A Brand-New Sibling

[averydog]

A Brand-New Sibling by Dr. William Sears

Published on Parenting.com

Of all the stages of my eight children's lives, it's their toddler years that stood out most. Though as babies they warmed my heart every day, after one year they got really interesting as their personalities emerged. But the toddler stage can also be the most challenging. Just when you thought you'd figured out your baby's feeding, sleeping, and pooping habits, suddenly there's a slew of new situations and quirks to get a handle on. Here's one of the most common questions that I'm asked at toddler checkups:

What's the best way to prepare my toddler for her new sibling who's on the way?
As you can imagine, my wife, Martha, and I have had lots of experience introducing our brood to its newest additions! One of our favorite ways to prepare them was to get out photo albums and replay their babyhood. We'd sit on the couch with them, page through the pictures, and narrate with comments like "You'll see that Mommy's going to spend a lot of time holding and feeding the new baby, just like she did with you!" Get your child involved by encouraging her to pat your pregnant tummy and talk to her new brother or sister. Take her along when you're shopping for things for the baby and get her opinion. You can also ask her which toys she'd like to share, and have her draw pictures of what she thinks her little brother or sister will look like.

Once your newborn arrives, it'll be hard to divvy up your time, but it's important that your child doesn't feel left out. Let her sit on your lap when your infant's sleeping, or curl up for a nap next to you. And when your husband's watching the baby, take the opportunity to play with your toddler or read to her, rather than running around the house doing chores.

[Jaedynnsmommy]

My dd was only 10 months old when I got pregnant. And while we were teaching her the parts of her body it got a little complicated. By the time she started repeating and touching the body part we asked, I was about 6 months pregnant. I was trying to talk to her about the new baby sister she was going to have and that it was in my belly. And when I asked her where the baby was she would lift up my shirt and say "baby". But somewhere along the line when I would ask her where her belly was she would lift up her shirt and say "baby". She is now 21 months old and my infant is 3 months old. And sometimes we will ask her "where is the baby's nose?, etc, and where is your nose?, etc, where is daddys?, etc where is mommys..etc?" And when we get to the belly part sometimes she will still lift her shirt and say "baby"..I try to tell her that the baby isn't in mommy's belly anymore and that she doesn't have a baby in her belly either. But she just smiles and rambles in her baby talk...