crossing my fingers and toes that it hangs on, for my own sanity!