Share this
Photo; Courtesy
When newborn sparks jealousy
The arrival of a new born baby is a blessing, no doubt. But this innocent cute little thing can cause chaos in an erstwhile peaceful life.
Much as Troy, brought blessings to our family, he arrived with so much disturbing force as if compensating the years Tasha was alone. Apart from that, I was so green at this new mummy thing, it’s as if I was a first time mother. There is a cocktail of issues, I need a manual.
I didn’t even know the best diapers in the market now. I was so clueless, I had to rely on a new mommies Facebook page to get my way around. There was so much going on, now I understand why women go through postnatal depression.
You have this little helpless creature that depends on you for 100 per cent, yet you are equally incapacitated nursing a crippling CS wound. Troy cries and cries and cries.
Whether he is clean and dry and well fed (or is my milk not enough for his insatiable appetite?) You see Tasha was such a peaceful baby, I used to wonder what new mummies are talking about when they mention their restless new borns.
‘Mum why does baby cry all the time. Si you take him back to the hospital?’ Tasha is always asking, clearly irritated by this minute creature that has dethroned her.
Speaking of Tasha, did I tell you of ‘sibling jealousy induced malaria’? Right after I came back from hospital, Tasha noticed that the attention had shifted from her to the new baby in town.
In an instant, it was all about Troy. It was baby this, baby that. She was so irked about the zero attention coming her way, on day three of baby’s arrival, she came down with malaria-like symptoms and we had to rush her to hospital.
Thank God her paediatrician understood the trigger of her illness and prescribed the right medicine for it. Tender Loving Attention.
“You see Tasha had been an only child for almost six years and all the attention had been on her. Now when the power shifted to another source, it was bound to affect her,” the doctor explained.
She told us to ensure that we do not forget about Tasha in the ‘Troy jamboree’. Now we made it a deliberate action that my hubby concentrates on Princess Tasha while mummy attended to the new born.
I always assumed that the elder child would always adjust smoothly when a younger sibling comes, but I was learning that it is a slow process.
Source: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke
