Friday, March 21, 2008

Baby talk

We were at a loose end this morning since Moppet had no school, so we decided to go visiting. S and Moppet are in the same group at school and are friends (to the extent that 2-year olds can be friends). Also, S has a 4-month old baby brother, and I thought it would be nice for Moppet to see the baby and play with him a little.

It all started out very nicely. Having been repeatedly told to be on her best behaviour on the way over, Moppet's first words to S when we reached her house were, 'S, no fighting, ok?' It turned out that S's mom had been telling her much the same stuff, so S responded cordially with 'S share Moppet' and started to ply her with all her toys out of her toy trolley.

Things were going extremely well, meaning that we moms were actually able to have a conversation, interrupted only occasionally by an ear-splitting scream, a broken toy, a bumped head, and a disputed balloon.

Then Baby A woke up and joined the party. He is the happiest, cutest little fellow, and I couldn't resist picking him up and giving him a cuddle. Moppet, who had only given him a cursory glance when he was brought out, completely flipped out when I picked him up.

'MY MOPPET MAMA!' she wailed. 'MAMA NO CAWWY BABY! PUT BACK, PUT BACK, PUT BACK!'

I gave Baby A back to his mom in a hurry and Moppet climbed onto my lap and stayed there for about 5 minutes. But S and her toy trolley were hard to ignore for too long and she soon slid off to go back and play.

She did warm to the baby a little later on, when he was lying on the bed, looking around at all of us with bright-eyed curiosity and waving his little fists in the air. Seeing me gently pinch his cheek and call him a cutiepie, Moppet climbed onto the bed to do the same.

'Be gentle, Moppet' I warned, and she was. 'Keetipie' she said, and was rewarded with a gurgle and a smile. I showed her how he would wrap his hand around her finger and she was thrilled. 'Baby hol hand!' she said, with a big grin.

S was watching the proceedings with disapproval and the holding hands bit was more than she could bear. She bounced onto the bed, grabbed Baby A's other hand, and generally indicated that Moppet should refrain from looking at or touching HER baby, or else.

Moppet responded by yanking my t-shirt up, patting my belly and saying, 'This one Moppet baby.' I was floored. I hadn't realised that she understood that much. 'Yes, this one is your baby, Moppet', I said, giving her a happy hug.

But in the taxi on our way home, Moppet sat facing me in my lap with a hand on my tummy and said, 'Baby bwother inside. No baby bwother ouside, ok?'

Oh dear.

24 comments:

SUR NOTES said...

oh oh dear...this little moppet is figuring out so many things,concepts...
fascinating to watch...and read.

dipali said...

oh dear indeed!

Anonymous said...

How sweet and innocent!

Lavs said...

Oh, does she mean she did not want a baby brother outside???

Lavs said...

Just saw the lilypie ticker..so its going to be a boy!!

Am i the last one to know this??*grin*

Yashodhara said...

Moppet and Moppet's Mom - you both are incredibly cute! Cant wait for Munch to join the party!

Timepass said...

Moppet will surely show off her baby brother to S once he arrives..and take sweet revenge I guess

Sukhaloka said...

uh-oh. Don't fret, she'll get over it like SO many have before her!

:hugs:
PS: She's still too cute, isn't she?!

Savani said...

what a genius this girl is :) I know it is hard for you but I am rolling on the floor with her no baby brother outside comment!!!!! It will all sort itself out. don't fret.

Cantaloupes.Amma (CA) said...

She is not 2 yet and she understands about her little brother ... smart girl !

Sue said...

It might be a little rough to start with, but I'm with you on thinking once she starts to 'take care' of her baby, she'll be willing to share a little Mom with him too. So long as he understands that she's Moppet's Mom first.

Isn't now a great time for Moppet to spend whole sections of the day with Moppet's Dad? Starting in small portions, of course. Letting him take care of her needs etc. because Mom is not available.

Perhaps you guys are doing this already. My brother and I had a nasty relationship because of sibling rivalry fostered by the family, so I'm all for prevention as far as possible.

Squiggles Mom said...

!!! She is super smart.
*gobsmacked*

Anonymous said...

Uh-oh...you have some serious damage control in your hands!!!

Choxbox said...

this one vewwy smart, vewwy cute!

AP said...

haha - good luck keeping the baby bwother inside forever!!!

Sunita said...

:) ha ha ha. The way kids figure things out.
At my cousins place, both my sis-in-laws were carrying around the same time. After a heavy lunch when I asked my niece in a playful mood as to what was in her tummy, she said 'Baby'. :) Everybody in the house has a big tummy and everyone says baby inside so...

Mona said...

uh oh
:)

Just Like That said...

Uh oh! poor li'l Moppet. and poorer li'l Candyfloss (I tell you, it sounds really weird to call you Candyfloss)and POOREST li'l Munch! :-D
Don't worry, it'll all get alright.
But 'no baby bwother outside', did make my Mon morn blues lift considerably. Moppet is vewwy vewwy chweet.

Sunita Venkatachalam said...

*Oh* She does get it huh? She's a smart cookie that one. I wouldn't worry about sibling rivalry yet though, I think it will all work out. I feel that children who vocalize about it are probably better off than the ones who keep it all in.

Maggie said...

Thanks for the reassurance, guys. I will admit to being a little worried - she's still so possessive of me - but she's growing up so fast, I'm hopeful that over the next 12 weeks she'll come to be a little calmer about the whole thing.

That said, I believe her theory is that there are 2 types of baby brothers - the type S has, an 'ouside baby' and hers, the far more preferable 'inside baby' :-)

Mystic Margarita said...

I was so tickled to read about Moppet's reactions - read the entire post out to R and he, too, was very amused! Smart, gal, Mopett! I'm sure she'll grow to love the 'outside' baby brother as well! :)

~nm said...

Awww..the last line were sooooo cute!! She is surely going to love her baby bro to bits and is going to be very VERY possesive about him :)

Touch wood!

Swati said...

so shweet and cute

the mad momma said...

i know its easy for me to say but they get used to it. the brat has been remarkably accommodating of the bean.