Geo, My Brother

No Matter What

There were ups and downs about being a big sister.

Having a baby brother meant some big changes in the house. For one thing, Milli suddenly found herself sharing her room with her brother. And boy, can he cry.  He'd cry and cry all night if he has to. She'd be lucky to get at least an hour of sleep.

For another thing, he needed a lot of attention. He was too small to do anything, so Mommy, Daddy and Bot have to take care of everything: diapering him, feeding him, bathing him... among other things. And Milli had to keep her games quiet because her brother needed to take a LOT of naps.

At first, little Milli felt left out. Ever since baby Geo joined the family, their parents were too busy taking care of him to play with her. Even when they try to make a little bit of time for her, Geo's crying would put a stop to things. Milli was soon beginning to wish that her brother never came.

One day, Mommy was reading a story to Milli about a lonely dinosaur, when suddenly, they heard crying coming from upstairs. "Mommy will be back, sweetie," the mother promised her daughter, as she stood up from the couch and walked upstairs.

A couple minutes later, Milli found her mother coming downstairs with a fussy blue-haired infant.

"Shh... it's okay, Geo. Mommy's here. Don't cry," she said softly to him. She gently rocked him, calming him down a bit. Then, she picked up a rattle from the playpen and shake it. The sound of the rattle made Geo laugh. "That's right," she cooed. "All smiles. We love seeing you smile. Yes, we do. Mommy loves you so much."

Milli couldn't believe what she just heard. Mommy loves Geo? What about her? Doesn't Mommy love her? Milli felt tears well up as she got off the couch she ran into the kitchen. Bot was in there preparing dinner. Milli hid next to the fridge, her ponytails, which seems to have minds of their own, wrapping her up.

As Bot was chopping up the last of the vegetables, he was startled by some soft, yet audible crying. He turned around to find a certain red-headed toddler wrapped in her own hair. Bot walked over to her asked her, "What's wrong, little one?"

Little Milli peaked up from her hair to see her concerned robot caregiver and sobbed, "Mommy... no wuv Mil-wee...anymore..."

"What makes you say that?" asked Bot.

"Mommy says... she wuvs Geo..." she said with a sniffle.

Before Bot can say anything, Mommy walks into the kitchen with a cooing Geo in her arms. "There you are, Milli," she said with relief. "I haven't forgotten you. Wanna finish..." She trails off by the sight of Milli crying and covered around her ponytails. "Oh, what's wrong, sweetie?"

After Bot explained to her what's going on, Mommy crouch down to her daughter's level and said to her daughter, "I DO love you, Milli. I love both you and Geo. Daddy and Bot love you both." She wiped away a tear from Milli's eye before continuing. "I know we've been busy with your brother lately, but that's because he needs us to help him do things he's too small to do. But that doesn't mean we love you any less. We love you no matter what."

Geo squirm around in his mother's arms and reached for his sister, gurgling at her. "See, even Geo loves you," Bot said. Milli uncovered herself and smiled a little, feeling a little better. "One day, Milli, you would teach your brother everything you know and look out for him. Can you do that?"

Milli, her crying now stopping, looked at Geo. A few minutes ago, she saw him as an attention-stealer. Now watching him babbling happily at her, she realized she couldn't stay mad at him for long. She scooted over to him and kissed him on the forehead, which made him cooed even more.

Mommy ruffled her hair. "You'll be an amazing big sister, Milli. Now how about we finish that book."

                                                                                         ----

Later that night, everyone in the cottage was all sleeping peacefully. Well, almost everyone...

Little Milli woke up to soft whimpering. She turned to see her brother tossing and turning in his crib, his face looking troubled.

Poor little baby, she thought. He must be having a bad dream. Milli wanted to make Geo feel better, but what could she do?

Milli decided to climb out of her cot, walk over to Geo's and gently shake him. "You okay?" she asked quietly. Geo opened his eyes and began to cry. Milli jumped back. She didn't mean to make her brother cry. She needed to act fast, so she grabbed a small chair, stood on it and landed inside Geo's crib, being careful not to land on him.

Milli remembered a breathing pattern her mommy and daddy would use on her whenever she had bad dream. So, she turned her brother over to face her and said, "Mil-wee know what do." Then she started breathing the pattern. "In, out, in, out, in, out..."

Soon, Geo was breathing with her, feeling calmer with each breath. Soon he stopped crying and began playing his sister's hair. It smelled nice and it felt soft. Milli let him snuggle with her ponytail, before he started drifting back to sleep. Milli wanted to go back to her cot, but she realized doing so might wake Geo up again. So, she remained by his side the entire night. She rubbed her brother hair and said, "I wuv you, Geo" and fell back to sleep. As the two siblings slept, they felt a metal hand tucking in the sheets.

Yes, being a big sister has its ups and downs. But, as Milli realized that night, she loves her baby brother, no matter what.