Big(ish)

The weekend before our 20-week ultrasound, Nico wanted to wear his big brother shirt, so I took the opportunity to introduce the idea of a baby sibling in what I thought was a gentle way. I asked him what was on his shirt and when he said "Daddy dump truck and baby dump truck!" I told him, "Actually, that's a big brother dump truck You're going to be a big brother!" He looked at me, obviously upset, and forcefully said "NO! Don't wanna be a big brother, NO!" Taken aback, I tried to stay calm and asked him why not, thinking it was a little too late for him to suddenly reveal that he hates babies. Instead, though, he wailed, "I'm not big! I'm yittle!" Oof, kid…just sock me in the heart! I told him of course, buddy, you can be little as long as you want.

From the moms of other kids who are three or nearly-three, I have learned this is somewhat anomalous. All of his friends want to be big and get quite offended if you imply in any way that they are little or babies. Nico, in contrast, seems to have no interest in jumping on the big boy bandwagon. Truthfully, he is still little and I'm in no rush to push him to grow up. But as I watch him learn and do more and more, as I lie with him on his big boy bed at night or sign him up for preschool visits, there's no doubt that he's a little bit big, even if both of us sometimes have a hard time admitting it.