A Toddler's reaction to a new baby

Our daughter Molly's reaction to baby Emma has been mixed.  At times, she is so excited to see the baby.  She wants to be near the baby, touch the baby and even gives her kisses.  She even says "bye-bye baby" when she leaves for daycare in the morning.  Cute as heck. 

Dad with Emma and Molly during story time

Molly helping Emma with tummy time

At other times, our once fairly independent daughter is clingy, particularly with Dad.  Turn on the water works the moment he leaves the room, even if it is for a moment (i.e. going to the bathroom).  Not so cute.  When Dad holds baby Emma, Molly frequently insists on climbing all over him, forcing him to balance holding a newborn and a squirmy toddler.  For some reason, I do not get nearly the same reaction.  Perhaps it is because Dad did a lot of the physical parenting for Molly (picking her up, feeding her, changing her, etc) during the last weeks of my pregnancy. 

We also notice that Molly, who routinely slept through the night (8:00 p.m. to 7 a.m.) before Emma was born is now waking up in the middle of the night, crying out for "Da Da."  In addition, Molly, our human alarm clock, who woke up religiously between 6:30 and 7:15 is now all over the place...waking as early as 5:15 and as late as 8:30 - 9:00. 

Overall, I give Molly a B+ in her transition to having a younger sister.  Hopefully as we settle into a better daily routine, Molly will fully adjust.