Becoming an aunt has been one of the most rewarding and eye-opening experiences of my life. I couldn't even imagine life without her. Nothing makes me happier than looking at old pictures and videos of us together. My niece has really taught me a lot... and she's only 14 months old!
I really need to learn how to change a diaper
As shocking as this may sound, in all the 14 months of my niece's life, I have yet to change a singular diaper. Crazy, I know! Whenever my sister would ask me to help out and change my niece's diaper, I would simply hand her off to either my mom or dad to deal with the... mess.
I don't know how to deal with vomit
I am known for being an extremely squeamish person, and so you can imagine my reaction the first time my niece threw up on me. There is nothing scarier than five seconds before the fact when you know what's about to happen and realize you're going to have to throw your shirt out in about two minutes.
Children's laughter is contagious
There is nothing cuter than hearing my niece laugh. It's impossible to contain myself when she erupts with bouts of laughter. My laughter makes her laugh even more and we just keep going back and forth until one of us needs to catch a breath.
Having "Baby Shark" playing 24/7 gets old real fast
At first, I thought it was cute and I would sing along, but after a while it just gets annoying. Not only does my sister play the song constantly, but she even bought my niece a motorized "Baby Shark" toy that plays the song on a loop and follows you around. Needless to say, I've invested in noise-canceling headphones.
Being around my niece decreases my stress levels
There is nothing that makes me happier than getting really cozy on my bed and cuddling with my niece or even simply spending time with her and having playtime. There is something about that "clean baby smell" that just makes me feel completely relaxed and at ease (given that she is not crying hysterically, of course).
Whatever my niece wants is what my niece gets
My niece really is a princess. Not because she is necessarily spoiled, but because no one can deal with her incessant crying, and so our only option is to give her whatever she wants (I guess she learned that tactic from me).
I talk about my niece like she is my own child
There have been quite a few times where I would refer to my niece as "my baby," which leads to a lot of confusion in the rest of the conversation. The amount of times I've been asked, "Is that your actual kid?" is far too much to count.
There is no such thing as just taking ONE picture
When I say that I have at least a thousand photos of my niece on my phone, I'm not lying. Every time she breathes I feel the need to capture it on camera. This may or may not be the reason I need to upgrade the storage space on my phone.
There is no such thing as a good night's sleep
Having a sleepover seems like a good idea... until you wake up every two hours to uncontrollable crying and your sister telling you to go downstairs to make a baby bottle. Let's just say I anticipate not getting my full eight hours of sleep when we have our sleepover nights.
I would do anything to protect my niece
Love now has a whole new meaning to me. I would do absolutely anything — and I mean ANYTHING — for my niece, and there is no one in the world I love more. I love you, Donya!
