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“Oh my God…” My hand flies to my mouth in pure and utter shock. I had a feeling—and now I know I was right.

Tears well up in my eyes before I can even process them. We’re going to have another baby. Our family of three is about to grow to four, and I…

I laugh through my tears, clutching the test to my chest. My silent prayer to the heavens has been answered, and I can feel the joy radiating through my entire body.

I stare down at the test again, wanting to make sure I read it correctly.

“I need to tell him,” I whisper to myself, the excitement bubbling up inside me. “But how…”

I want to do it in a special way, but I also know I won’t be able to hold this in for more than an hour—it has to be this morning. The last time he found out I was pregnant, I was lying in a hospital bed, barely clinging to life. He deserves a joyful experience now—one we can look back on with warmth in our hearts.

I take a few deep breaths to steady myself and quietly leave the bathroom, walking down the hall to our son’s room.

He’s still asleep, his little body curled up in the ‘big boy bed’ we assembled when we arrived at the vacation house.

I smile softly as I watch him. My baby boy. He doesn’t know it yet, but soon he’ll be a big brother—and he’ll form one of the most sacred bonds between two people: the love of a sibling.

I go to his dresser and grab one of his white tees. Carefully, I pull a marker from one of the drawers and write the words “Big Brother” across it. I hold it up, admiring my work.

This will do nicely, I’m sure.

“Mamá?” His tiny little voice cuts through the thick fog of emotion. “Mamá?”

I turn to face my little one and smile. His eyes are so bright and vibrant—just like my brother Antonio’s. It’s uncanny how much of him I see in this little face.

“Buongiorno, tesoro.” Good morning, my treasure. I walk over to his bed and kiss his little head. “Come on, we have a surprise for Papá. Do you want to help me?”

Immediately, the sleep vanishes from his face and he beams up at me, nodding with enthusiastic little jerks of his head.

“Good,” I say, kissing his chubby cheek. “Let Mommy help you put this on.”

I carefully dress Antonio in the shirt, my hands shaking slightly with excitement. Once he’s ready, I scoop him up and tiptoe back to our room. He rests his head on my shoulder, his small hand laying over my chest in the sweetest gesture.

I never knew the capacity of my heart until I brought my own into the world in human form. There is no love quite as potent and intense as the love a mother has for her child.

I bring Antonio onto the bed and gesture for him to wake his father. He smiles and toddles over to where Matteo’s head rests, placing his little hand on his face.

“Papá,” he says softly. “Wakey ups.”

Matteo stirs, groaning as he blinks his eyes open, still groggy. I quickly scoop Antonio off the bed, making sure to cover the shirt from Matteo’s view. I don’t want him to see it just yet. We need to go down to the beach first.

His voice is thick with sleep. “Amore?”

I smile down at him, my heart racing as I hold Antonio up for him to see. The moment Matteo’s eyes land on his son, his expression softens.

“Let’s go watch the sunrise.”

He blinks up at me, looking like I’ve lost my mind. “You? Want to watch the sunrise? Since when do you like mornings?”

I shrug. “Well, just not today. Come on, let’s go.”

He sighs and rubs his eyes. “Do we really have to?”

“Yes. Come on or we’ll miss it.” I give him a no-nonsense look, and he lifts his hands in mock surrender before peeling the sheets off and pulling on a shirt.

“The things I do for you.” As we head toward the sliding door, his palm gently smacks my bum. “It can only be love.”

We step outside onto the private beach, the sun’s rays just starting to kiss the edge of the night sky, slowly giving way to dawn. I breathe in the sea air and press a kiss to my little boy’s head as he babbles to his father, excited as ever, while we make our way down to the shore.