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If any of you read my earlier post this week concerning my son wanting waffles rather than a new sister, I am happy to report we may have some progress.
Determined not to have our new daughter overshadowed by our son’s waffle fixation (for those who missed it, when asked, my son wants waffles and not a sister), I kept involving our son with the organization and decoration of our Madeline’s room. Our son will be two years old next month, but understands quite a bit of what goes on around him. After he announced that he didn’t want a brother, or a sister, but just waffles, I decided to just keep at it. As we worked, I kept saying the name “Madi” over and over. “This is Madi’s room. You will be such a good brother to Madi. Do you think Madi will like this animal?”
We then went from room to room, talking about how special each person’s room was to them. We talked about Aidan’s room, how Aidan’s toys were in there, how Aidan was getting a big boy bed, how we were going to paint Aidan’s room, etc. We talked about Mommy and Daddy’s room, and our clothes, our bed, our pictures. Then, without any prompting, Aidan went over to Madi’s room, and announced, “Dis Matteeeee’s room!”
I was tickled pink. Just when I was about to resort to subliminal messaging, tapes at night of “Madi” repeated over and over, my son made the leap. He now talks about Madi all the time. I don’t push the issue–I want him to always feel very special, and know that Madi could never take his place. But I have always hoped Aidan’s excitement over his new sister would come over time, and it looks like we are heading in that directions.
Now, if he could just stop asking for waffles at 5:00 a.m….
