Twinsie Tuesday--Older Siblings

Ever since we first heard those two amazing words "It's twins!" life has never been the same...for the better of course. It has been such a great journey adding these sweet little boys to our family. But I remember thinking early on about our oldest, Truitt, and how he would adjust to not only adding one brother but TWO. J & I wanted to be sure that Tru would not feel left out or have any negative feelings when his twin brothers hit the scene. There were 3 things that I think helped him ease into being a big brother of multiples...

First, we made sure that Tru was involved with just about everything we did when it came to the twins. He was with us when we first found out we were having twins and at every sonogram after that. Later, he went and registered for baby stuff with us. He enjoyed zapping stuff with J, when he could get the gun from him, and helping make decisions on what he thought they would need. We also made sure he was included in the baby shower where he received a big brother book and helped open the gifts. We also took him to an older sibling class at the hospital where he learned about new babies and got a tour of where we would be.

Secondly, we had "brother time" with just him after the twins were born. What I mean by that is we wanted Truitt to be with us as soon as possible after having the twins. I had a C-Section and after they got us back to the recovery room we had alone time with just Tru and the twins. We wanted that time for him to get to bond with the boys right away and show him that he was an important part of such a special moment for our family. It's making me teary eyed just remembering his sweet face when he came tip toeing in the room. He was so gentle with them. It is such a precious memory for me.

Last, we made sure that he had plenty of loving & attention when they came. Especially, the day we went in to have the twins. My parents were able to come down and they payed special attention to big brother while J & I were tending to newborn twins. I wasn't sure what to expect the first couple days after they were born and wanted to be sure he was taken care of while were adjusting. The morning of the C-Section, they took him for breakfast, then after they came for the first hospital visit they took him to the park and treated him to his choice of lunch. We were in the hospital for a couple of days and they loved on him the whole time!
Now once we came home and we all began to adjust. There were a few issues, but it was mainly Tru testing some boundaries with us. He never had negative opportunities with the twins. We still made sure he was involved with them and praised him for the help he would eagerly and sometimes not so eagerly provide. I also never put the twins in a negative light, like saying we couldn't do something because of them. These were just a few things that worked for our family during such an awesome time in our lives.

The thing that I believe helped the most was praying and believing for a smooth transition all through my pregnancy. I would confess over Tru as often as I could that he would adjust well. I still confess that all my boys have a strong and healthy relationship with each other and I believe they will grow up to be great friends...don't get me wrong I'm not saying they wont ever have sibling opportunities arise. I just trust what the Word says that there is power in our words and I'm a believer of the Living Word! But that's a blog for another day.