So I have a 4 year old as well....

I guess I should also mention that I also have a 4 year old boy.  He is the sweetest, calmest, independent, child I could possibly imagine, which makes me pretty sure that my wife has a boyfriend out there somewhere cause I have no idea how my genes made such a great kid.  He was very excited to meet his new baby sister... until he actually met her.  The best way I can describe his initial reaction to her once we brought her home was disappointment.  I'm pretty sure that his 4 year old brain didn't quite comprehend what a baby actually is and I think that he thought that he was going to get a playmate out of this deal.

The hardest part about this for me is finding a way to devote enough time to my son since I am also responsible for the care of a newborn.  While my wife is home for the first ten weeks, this shouldn't be too terribly hard, but I also don't want to be so overbearing in my attention to him because I am thinking about if I am giving him enough attention (wow that is an awkward sentence).  Most of the time, if he is working on a puzzle on the floor or something and I try to do it with him, he tells me to go back on the couch or go downstairs so that he can do it by himself.  However, I don't want to have him create a feeling of resentment toward the new baby.  I'm sure other parents out there with multiple children have gone through this.  It's really difficult.

As the first day home with the new baby went on, my son began to open up a bit more toward the baby.  He asked to hold her and we involved him in some small tasks that revolve around her such as putting her dirty burp cloth or blanket into her hamper.  He seemed to respond to this pretty well.  He is also fascinated by what I call her various places to nap, such as her bassinet, swing, and bouncy chair.  He kept telling his preschool teacher that he was going to put her (the baby) in her bouncy chair.  I even took apart part of the swing so he could see how it worked and told him how he used to swing in it as a baby, but would only be happy in it if it was on setting number 6, or setting "DEAR GOD HOW ARE YOU NOT FLYING OUT THAT THING!"

He has a tendency to talk about how exciting something is or was, but when that event that he describes actually occurs or has occurred, he's not as enthusiastic.  In other words, his memory of the event is better than the event itself.  If a stranger on the street were to ask him about being a big brother, he would beam with pride and say how happy he is to be one.  I'm sure over time he will be, but right now I just hope I am not screwing him up too badly.  As long as he doesn't end up a Flyers fan I've done my job.