The waiting is over – today my sister became a Mom!
A Mom to a beautiful baby girl. This is so overwhelming and at the same time so freakin’ unfair that I can’t be with her and share in the arrival of our new family member.
Greta was born healthy and happy on October 21, 2008 at 4.44 p.m. (MET).
She was 50cm (19.7 inches) long and weighed 3380g (7.45 pounds).
I am so incredibly happy for my sister, for her husband and so happy for my parents who will be the greatest grandparents ever! And I am also happy for me, because I am an aunt and a godmother-to-be! :)
This is such a huge event in the life of every woman and I thought that I was aware of the fact, but only today did I realize how HUGE the birth of a child really is. Looking at the first, fuzzy cell phone picture of my niece (kindly provided by my Mom), I could see my sister in her tiny little face and realized that from now on nothing will be the same.
My sister is not just “my sister” anymore, but she’s a mom! (Excuse the fact that I probably have to write this out a couple more times in this entry! :)) She’ll be responsible for another little human being and her life will change completely.
Fact is: she’ll be the best Mom any child could wish for.
I know that because I’ve known my sister for 32 years, 7 months and 11 days and nobody knows her better than I do. She’s been an incredible sister and friend (and a wonderful elementary school teacher !).
Let me tell you a little more about her and us.
My sister and I have always been very close since birth – obviously, because we were only born 2 minutes apart. (And yes, I am the old(er) and wise(r) one, in case you were going to ask ;))
Sisterhood is a true blessing. Especially having a sister the same age.
I was a very quiet and shy baby and toddler. Having a sister, who was a lot more adventurous and brave than I was, had its advantages.
In the nursery, our beds were right next to each other and we could easily see and touch each other through the bars, but that was not close enough. My sister still managed to pull herself up and throw herself over into my crip. That’s how close we liked to be.
When we grew older and the crips turned into “normal beds for big girls”, we switched roles. From now on, I would slip under my sister’s blanket at night and she would comfort me, because for the longest time I was convinced that something lived under my bed and I would take a run-up at the door and jump on my bed, so that the ‘thing under my bed’ wouldn’t be able to grab my feet. Pretty stupid, I know.
We moved on to Kindergarten and Elementary School and to be honest, I have no idea where I would be today if it wasn’t for my sister. My parents had a really hard time leaving me with other people for more than a coupler of hours. I would cry and always wanted to be picked up (if they could get to leave in the first place). My sister was always there to comfort me and tell me that it was ok and that Mom and Dad would be back soon and that there really was no need to cry and that I wasn’t alone (so true – because she and I always went everywhere together). I still didn’t believe her sometimes.
My sister always looked out for me and made sure that I was ok, even if that meant that she had to pretend that she wasn’t scared to be in an unfamiliar place (even though she was) or that she wasn’t uncomfortable (even though she was) or that she didn’t mind asking the teacher something for me (when I was to shy to do it myself). In hindsight, it’s very hard to tell how much my sister really stood up for me even though she might have been just as scared, or insecure or uncomfortable as I was. She clearly was my savior.
When we finally moved on to middle/high school (= Gymnasium, 5th – 13th grade), I think I slowly started to learn to not live in my sister’s shadow anymore, although I still relied heavily on her company and just the feeling of security when she was around. It was very comforting to know that she always was where I was.
I cannot imagine going through all the stages in life without my sister right there by my side… attending the same classes, going on the same trips, doing homework together. It was like having your best friend living with you :)
We eventually started growing apart a bit when we hit puberty. She had a boyfriend way before I had my first boyfriend and she started to hang out with different people. It was kind of weird to not have the same group of friends anymore. I guess that was just part of growing up. It was a time of figuring out who we were as separate persons and not as twins. I know it needed to happen at some point.
When we both went off to College, Nina in Cologne and I in Düsseldorf, we started to get closer again and approach our relationship on a different level. Since then, she has not only been my sister, but has also become my closest friend.
Today we’ll move on to another stage in our lives… together! She as a Mom and I as an aunt!
Wohoo!
Cathy
October 21, 2008 at 7:26 pmOMG Congrats to everyone…. i am soooooo happy for you all! Your post was so wonderful, it made me cry! What a lovely name Greta! Tell them they have to get those first photos to you so you can post them…..they dont need to relax and recover lol Can’t wait to see her! Once again happy happy happy for you all!
Jess
October 21, 2008 at 8:14 pmCongratulations Auntie San!!! And congrats to your sister and the whole family!! I can only imagine how exciting this must be for all of you… hopefully time will fly until you go to Germany and you will be able to hold little Greta very soon!
Great post about you and your sister! I love my sister dearly, too and couldn’t imagine my life without her. It’s just sad she is so far away.
Antje
October 22, 2008 at 3:31 amCongratulations once again to your whole family! Wow this post made me cry, too. So beautifully written. I remember when you posted about having found out you’re going to be an aunt! That time I cried as well ;-)I am really happy for all of you!
Ull
October 22, 2008 at 4:01 amCongrats to your sister and you and your family! Wooohooo! Girl power!
Steffi
October 22, 2008 at 4:38 amAh, how great!! Congrats again to all of you!!!!
Waiting for pictures from the little girl!
kim
October 22, 2008 at 4:50 amoh sweety, i am so happy for you (and N and D and your whole family) and i LOVE the name they chose. please give mom my best and a big smooch when you get to talk to her. i can only imagine how hard it must be for you to not be there right now but only a few more weeks… kisses to you, auntie san :)
Maren
October 22, 2008 at 6:50 amSan, I am really happy for you. I know how hard this is. My niece is now 13 months old and I have only seen her twice. I remember how proud I was last year after she was born. I carried her picture EVERYWHERE and showed it to everyone who wanted (or even who didn’t want) to see it. Luckily my whole family keeps sending me pictures and videos all the time so I can see her. And I am sure your family will do the same. It is hard not to be there. I hate the fact that I can’t see her grow up in person and I get very sad about it ALL THE TIME. :(
I love the name Greta and I can’t wait to see pictures!
Congrats, Aunt San!
Viviane
October 22, 2008 at 8:04 amOhhh, congrats to your sister and her husband, and to you on becoming an aunt! Can’t wait to see pictures!
san
October 22, 2008 at 8:17 amThanks to all of you! I still can’t believe… I am an aunt!
Cath… thanks sweetie. I’ll try and post pictures asap!
Jess… Believe me, I know exactly how hard it is for you to be so far away from your sister ;)
Antje…thank you, but you really need to stop crying ;) That was not my intention! ;)
Ulli… yeah, girl power! :)
Steffi… I’ll try to post pictures soon!
Kim… thanks sweetie. I’ll pass on your love to N when I talk to her (hopefully later today!) I like the name Greta, too!
Maren…hon, I know that you understand exactly how I feel, because you became an aunt, too, last year and are not around much to see your niece grow up. I am sure I’ll come back to you whining in the next couple of months! ;)
Viviane… thank you. Pictures to come soon!
Maribeth
October 22, 2008 at 8:24 amAs you know my favorite name is “GRETA”! LOL!
Congratulations all around. This is such wonderful news!!!!
Susanne
October 22, 2008 at 10:34 amCongratulations again to all six of you. N will be a great mom.
Sanna
October 22, 2008 at 10:36 amAwwww such a sweet entry! Congrats to Nina and Dirk! What a cute name! Hope you get to hold her soon!
katelin
October 22, 2008 at 5:46 pmaw congrats! that is so exciting.
ute
October 22, 2008 at 6:07 pmi cant see what i am typing cause i am crying. gosh i always wished i would have had a sister growing up…now i am even more sad that i didnt. what a great post, your sister will be so happy when she reads it…so full of love and joy. so happy for all of you and welcome to little greta!!
ilka Mueller
October 23, 2008 at 6:08 amcongratulation to nina, dirk and the proud grandparents and the proud aunt of course:-) a beautiful name, my great grandmother was named greta.:-)
reading that about u and nina i remember meeting u during the time u guys were in college and were so different. ;-)
kim
October 23, 2008 at 7:23 amPS: i’m gonna steal the name greta, btw. i hope that’s okay.