Sibling love or rivalry?

Sometimes I think that I’m being selfish for having a second child just 1.5 years after my eldest. Selfish because Caleb could have gotten more attention solely for him during his toddler years. However, when you look at it, Yuri could also have had plenty of regard when he was still a newborn. I’ll be honest, I had a hard time in trying to exclusively breastfeed Yuri because half of my attention was with his Kuya, who obviously still longed for his mother.

I feared sibling rivalry. I don’t want them to be the best enemies but rather be the best of friends.

Looking at them now, they’ve become so attached with each other. Caleb’s first person to look for when he wakes up is Yuri. Well, that’s when he has already assured my presence. Yuri, on the other hand, is fine to be left with his Kuya alone even for a long time.

There are times when Caleb is being a kuya already. He wipes his brother’s saliva or snot. He knows the difference of their bottles and he makes sure his brother gets the right one. I even caught him singing a lullaby when Yuri was sleeping habang hinihimas-himas ang ulo. He also (tries) to teach him how to pronounce words. Most importantly, he whispers when Yuri is asleep.

Here’s a video I secretly took while they were playing.

Some say Caleb shows jealousy over Yuri. That, I cannot confirm. Or maybe I’m in denial? What’s important is I know for sure that I am being fair all the time. No favoritism.

But to see them so close and bonded makes me think that maybe I am doing something right in raising them into beautiful boys after all.