Lurker with a question

rabstbmom

Hi Ladies, I've been lurking on this board for a few weeks now. If all continues to go well with this pregnancy, we will have 2 under 2 for a few weeks. My due date is 12/27 and DS will turn two the first week of Feb, so DS is currently 16 months old and the kids will be 22-23 months apart.

My question is this--at what age would you all recommend I start really prepping DS for becoming a big brother? I've read stuff that says don't tell your kids too early b/c at this age they're not really aware/understand the changes, etc. We occasionally mention something about the baby in front of him (he was there in the room when we announced to family, for example), but it's not like I'm reading him books about new babies/being a Big Brother, or have bought him a baby doll to take care of when Mommy's feeding Baby, etc. But I also want to make sure he does have some grasp of what's coming when the time is right.

I'd appreciate any thoughts you ladies have on this! We're also currently getting our house ready for the market and hoping to move before the new one arrives, so I guess I'm also just a little concerned that DS is going to have a lot of changes to deal with in a relatively short time span.

BeebopandBuddy

DS is due in September and DD is 15 months old.  I have tried pointing to my belly and telling her the baby is in there ever since it started protruding so much, but she really does not seem to grasp the concept at all.    At some point in the last couple of months, she started poking my middle, like she noticed it was bigger, and that's when we started trying to talk to her about it.  She has a baby doll but when we try to get her to hold it or cuddle it, she only does it for a second, then throws it on the floor.  I guess what I am trying to say is, just do what seems natural in trying to introduce it to your son, but don't be surprised or disappointed if he doesn't seem to get it or care.  You may have to wait until closer to the due date, when he is older, to try to get him to understand.

memali26

DD1 was 19 months when DD2 was born. We honestly didn't do anything special to prepare her. We talked about the baby in front of her a lot, as my belly grew we talked about "baby sister in mommy's belly" and when we moved to our new house 6-7 weeks before my due date we put up all the baby gear (Swing, bouncy seat, etc) so she got used to it being around. That's it. When we brought the baby home she was excited and curious, so we included her in caring for the baby as much as possible. She had her moments of tantruming for attention, but over all has adjusted better than we could have ever hoped. 

celiabwatson

Mine are 22-23 months apart and we didn't do much, When my belly was huge we said there was a baby in there and he would poke at it etc. I got a book but we only read it once and he wasn't interested. However, when the baby came he adjusted just fine. We're tandem nursing and I think that helped but in general he's done fine with the change and actually these days gets worried when the baby isn't around. I tried taking just him with me to the store when my husband was home and he kept asking where his sister was.

delg23

I bought the book "my new baby" which is good if you'll be bfing. I told him there was a baby in my belly. He didn't seem to grasp it but he repeated things from the book once his brother arrived. like when I was breastfeeding he pointed and said "milk". Also he was just beginning to talk and baby remains one of his fav words. The other thing that helped is we practiced "gentle" w/ our cat, so he pet his brother

Damiensmommy45

I started telling Damien about his little sister in mommy's belly as soon as my belly was visible. Honestly, I think that helped a lot because now he gives her kisses and hugs. (its so freaking cute) He is 14M and Reagan is 2 1/2 M . I say start prepping, your LO can handle it!