“You have a big belly.” Libbie pointed at Amber’s stomach then looked up at her. “Is it a baby?”
Jerrica gave me a half-panicked look and fled, Zara stared a bit at Amber and then went to the toy box in the corner to find her favourite teddy bear. I moved closer, ready to take over this conversation. I had thought that Libbie would’ve mentioned it to me rather than straight to Amber.
Amber smiled and rubbed her stomach. “It’s because I’m having a baby.”
“Like Charlie’s mum. She’s having a baby too. Is my daddy your baby’s daddy?” Libbie went closer to Amber.
I could tell she wanted to touch the bump but wasn’t sure whether she’d be allowed to ask. I would’ve intervened, but the breath had been sucked out of me by her question.
“Yes. Your daddy will be daddy for my baby too. It’s a boy. We saw a picture today and the doctor told us that you’ll have a brother.” It was almost brutally factual, just like how Amber was at work. To the point. No flowery language that could be misunderstood. “Do you want to touch my bump?”
Libbie nodded, holding out her hand. Amber took it gently, and guided my eldest girl’s still small hand onto her belly.
“My belly’s going to get a lot bigger before he’s ready to come out.” Amber let Libs move her hand over the roundedness. “He’ll be here in September.”
Libbie stared at her belly, then looked at me. “I’m glad I’m having a baby brother. Can I choose his name?”
“You can tell us your ideas, but it’s up to us to pick.” I smiled at Libs, my heart rate climbing back down to somewhere near normal.
“Don’t let Zara pick. She’ll call him Donkey.” Libbie’s eyes flicked over to her sister. “I’m glad I’m not having another sister.”
What she did next surprised me. Instead of wandering off to the toy box, or to take whatever Zara was playing with, she leaned over and kissed Amber’s bump. I figured she’d seen her friend Charlie do the same, but Libbie only did something if she wanted to.
“Thank you, Libbie,” Amber said. “There’s some chocolate milkshake in the fridge. Why don’t you ask your dad if you and Zara can have some?”
She looked at me with a beaming smile, because chocolate milkshake was her favourite.
“Be careful not to spill it. It’s in your cups.” I’d already poured it out, knowing that after tea out, my daughters could be either hyped up, or needing a distraction technique from killing each other.
Libbie’s grin was huge as she trotted to the fridge. I looked over at Amber, who was pale, too pale.
“Sit down.” I went over to her. “Sit down and put your feet up.”
She nodded. “It’s been a day.”
“I know. She took that well.” I sat down next to her, and after watching that Libs took both cups out of the fridge and gave one to Zara, I settled, pulled Amber in to rest on my chest.
When I’d spoken to the therapist about how to handle things, she’d advised not to make a big deal of it. Most people would want to reassure and say things like ‘I won’t love you any less’ but actually, there was a very good chance that the older child had never had this occur to them as a possibility and by bringing it up, the parent accidentally put the thought in their mind.Let them lead, was the therapist’s suggestion.
Zara toddled over when Amber was half asleep again, her teddy in her hand. She crawled onto the sofa on the other side of me, and whacked her teddy onto my chest. “Is Amber having a baby?”
“Yes.” I watched her nose turn up.
“Will it cry?”
“Sometimes.”
“Will I have to share my room with it?”
“No. He’ll have his own rooms.”
“Will I share my toys?”
“Sometimes. Like Libbie sometimes shares her toys with you.”
Amber’s eyes had opened and she was watching us, a soft smile on her lips.
“Will Amber live with us?”
