ABSTRACT

Naturalistic infant observation seminars have many important findings that contribute to our understanding of the sibling relationship. In this chapter, the author traces the development of a baby girl, from infancy to 22 months, paying particular attention to how a Hispanic family creates a new psychological space for second baby, as well as how the baby experiences and manages the anxieties and traumatic helplessness of infancy. She underlines the importance of the sibling by highlighting the reactions of the baby's older brother and how these contribute to the formation of the baby's internal world and personality. The author considers whether the sibling, alive or in potential, may constitute one of the infant's earliest encounters with triangular relations, alerting the infant, at least in momentary ways, to the fact that the mother is not exclusively hers. She provides the observations of the infant Anna and her older brother speak to the deep complexity of these dynamics between first- and second-born children.