regression

There has been more and more baby talk around the house this month, as we start really preparing for her arrival. (And by her, I mean the “baby who has no name”. Yeah. Still haven’t decided). Less than two more months till d-day! YAY! We’ve moved India out of the crib and into a bed. The crib has been outfitted with a mobile and adjusted to the correct mattress height for an infant. India’s closet has been taken over with infant clothes. Toys have been moved out of the room to make way for a baby swing. There is endless talk of her role as a big sister, and suggestions of how great it will be to have a new baby. Today, we pulled in the infant carseat and baby bathtub. Our house is ready.

And India’s reaction to all of this upheaval and change?

She has completely regressed to acting like a baby.

She walks around the house cuddling on her blanket (sometimes even laying on the floor with it). She pretends she can’t talk and speaks in goo goo ga ga phrases, pointing to what she wants (despite being one of the more verbally precocious toddlers I’ve ever seen). She found a pacifier somewhere, and has taken to wearing it. She pretends to cry and need consoling. She pretends she’s cold and needs to be held.

She is pretty much showing us, in every possible way, that she is not comfortable being usurped as the baby of this family system. We learned about this “regressive” behavior in my child development classes. But leave it to India to so thoroughly and dramatically personify this psychological theory. There is no subtlety with India – she is saying it loud and clear.

This is in stark constrast to Jafta, who cannot wait to see the baby, asks about her every day, demonstrates how he will hold her and feed her, and seems to be thrilled to be a big brother to one more little girl.

But India. Oh, India. It may be a rough road for her.