Your child may be excited that they are going to be a big brother or sister. For others, it may be daunting that there not going to be the youngest anymore. Of course, having a new arrival is a huge change for the whole family. We have been preparing Jess for a few months now ready for her to become a big sister. We are lucky that a number of her friends are already siblings. One of her closest friends at nursery is becoming a big brother weeks after Jess becomes a big sister. Today I am going to be sharing with you some ideas on how to prepare your child for becoming a sibling. Of course, not everything works for everyone we are all different.
When the new baby arrives, try to do something special for your older child. This is something which we have planned on doing for Jess. We have purchased a couple of items from the baby to be given to her when she first meets them. She is also getting time with her grandparents where I am sure she is going to get some very good quality time with them. You could also take them to somewhere they love however, with having a baby in January she is not going to go to the beach like she might if it had been the summer.
Prepare your child for when you are in the hospital. We are very lucky because of the fact we are having an elect c-section we know when we will be going in. We have spoken at length about how she is going to Grandma and Grandads house when the baby is coming.
[Read more: The First Trimester When You Have Another Child]
How she is going to be able to visit the hospital with them and bring the baby a cuddly toy which she has picked out for them.
Talk about the baby. We have been speaking at large about the baby and how they are going to be small and not able to do everything which she can do. She keeps coming over and trying to bond with the bump. Jess loves nothing more than trying to feel the kicks and talking to player 4. The major thing which we have found while trying to prepare Jess to become a sibling let her talk about the baby when she wants to rather than forcing it.
Let them help you prepare for the baby. This is something we have tried to do as well, for example, we allowed her to pick the cuddly toy which she is going to give the baby. We have managed to involve her in a few decisions as well which include asking her if we should get this item for the baby. She has been a chief toy tester because this is, she knows what she wants to play with toys. There have been times we have asked her if should get some clothing or some other bits for the baby so she feels like she has been involved in some decisions.
[Read more: The Reality of Having Two Under Two]
Let them help once the baby is here. I know this is something which Jess is keen to do. We have a nappy caddy ready which means that she is going to be able to pass things when needed. For example, the baby wipes or a nappy for sure I know that this is going to help because Jess loves to feel useful. Hopefully, this is going to be an element so she does not feel pushed out by the new arrival to the family.
Plan time when you are going to have one on one with your older child. There is so much attention which is spent on the newborn you do not want the older one to feel like they are been pushed out. For sure I plan on making sure she has someone on one time with her Dad while he has his paternity leave. I also plan on making some time which I can spend just with her even if it is something as simple as doing some baking; an activity which she loves to do.
These are some of the things which we have been doing in order to help Jess prepare to become a sibling.
