One of the most magical times in parenting comes after the birth of a first child when the infant meets their sibling. Regardless of the response, these first interactions can be filled with emotions and are valuable to record. These lovely photos illustrate kids’ conflicted feelings upon learning that a new baby has arrived. This image, taken by Amy of Beckling, is characterized by tenderness and inquiry.

A sister holds her new brother, one hand on their head and the other on their chest. Newborns touch their sister’s hand and their faces are turned to her. They are bringing each other in. The older sister in this photo put a hand to her mouth in surprise when she saw her younger brother for the first time.

The shared look between a father and son in this picture, taken by Marine Hardy, embodies the older sibling’s giddiness about the new addition to their family.

When the older brothers first met their younger sibling, Heather Sears took this picture of them beaming with joy. Dad stands nearby with a hand on the baby’s head, while mom lies on a bed holding the newborn up to the guys. One of the lads is smiling while holding the baby in his arms, and the other is staring down at her with his hands cupped close to his face and appears to be playing with the child already.

In this image by Alyssa Kapnik Samuel, a big brother has embraced his little sibling for one of their very first embraces. A young kid has moved in to wrap an arm around both mom and the baby as the distraught mother holds the infant in the crook of her arm.

The joy of a big brother gently holding his new sibling is so pure in this photo taken by Anabel Acuña. A toddler sits cross legged with a newborn in his lap. An adult hand can be seen in the bottom left of the frame, helping the boy support the baby. A wondrous smile takes up his whole face as he looks at his forever friend.