First of all, and most importantly if you ask me, her sleeping habits haven't changed one bit. In fact, she may be sleeping longer in the mornings. She still goes down easily for naps and sleeps for a good 2.5 hours on average. Bedtime routine is a bit more difficult but I'm pretty sure this mostly has to do with being almost 2 and defiant (and stubborn like me.) But she still goes to bed easily and hasn't once woken up in the middle of the night (crossing fingers and toes I'm not jinxing myself.) She did wake up once very early on when Brody cried and I heard her in the monitor, "Baby!"
At first, I think I said the word "gentle" about a million times a day. I am still saying that pretty often but she has gotten so much better, and a little less interested in her little brother. At first she wanted to give hugs and kisses all the time and she wasn't exactly the softest kisser/hugger. She still loves giving Brody hugs and kisses, often when he is sleeping, but she's doing much better at being gentle.
She has a keen sense of hearing for when Brody cries after a nap. She always runs to me and says, "Him!" and points frantically at the bedroom. She always runs to him if she can reach him to put his "fier" (pacifier) back in his mouth if he is crying. (She's getting better at this too, often she's a little too rough shoving it in his mouth.) She loves to help me by getting diapers and helping me wipe his bum when changing him. And she isn't shy about telling me when he's dirty, "Brody poopy!" (She actually likes to tell me when I'm poopy too, "Mama, poopy." No Kayla, Mama not poopy.)
She wants to "hold" him all the time and sometimes tries to smother him while hugging him when he laying on the ground. But her biggest fault is that she just loves him too much, if that's even possible.
We have taught her that he likes to have his toes tickled and kissed in hopes of her staying away from his head. Now she says "toes" all the time around him. Generally, I feel so lucky to have her. She's been so great and more cuddly than normal, which I'm mostly enjoying. I always say that as my first baby, she has taught me so much patience, but she continues to teach me about patience and tolerance. Often, when I'm trying to put Brody down for a nap, she is talking non stop and making a bunch of noise, saying "toes" over and over and "night night" over and over. I know she just loves him and is trying to help, but sometimes it's so frustrating I have to practice breathing techniques and remember she is a toddler.
I can't really give any advice on how to make this transition as smooth as ours has been, since really I think I just have a pretty good kid. I don't think I did anything special at all, she is just special. How is having two kids so much easier for me than when I had one?? I guess because I just have good kids. :) I got super lucky!
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