Monday Snapshot: Sibling Love

Today I’m the featured Snapshot over at PAIL!  Go on over to check it out and to check out the other Snapshots!

When Paul and I met we were excited to find out that each of us wanted three children as we both had two younger siblings.  We started trying for our first baby about a year after we got married and although the four months it took to get pregnant seemed like FOREVER to me as I'd fully expected to get knocked up right away, we now know that four months is laughably short.

When LP (short for Little Paul as he's the 4th Paul in a row on hubby's side) was almost 1 we decided to try for baby #2 as we were hoping our children would be about two years apart.  Four months passed, then 6 months, then a year.  We had two "positive" home pregnancy tests which turned out to be chemical pregnancies.  At that point my OB/GYN suggested we go see the Reproductive Endocrinologist.  All the usual tests were done and we were officially diagnosed with "unexplained secondary infertility."   I was devastated.  There was nothing really that we could do other than keep trying using clomid and then moving onto IUI.  Another year had gone by at this point and so we decided to take a break for the holidays after three rounds of clomid before trying an IUI.   Three days before Christmas I had another positive home test.  The bloodwork showed that my hcg levels were very low however and I was told to come back the day after Christmas to see if this was yet another chemical pregnancy.  Thank goodness we had Christmas with LP to keep our mind off things! Fortunately the news was good and our baby girl Eliza was born in August, 2012, almost 4 years after her brother.

I was so worried about what the almost 4 year age difference would mean to our children.  My husband and I are both only 2-3 years older than our next sibling, and four years seemed so far apart.  But seeing them together now, it seems so right.  LP loves his baby sister more than anything.  Last night, in the bath together he looked at her andthen said, "Mama, Baby Eliza is soooo cute that I can't stop watching her!"   I feel the same way about both of them.

So far the age difference hasn't mattered at all.  I'm sure they'll have their squabbles, all siblings do, but I know they'll always be as close as they are right now when LP stops his playing to run over and kiss his baby sister, and when she looks for him as soon as he enters the room.