Being Big Brother takes some adjusting

 One of his big brother prizes to play with while I'm nursing. 

When I gave it to him he said, "Oh yeah! A Tinky!"

Owen has struggled over the last five weeks with our new family dynamic. The first week home he struggled with eating and night waking. The last few weeks bedtime shannagins (till after midnight!?) and tantrums have won out. While he has been very sweet to Gillen, he's taken out most of his frustration on Jeremy. This is sad for both of them because with Jeremy's work schedule they don't get much time together. Owen won't let Jeremy do anything for him right now without tantrums, screaming and calling for Mama. This is hard on all of us because I could really use the help, especially in the evening time when Gillen wants to nurse and be held. Owen knows that when I'm nursing I'm not as quick on my feet and often sees that as an opportunity to be naughty (open a jar of paint all over the playroom or scale the dishwasher). We try to point out all of the cool things that big boys can do that babies cannot and he seems to like that. He likes to be a helper and put Gil's dirty clothes in the hamper or bring me a diaper so I try to include him as much as possible.

Staying in the house all day is pure punishment for both of us, so we try to venture out at least on a walk or to the park. Gillen is really flexible so I've been carrying him in the Ergo and he's perfectly content to sleep there snuggled up on my chest as Big Brother gets some energy out.

We're trying to be patient with our firstborn and hope that soon we will see glimpses of the happy boy we know and love soon. Overall he's doing a great job as a big brother and we hope his little mind will start to settle and he'll again be assured of his place in our family.

More on life with two here on Kveller.com