Since their first meeting 2 weeks after Cicily was born, Maya has been an astonishingly great big sister to Cicily. At that first meeting Maya (2 1/2 yrs. old at the time) looked at her "Baby Cis" laying in her hospital bassinet with all her many tubes connected and simply smiled and stated, "I think she is so cute!" All the nurses warned that Maya as a typical 2 year old would try to play with Cicily's "extra equipment" and may have a more difficult time with sibling rivalry as a result of all the extra attention Cicily would receive. Maya the super sis has proven them all wrong. She's just loved her Baby Cis and never imagined that anything is out of the ordinary with her. For a few months Maya would recount stories of when she herself "was a baby and had a trach". Instead of being jealous of Cicily, Maya was excited that all of her doctors' appointments meant more time for playing with friends and family! Before Cis could sit up, Maya would find ways to play with her laying down, like sending a balloon flying over her head. Last week Maya was "teaching Cis how to stand up" by standing in front of her and saying, "see, you stand on your feet like this."
Before she was 3 years old Maya knew the basics of suctioning a trach and enjoyed teaching her cousins. She is currently Cicily's favorite person to receive oral/feeding therapy from and can actually tell you the directions to Cicily's weekly feeding therapy in Phoenix. (drive on the 202 past Arizona State University/Daddy, get off the 202, pass Hand City, drive down Thomas, to Cicily's therapy)
Perhaps the most super sisterly thing is the way Maya is starting to answer other children's questions about Cicily. At the park a young boy asked, "what's that on her neck?" Maya quickly came over and replied, "that's her trach because she can't breathe through her mouth." This past Sunday at church a young girl asked, "what happened to your baby?" Maya interrupted her Mom's typically clinical response with a proud, "that's Cicily, she's one year old now and is getting really big!" As a super big sister, Maya is already helping strangers see what a wonderful Baby Cis she has and that her most notable qualities are not her physical ones.
Before she was 3 years old Maya knew the basics of suctioning a trach and enjoyed teaching her cousins. She is currently Cicily's favorite person to receive oral/feeding therapy from and can actually tell you the directions to Cicily's weekly feeding therapy in Phoenix. (drive on the 202 past Arizona State University/Daddy, get off the 202, pass Hand City, drive down Thomas, to Cicily's therapy)
Perhaps the most super sisterly thing is the way Maya is starting to answer other children's questions about Cicily. At the park a young boy asked, "what's that on her neck?" Maya quickly came over and replied, "that's her trach because she can't breathe through her mouth." This past Sunday at church a young girl asked, "what happened to your baby?" Maya interrupted her Mom's typically clinical response with a proud, "that's Cicily, she's one year old now and is getting really big!" As a super big sister, Maya is already helping strangers see what a wonderful Baby Cis she has and that her most notable qualities are not her physical ones.
5 comments:
Oh, what a wonderful family! That is so cute, I always knew Maya was awesome! I especially love the directions to Cicily's weekly therapy "passed daddy" How cute!
Janalyn,
That's awesome to read about. I must say, I think you and Chris have done a great job with both Cicily and Maya. I think a large part of the reason that Maya has been so good and not been jealous is because of the way you and Chris have treated them both. She probably never felt like you cared more about Cicily than you did about her because it was obvious to her that you really loved her. Also, she seems to have a lot of you in her in that she is always looking to care for her younger sister. It's a lot of fun to see my brother and sister's kids.
I'm trying not to cry! Maya is such a darling little girl. Cicily needs Maya as much as Maya needs Cicily!
Yes Maya is wonderful, but a lot of that is because you are a great mom who has been teaching her about her little sis and making everything completely normal and fun for her and her little sister. I'm sure not many moms have been creative enough to make a doll with a trach. You guys are awesome. We could all learn from you.
I love what you wrote about Maya. I have often admired her loving, kind approach to a new sister...period. It is great to have kids who love each other. Very cute blog!
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