Saturday, January 1, 2011

Luke meets Eleanor!

Luke’s curiosity about Eleanor is a little bit tentative. He always wants to know where she is and likes to peer in at her, but he’s a little skittish when asked about holding her and has yet to take that plunge. Maybe he knows himself better than his parents do, because just an hour after we came home from the hospital, Eleanor had a narrow escape from his foot. When we lie down on the floor, it’s an invitation for our energetic Luke-boy to jump on us. So when we all sat on the floor, with Eleanor lying in the middle, first Luke was very doting, bringing blanket after blanket to place on his baby. But then his role suddenly changed from nurturing to playful and he started barreling toward Eleanor’s blanket. Erik swept him up just as his foot planted on her forehead. Thankfully he hadn’t placed any weight on it yet! He seemed to instantly realize that he could have hurt her, and both children started crying at the same time. Eleanor calmed down before Luke did, but neither were distressed for long, and now after a few days without any further incidents, Erik and I can laugh about it too.

Mostly though, Luke has a tender sweetness toward his little sis. When he sees her, he always wants to give her a gentle kiss. Usually he doesn’t even plant it on her skin but kisses the air just above her head. When we hold her, he points to her bouncy seat saying ‘it’ – requesting that she sit there so he can see her better and sometimes bounce her. He knows her name is Eleanor, but opts to cutely call her ‘baby’ instead.

Much of the time though, Luke’s interest in his sister is quickly outmatched by the appeal of his new Christmas toys and his visiting grandparents. With them here, he seems to be adjusting relatively easily to sharing his parents with a little sister. But more striking has been the smoothness of Eleanor’s adjustment to the world outside the womb. She seems to be a wonderfully patient, contented baby, rarely crying and quickly consoled. Caring for her puts our memory of Luke as a baby in a new light – maybe he was a colicky child after all! Here’s hoping the relatively peaceful transition continues…

Click here for a cute video of Luke & Eleanor and find lots more baby pics here.

1 comment :

  1. Oh, you guys, that video is too cute for words! What a sweet relationship they already have!

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