Ezzy became an older cousin two months ago. She has three older cousins is now no longer the baby of the family! She is pretty excited about that…she has things to teach this new little girl, namely: how to get extra gifts out of Mema, how to play a doggy guitar with your teeth, and which episode of Wonderpets is the best.

Throughout my stepsister’s pregnancy I found myself worrying for her, in completely unnecessary ways that were based entirely on my own (rather unusual) experience. Since it was the first pregnancy I followed closely since my own, I found myself sort of re-contacting the naive Hillary who, happily pregnant had no idea what was in store for her: a baby in the NICU, a discharge from the hospital 6 hours after giving birth, no flowers and “It’s a girl” balloons…followed by years of learning to keep a medically-fragile baby safe.

Had I known then what I knew now I would have been petrified. Thank goodness I had no idea.

I tried hard to keep these neurotic fears to myself, because they were more about me than anyone else…and were utterly unhelpful. But I don’t think I understood how nervous I was until I heard of the safe arrival of this healthy baby girl.

A few weeks ago, Ezzy played with her cousin for the second time in a hotel in NYC. I held Lucy close to Ezzy. Ezzy tends not to interact much with other children, but she is always concerned when she hears a baby cry. Lucy was crying, hands out a bit, as little babies do, and Ezzy reached out and held her hand.

It was one of the more breath-taking experiences I have had with Esmé. But, like we always say, Ezzy always seems to know “her people” even when meeting them for the first time.

So we welcome Lucy, a beautiful light in our family, a playmate, friend, fellow trouble-maker, and a promise that Esmé will have a family that will love her and care for her…