really don’t think there’s one right way to do this. I feel that no matter how much preparing you do and try to talk to your child about it, once that baby comes out of your belly, things are going to change. There will probably be some type of jealousy issue; and it’s perfectly normal. I mean, put yourself in your child’s shoes. He/she is used to being in the spotlight; now that spotlight has to be shared with this little helpless thing that makes noise all the time. Your child may go through a smorgasbord of emotions after seeing mommy and daddy interact with the baby and as a parent, you need to understand and know how to cope with those feelings. The more you involve your child in the birth of the baby, the less tension and jealously there will be. I’ve seen firsthand what can happen when an older siblings act out against his younger sibling and it’s not nice.

I witnessed a little brother push his new born baby brother off of the table in his bouncy chair while his mother’s back was turned preparing a bottle. I was coming down the hallway into the kitchen when this happened, but it was so quick, all I could do was dial 911 while the mother cried and yelled. Now, this is just one scenario that I wouldn’t want to be in after the birth of my second child. The baby is ok now, but spent a couple weeks in the hospital with a fractured skull. Now I’m not blaming the mother for this happening; she does that herself. However, I want to try my best to prevent something like that from happening to my family. So I’ve listed a few tips that I have done and will do, to help me prepare my son for the arrival of our newest addition.

1. First and foremost, let your child or children know what is in your belly.

2. Let your child/children feel on your belly, rub it, kiss it or whatever.

3. Always refer to the baby as “Our baby” not “My baby”.

4. Talk to your child/children about what they can do to help out once the baby arrives. For example: giving the baby baths, help changing the diapers, etc…

5. Include your child/children in the birthing process. Let them be at the hospital with you during this time, if possible.

6. Read books about being a big brother or sister. Get them excited about it.

7. Once baby is here, spend that quality time with your child/children that they’ill be craving.

8. When people come to bring gifts have them bring a little something for the sibling/siblings.

9. Take the child/children with you to the ultrasound appointments or when you go to hear the heartbeat.

10. Let the child/children practice the name you have picked, ask them their opinion.

11. Let your child/children express how they feel about becoming an older sibling

12. Let your child/children help you pick out some of the things for the new baby.

I’m sure there’s more things that you could do to help prepare for the birth of a new baby, but these are just some of the things that I’m doing, have done, and will do. Our newest addition will be here in the next 2-3 weeks and I would like the transition to be as smooth as possible. Good Luck!

Tags: babies, children, pregnancies, pregnancy, siblings

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 7th, 2010 at 12:03 am and is filed under march10issue1. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.