New Humans In Your Family

When one of your family members (even if they are not immediate) has a baby, you can either feel super happy, or super not-so-happy. My cousin Gaby just had a baby. She had a baby boy, but I am going to make up a name for him so he doesn’t get revealed. Let’s call him…Rafael.

Now, for me I was so happy when I was told. But for a lot of people, if anyone in their family has a baby it can be a bad thing to them. They can feel a little neglected or maybe angry at the person who is having a baby. I know how this feels from other experiences, and it doesn’t feel to good. So I am going to share my ideas on how to cope.

First of all, don’t think too much about it. If you do, you get a bit overwhelmed, and that’s not great. Don’t be too angry at them. They can’t really undo this, and even if they hurt you and are doing this to start over or to spite you, it doesn’t help to be angry at them.

Second, if you hate the name they picked out…well, too bad for you. You cannot choose for them. They carefully chose the name they are giving their baby. You can always come up with a good nickname for them that you and the parent would be okay with.

And, third, if you like the baby and the name, good for you. There is no reason to be negative when the parent is giving life to that little person. It also really helps to be supportive and nice about it.

Thank you for listening.

—Valentina