If you were to ask me what has changed the most significantly since pregnancy, I would answer, “My ass. Oh, wait, you meant in the non-physical? Okay, then.. lemme see.. my ass? No, sorry, I said that already. Have I mentioned my ass? Alright, alright.. patience.”

While I have always considered myself a somewhat patient individual, my patience-to-irritability ratio has changed tremendously since pushing an 8.5 lb baby through my nu-nu. Although I surprise myself several times a day in this capacity (”WHY IS HE STILL CRYING? Okay, little Binja.. just calm down..”), I notice it most on weekends where we have The Boy here with us.

The transition was a rough one, compiled with mastitis, fever, exhaustion, and.. you know, life. Going from an only child of seven years to a part-time big brother of a month was tiring, and definitely had some hair-pulling moments. But a little bit into it, our roles seem to be cemented. The Boy is slowly becoming more curious about the baby, and reveling in the little milestones that we are. Tony is now less of a threat. And it’s definitely helping.

I will be very upfront and honest and say that I have been steadfast and strong in my “Sarah doesn’t believe in video games as a babysitter” policy. And my way of making that stand was to never acknowledge that we had any in the house. The Boy knew not to ask me to play video games with him. He knew not to ask me to WATCH him play video games. But since we acquired the new Wii, which is a game system I totally support (it’s family-friendly and.. hey, now!.. active), I realized that I’ve been missing out on a part of The Boy that is incredibly remarkable: he is, surprisingly, very good at video games. Hard video games. Stuff I would’ve given up on, he conquers in a matter of tries. Or if he can’t, he will stop that game and come back to it later. He handles video game stress so much better than adults (BRYAN), and I watched him do it skillfully last night. While Bryan was cooking dinner, I sat in with The Boy and watched him tackle Super Mario Galaxy as if he designed it himself. We had fun in there, me regailing him of old school Mario stories, and him pointing out their incorporation into this new game. (You can JUMP on the flying turtle shells, Sarah? Won’t they hurt you?)

It’s amazing to look at the littlest boy and imagine him ever being seven years old or being as grown-up as The Boy is, but I think we should also count our lucky stars if he turns out half as amazing.