OPINION: Becoming a big brother to the best little baby

On July 29, 2023, I became a big brother for the second time. I was only 2 when my little brother was born in 2014 so I was still a toddler. This time was different because I was 11, and there are a lot of years between my new little sister and I. The day I found out my mom was having another baby I was shocked. It had been so long and we all thought we were just going to be a family of four forever. Then we did a gender reveal my brother and I walked out with the color of balloons as my mom and dad were popping the confetti cannons.

“It’s a girl!”

I felt so surprised to be getting a little sister.

Back to July 29th; Harlynn-Jay was born! When I first saw her I didn’t think she was going to be so tiny. I was kind of scared to hold her because she was so small. We sat on the couch and I held her and noticed she had a lot of hair! Even though she was so small she was a little heavier than I expected.

After Harlynn came home, for the next few months I got to watch how fast babies change. I became more comfortable with holding her. The first thing I noticed was she loves water and baths so much. We would give her baths and put a warm cloth over her before she could sit up by herself. She would kick and splash the water and start to laugh. She is 17 months now and still loves the bath just as much.

As a big brother I do not ever want my sister to cry. It’s sad, scary and I don’t want her to feel sad or hurt. It scares me sometimes because if I do not know what is wrong I can’t fix it. I always want her to be smiling and happy.

I love to help her learn new things like crawling and walking. She just started to walk these past few months. She loves to take my hand and have me walk with her all around our house. She has a super strong grip. So if she grabs your hand you are going with her.

One of the cutest things is baby shoes! Before she was even born she already had a closet full of clothes. Even though I am a boy I think her clothes and shoes are the cutest. Specifically baby clothes and shoes.

Watching Harlynn grow up is so awesome. She loves to play with my brother and I. She likes to wrestle, likes when I push her in one of her many mobile whips. She loves to be read to and playing ball with us and our doggies. My parents say they love the way she looks at us. She knows that I am the one that she can come and play with but also relax and that my brother will make her laugh. We both love her so much. We look forward to so many more memories with her and watching her grow up. She is the best, cutest, smartest little baby ever.