At one time or another I have been a Mom to:
Two – Two and under
Three – Three and under
Five – Seven and under
Even though bringing home a new baby (or babies) is amazing and wonderful it comes with an insane amount of new stress and change. I really do believe that siblings are the best gift you can give your kids but that doesn’t mean that the adjustment is easy and guilt free.
Here are some tips for helping your children adjust to the newest addition!
PRESCHOOL AGE AND YOUNGER
- Get them a new baby doll that they can take care of while you are tending to the baby. Have them carry their doll around a mimic whatever task you are handling with the new baby.
- Have other members of your family make a big deal out of the little kids after the baby comes. My parents were always tasked with really focusing on the bigger kids and making sure they got lots of attention.
- Talk about it – A TON! We talked about it everyday and talked through what was going to change and how fun it was going to be.
- Bring them a gift from the baby because kids love gifts! I know it is hard to add another task to your growing to-do list as delivery approaches but I always brought SMALL gifts for my children with me in my hospital bag.
- Praise them for being a good big brother/sister. Really, they just want to have you be proud of them!
SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN
- Have them help as much as you are comfortable with. My bigs changed diapers, gave the babies bottles and rocked them to sleep (all under my supervision since they were still young).
- Set aside date nights so they continue to get one on one time with you (we do them one per season). Once in a while we go all out and let them pick a few activities and other times it is just ice cream with Mom or Dad. These are some of my favorite moments with my children because you really get to focus on who they are becoming.
- Bring them to an ultrasound so they can be a part of the process while you are pregnant.
- Talk about it – A TON!
- Bring them to pick out baby supplies, decorate the nursery. Mine loved registering for items for the twins – who can resist a scanner!
The biggest take away is that talking about it and setting expectations (for both age groups) is extremely important!