How to prepare for Baby #2

[tree]

Hi,

I am nearly 4.5 months pregnant with my second child.  My little girl will be 23 months when the new baby is born. 

I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with preparing you little ones for the arrival of another sibling?

Many thanks

[ellenegan]

Hi,

I have three kids, so this is pretty familiar territory for me.  A couple things you can do
- look for books that mention new babies and read them to your daughter (e.g. Berenstein bears "baby sister", "Little Tiger's big surprise", there's one with Arthur and his little sister).  If you go to your library and speak with the librarian, I am sure they can show you a few of them and you can then pick the one's you like from your local bookstore or Amazon.
- Talk about the baby with your daughter and explain that she will have a lot to do with welcoming the baby into the family.
-  Before the baby arrives, go with your duaghter and pick out a present (or have her make a present) for her to give the baby when he/she arrives.  And be sure to bring a present (from the baby for your daughter) to the hospital.

They are little things you can do, but I found that they really worked well.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy pregnancy,
Ellen

[otzpaula]

great advice from Ellenegan!

I had my second child just after my first turned one. You can imagine how busy things were. Luckly my oldest loves people and being with others so much she didnt have too much difficulty with a new little sisters.

But my husband and I were both full on making sure they were both happy and loved. Not to mention my youngest was a colic baby so I was pretty much unable to do many things for my oldest. 

She grew up real fast and really took on the role of 'big sister'.  I am very proud of her but have always done my best to remind myself to make every min. count and constantly 'be there' for her, to listen, teach, cuddle and play. She really needed it esp. when being so young.

My only other advice would be,...things will get overwhelmin and you may wonder how you can  be the best mom to both of your children that need you so much and who u want to be there for....esp. when they are both crying at u at the same time. Your goin to do your absolute best, thats what counts. With lots of luv and support,... youll do it and do it well.  And remember lots of hugs, kisses and praise for your oldest and she will love being the 'boss'. My oldest does. 

[tree]

Thanks for the advice.  Books are a great idea, because she loves them.

I know we are in for big changes and at the moment still feel bad about the fact that when the baby comes I will have to share my time between the both.  I know that giving my daughter a sibling is the best gift I could ever give her.  No doubt we will have teething problems but am just trying to prepare her as well as possible. 

At the moment I cuddle my little girl to sleep.  I dont really want to give that up but know soon I may not be able to do it very comfortably!  I really enjoy this time tough.  We love our cuddles.  Did either of you have this experience where you had to change the way you put your little one to sleep? 

Many thanks!

[ellenegan]

I used to think that love was kind of like a pie.  And, when you had a lot of kids, you had to divide the pie into smaller slices for each person.

Now I know that actually each child comes with their own pie.  More kids = more love

Please don't feel guilty about sharing your time between your kids.  When your daughter sees that you have more than enough love for everyone and that you happily care for her and the baby, she will develop the confidence in her role as "big sister" in the family.

All the best,
Ellen

[AussieMumofOne]

Thanks for the pie analagy ellenegan, very clever! I am currently trying to conceive another baby, my first born is now 5 months old so hopefully will be around 15-16 months when number two comes along. Any specific advice for preparing a younger child for a sibling?

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