Thinking Out Loud

I've been thinking a lot lately about what kind of big brother Jonah will be. I know that I pray he will be kind, adoring, and protective of his baby sister. I also pray that the normal jealousies will be brief and manageable. One thing I feel the Lord has been showing me is how to incorporate Jonah into Gracie's life before she's born by letting him help with the nursery preparations. He's helped paint her room, fold her clothes, and "assemble" her crib. This is never convenient, since things slow down and get messier when he's involved, but I'm understanding more that this could be the key to nurturing his instincts as a big brother now rather than after she's born. I'm encouraged by our progress. After Jonah helped with the crib, Meemaw and Pappaw came over for dinner. Jonah ran to greet Meemaw, and instead of his usual, "wanna go outside?", he jumped up and down and excitedly pulled her to the nursery. "Come see Gracie's bed, Meemaw!".
It's been several days since he helped paint her room, but he wanders into the nursery at least once a day to admire the paint. He has always loved to "help" around the house and takes a lot of pride in his work...
















Jonah at 6 months

I'm excited to see how this plays out once the baby arrives. I'm sure we'll have incidents where he tries to pick her up without help or force a pacifier in her mouth when she doesn't want it. And, I know things will take longer sometimes because I'm letting him help...


But I'm eagerly waiting to see him in this new role of big brother. I know one of the hugest blessings of all will be seeing her react to his voice for the first time. Seeing her smile and laugh at him. Seeing her adore him as much as Michael and I do.