Before Talia (which means dew from God) entered our lives, I was a bit concerned about how my other daughter, Nandi, would react to a new addition to the family. I was pleasantly surprised, to say the least. It was as if she matured overnight and immediately became my little helper!
As soon as she met her baby sister, she was attached immediately. I think she felt like she had her very own human baby doll. In fact, Nandi has about three or four baby dolls, which she hardly even noticed before Talia came along. All of a sudden, she wanted them around; she was rocking them, feeding them, burping them, and even checking to see if they needed a diaper change. She was mimicking what she saw us doing. But to see my little girl, this smaller version of me acting grown, was and still is priceless.
Talia doesn’t know it now, but she couldn’t have been blessed with a better sister than the one she has. During my maternity leave, my husband would take Nandi to daycare, and every time she came home, her signature phrase would be, “I’m home, baby!” I thought it was too cute, but then I thought, “Wow – she didn’t even miss me, just her sister!” And until Nandi could say Talia’s name, she called her, “baby,” or “baby sister.” And now that the baby is older, when she sees Nandi, all you see is a wide, toothless grin.
But back to Nandi being my little helper. She loves helping us feed Talia. Sometimes she’ll grab the baby’s bottle, shake it, spill some on her wrist, and then hand it to me or my husband. She’ll smile and wait for us to say, “Thank you,” which seems to tickle her to no end. And when Talia cries, Nandi will rush over saying, “I know, baby, I know,” while patting Talia on the hand. How cute is that? More often than not, Talia will actually calm down and start cooing and looking at Nandi with excitement in her eyes.
Yes, we’ve definitely been blessed with two beautiful angels. Now don’t get me wrong, Nandi has her moments when she wants our undivided attention and could care less how Talia is feeling. For instance, it was time for Nandi to eat dinner one evening, and in her search for a bib, she flew right past Talia who was crying loudly for me to pick her up and feed her. When it comes to food, it seems Nandi feels it is every woman for herself.
It is far from easy having two little ones in diapers at the same time, but we also never have any dull moments in our house. Both girls are entertaining – and they seem to love one another beyond words. As I look at them interact with one another, I have a good feeling that they’ll always be close; but I’ll keep praying on that, just in case.
Chandra Caradine is a Sr. Public Relations Specialist for Texas Health Resources and Mom to almost-two-year-old Nandi and newborn Talia.
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