Big Cousin

So many things amaze me about children in general, but more specifically about my own son. (Naturally.) Most recently, I was struck by his sense of instinct and compassion.

My sister-in-law and brother were blessed with a beautiful baby girl a couple weeks ago, so Cole is now a big cousin. I was curious to see how he would be around someone smaller than him. There are a couple of kids younger than him at day care, so this wouldn’t be his first experience with a baby, but I don’t usually get to witness his reaction. I know he is a good kid, but he can get a little hyper and rambunctious, so I knew that I had to be on alert.

As we arrived at the hospital, I tried to prepare him for what we were doing. I told him about his new baby cousin and how she is little and we have to be nice around her. I’m sure that he didn’t really understand much of what I was saying, but it made me feel good to set the standard.

We went up to the room and waited for the baby to be brought in from the nursery. I don’t know what my nieces Noli and Marleigh (4 and 3) were thinking when they saw her, as they seemed a little hesitant, but Cole got very excited. He shouted, “Baby!” over and over again and smiled and giggled and tried to get near her.

Again, I was a little worried that he would get too excited, leap out of my arms, and jump on top of this tiny newborn. So I held on tight and let him look from afar. But eventually we had to put him down and he ventured over to check out his new cousin. He instantly calmed down. He was still excited, but he didn’t shout or jump around. He smiled and leaned in to kiss her little face and he stroked her gently. It was as if Cole knew how small and fragile she was, and he reacted just right. I think he would have kissed and hugged and touched his new cousin all night if we had let him. We could all learn a thing from my 1 year old’s instinct and compassion.  

Going in for a kiss