I have returned! This is my first week back at work (outside my home anyway) since the delivery of Sarah, our six-week-old little girl. It has been a fun change having a baby around again. Sarah is growing like a weed, and now weighs 12 pounds (she was 9 pounds, 12 ounces, at birth). Although some may call me prejudiced, I think she is pretty darn cute. With four older sisters, Sarah has many admirers and I have many helpers. I finally had to lay down the law and tell 13-year-old Malia, and 11-year-old Jerrika that if Sarah happens to sigh or squeal while lying in her crib it isn’t an excuse to pick her up. She has to learn to fall asleep on her own (not that I ever let her cry hysterically). Her daycare provider thanks me. Malia and Jerrika frequently ask to baby-sit. I told them that since they haven’t been around babies much, they have to train first. When Sarah was first born, I should have sold tickets. A crowd of sisters and their friends gathered around the changing table to watch my baby diapering and dressing techniques. Sarah’s older sisters like to choose her clothes. The "team of dressers" rummage through her dresser drawers and closet to decide what cute outfit she should wear for the day. I make sure their choices are appropriately warm and comfortable for a six-week-old baby.Not wanting to discourage interest in their younger sister, I am easy going about the older siblings desire to step in. But to be honest, it was somewhat of a relief when school resumed after the Christmas break and I could dress my own baby. The topper was Monday when Jessica, my oldest daughter who attends college in Mankato, called and asked if she could watch Sarah over night at her apartment this weekend."I just want to watch her," she said.Since Sarah is a little too young for slumber parties, I just laughed, told Jessica no, and thought, "Isn’t it nice they love their younger sister?"
