A couple of months ago, I wrote about how my sisters helped me to prepare for Bug. Shit really hasn't hit the fan yet, and Bug has been an incredibly easy baby, but they really have had my back.
My middle sister, former All-American rugby player and general hard-ass has been a real surprise. Before Bug came around, she was TERRIFIED of babies and generally disliked children. In fact, the sound of children singing has always been on the top of her list of annoyances and she is the first one to comment about an unruly child in public. I wouldn't say she hated children.... but there was definitely a mutual dislike between her and the tiny humans.
When my sister was little, she was deemed "Grandma's revenge" for her bull-in-a-china-shop demeanor. She learned to channel her freakish strength and energy into sports from an early age, and ultimately she ended up making the All American team for women's rugby. Just over a year ago, she ended up marrying a young man with a similar demeanor. It isn't unusual for the two of them to break out into a wrestling match during a family dinner. In fact, 3 days before their wedding, they were playing a sporty game of chase in their small apartment when my soon-to-be BIL got a little too close for comfort and my sister decided to jump over the couch to get away. She snagged her toe on the back cushion, fell onto her shoulder, and ended up in a sling for the wedding.
Oh, and did I mention she is L-O-U-D! All throughout high school and college we noticed that boys who were more than a little hearing impaired (or gluttons for punishment) tended to be the ones who followed her around the most. Thus, her new nickname... Auntie Bullhorn.
My dad started calling her Auntie Bullhorn when he noticed that my sister's voice repeatedly triggered Bug's startle reflex. When Auntie Bullhorn talks, Bug's sleepy hands go flying into the air with uncanny predictability.
The morning that Bug was born, Auntie Bullhorn held Bug as though she were a nuclear bomb capable of detonating at any moment if handles improperly. Luckily, they had a breakthrough early on when Bug spit up while on her back in her hospital room bassinet. I'd only been out of the delivery room for about an hour and was still pretty numb from my epidural. I tried to get up to help Bug, who was making a terrible choking noise. My sister stared, panic stricken, until she ultimately decided to roll the tiny baby over. The amniotic fluid erupted from her miniature mouth and the chocking noise stopped. After that, she told everyone that she'd saved Bug's life and continued on in her new roll as auntie with renewed confidence.
Amazingly enough, Auntie Bullhorn has become one of Bug's favorite caretakers. She spends most of her days off at my house playing dress-up, having tummy time, and bouncing up and down on my balance ball to quiet Bug's cries. Auntie Bullhorn has also replaced her Nordstrom Rack addiction with an addiction to buying the cutest little outfits I have ever seen.
Auntie Bullhorn spent the week in Portland visiting her SIL, and missed our weekly visit. We sent her this....
And this is what I got back...
"....This is the best thing that ever happened to me!"
Strange how a baby in the family changes things.
OK, i was in hysterics reading this! i can just picture that startle reflex with her loud voice, hilarious! auntie bullhorn! it really is amazing how the little bundles change things, it's such a miracle in so many ways.
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