Dear Daniel,

Your big sisters love you very much.  Before you were born, I was getting out some coming-home clothes to pack in the diaper bag, when Ruth finally realized that you were, as she phrased it, “Running around in your tummy without clothes on!”  It was quite the revelation to her.  As was the fact that you were upside down in my tummy, a conclusion she reached all by herself when asking where your hands, head, and legs were in my tummy.

Soon before your arrival, your sisters approached me looking very business-like, Ruth having suitcase in hand and pink John Deere hat on her head.  I felt like I was being interviewed: “I am Ruth and this is Mary and we would like to ask you a few questions. The new baby has been missing for a few weeks and we would like it to come out of your tummy.”

One of Ruth’s first questions after she met you was: ”Did it hurt your belly button when he came out?”  I just said, “Yes.”

Her next query was: “Is your tummy not big now?”  (I was covered up with blankets in the hospital bed so she couldn’t observe this for herself.)

Mary was more direct in her discovery.  I unwrapped you so they could see your feet and toes, and Mary went directly for your umbilical cord and pulled on it before we could stop her!

Ruth wanted to know, “Will God let us keep our new baby?”  I said I sure hoped so.

One night after we got home, Ruth said: “Mom, your tummy’s getting smaller and smaller!”  But then the next morning she informed me, “Your tummy’s still a little big.”

Mary, on the other hand, still gets confused about where you are—or rather, the fact that you are the baby that was in my tummy.  Even when I’m holding you in my lap, she still tries to lift up my shirt and kiss you through my tummy like she used to.

During your first few weeks of life, I heard this frequently from Ruth: ”He’s just like Baby Jesus all wrapped up in a SwaddleMe.”

Your sisters love having a brother.  All their dollies (who wear nightgowns and pink polka dot outfits) are now “he’s.”  They nurse their dollies, burp their dollies, and change their messy diapers—just like Mommy does with you.  Ruth even rigged up a “baby carrier” for her dolly the week before you were born. 

Ruth asks frequent questions about the feeding of babies and why God made it so mommies could feed babies like that.  A few months before you were born, she pointed and asked, “Is this where you feed babies milk?” I replied with a simple, “Yes.”  Her conclusion left us all laughing: “Does this one have water in it?”

But so far the only observation she’s made about you looking different is, “His bottom looks like his belly button.”

Yes, this thing of having a baby in the house is quite fascinating.  But now, apparently, they are ready for another sibling already.  When you were just 2 1/2 weeks old, Ruth all of a sudden said, “When our new baby gets old, let’s get a girl from God.”

Then, I was reading the Samaritan Ministries newsletter, wherein I always comment on the baby names, and Ru asked: “Are you looking for names for our girl?”

Don’t worry, Daniel.  We love having a boy.  And I know that next time around, when you’ll be rooting for a brother, your sisters probably will, too, simply because they love you so much.

Ruth is always saying, “I love our new baby.  I love Daniel.  I love our baby Daniel.”  They both love to gently rub your head while I hold you, to kiss the top of your head, and to—oh the delight!—hold you themselves.

You are loved, little one.  Especially by your sisters!

Love always,
your mommy