A boy scorned

Owen's reaction to the presence of his baby sister has not changed greatly in the 10 days since she was born. He started with indifference, and now I think he's all the way up to ambivalence.

His views on Sue have been more pointed: "Mom, I don't like you anymore."

Pressed to explain such statements, Owen is reluctant to outright blame Abby. He says Mommy is "being mean to him," but won't elaborate. One assumes "being mean" translates to "not paying enough attention."

Still, he's more friendly to his mother when I'm not around. He'll speak to her directly, as opposed to using me as an envoy to negotiate favourable lunch terms. And he will remain in the room when Sue's feeding the baby.

So that's a step up.