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2nd time moms, how did you get LO ready for baby?

Jasmine1082Jasmine1082 member
in 1st Trimester
Ds will be nearly 3 when baby#2 arrives. What (if anything) did you do to prep lo and how soon did you start? TIA
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Re: 2nd time moms, how did you get LO ready for baby?

  • doremi29doremi29 member

    DS will be just shy of 3 as well.  He has a 6 month old cousin, so he gets the baby thing, but not that a baby will be in or home for good :)  We won't be doing much to get him ready.  He's in a "big boy bed" at this point, so we won't have to worry about that transition later on.  I'm trying to carry him less, but that's just the age anyway. 

    Once the baby is here, he will go to his sitter's 3 days a week to keep things as normal as possible and give me bonding time with the new LO.  I plan to encourage him to help with the baby whenever possible. 

    Honestly, I think my DS will have trouble with a new baby in the house and I don't see it being a quick thing either.  He's super high energy and the idea of me not being able to run around with him everywhere will be tough on him.  Hopefully the next baby will be an efficient nurser so I'm not sitting around feeding the new baby all day long.

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  • Jasmine1082Jasmine1082 member
    My son gets the whole baby thing also at this point but I'm afraid he'll be jealous of the baby, and mad when he can't have his way if I'm busy with the baby. He is also very high energy, and constantly running/playing. I know it's a huge transition when a new baby comes, I just want to make it easy for him as I can.
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  • dande2129dande2129 member

    DS will be exactly two months shy of three when baby is born (if baby is born on the due date) 

    When I found out I was pregnant, I told him that he was going to be a big brother but he really doesn't know what a "big brother" is. He does, however, know what babies are. So I told him that mommy has a baby in her belly and he's going to have a baby brother/sister soon. We have some baby items in the house, some that I pulled out from storage that were his. I put dolls in the swing and the cradle and tell him that we have to be gentle, because baby will be in there.

    If he sees a baby, he can recognize that I have a baby in my belly. He'll put his hand on my stomach and say "Baby is here." He likes to kiss it and say "night night" to the baby, but I don't think anything will prepare him for when the baby actually comes.

    I worry about jealousy too, and my son is relatively high energy, but he also likes to help me do things. My hope is to include him in what I can so that he feels like he has a role, like he's helping, so he doesn't feel uninvolved. I think, either way, it's going to be an adjustment and there may be times of jealousy.  

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  • Jasmine1082Jasmine1082 member
    The doll idea is interesting. I was thinking of getting DS a doll and bottle to teach him to be gentle with the baby, feed. Etc... Maybe I will get some of his old stuff( car seat  ) to put doll in too. Thanks for the idea.
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  • mollyj931mollyj931 member
    Looks like a lot of us will have almost 3 year olds! I too am nervous because I have a high energy toddler. I am planning on a lot of talking about babies in the last couple months and making the whole thing seem really positive. Maybe we will watch some videos of babies and do a lot of practicing with her dolls. I agree that nothing is really going to fully prepare no longer being the only child!
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  • amykins1283amykins1283 member
    I am planning on talking about the baby a lot and reading books to him about what it is like to be a big brother and have a baby in the house. I'll probably even show him some stuff like diapering and feeding with his Cabbage Patch doll. We are also going to be moving him to a new big boy room and I am going to let him pick out stuff to decorate it so it's all his.

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  • StellarpuppyStellarpuppy member

    Lurker butting in - while I'm a first time mom my MIL is a stay at home day care provider with over 20 years of experience.  When my DH's cousin was KU with her 2nd I believe the advice to her as far as how/when to tell the child was wait for a while.  Many children (especially under 4) won't understand and they will constantly ask if the baby's coming yet.  But don't wait too long.  You want enough time to help them understand, maybe get over the resentment and get them excited about being a big brother/sister.  Also suggested was don't ask if they want to be a brother/sister (they may say no!)  Just say "you are going to be...  and this is REALLY exciting"  

    And of course be ready for the how and why the baby is coming ;)   

    This is all coming second hand from my MIL and DH who grew up in the house with all the daycare kids.  I HTH! :)

    BFP - 9/18/11 ----- m/c 9/23/11
    BFP - 7/16/12 ----- EDD 3/27/13  ----- Born 4/5/13
    BFP - 5/27/14 ----- EDD 1/31/14 or 2/4/15


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  • CharannLynCharannLyn
    I'm in the same boat!  My DS will be almost 3 yrs old, when LO arrives.  He already tells me and others that there is a baby in Mommy's belly when asks or by the mention of the word "belly."  DS has no clue what "big brother" means and I'm not worried.  I'm going to wait until I'm actually showing a baby belly and preparing the nursery.  I'm going to use routines (quiet time when baby is sleeping, mommy's nursing, etc.) and get him big brother books, shirts, and toys.  I'm not really worried.  I would be more worried if he wasn't jealous, he is Mama's boy!  But, I think this will be a good time for DS and DH bonding time as well!
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  • CharannLynCharannLyn
    Just realized our sons are VERY close!  Our LOs will be too!  Too COOL!!
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  • Jasmine1082Jasmine1082 member
    Lots of good advice, thanks ladies!
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  • SaraRN12SaraRN12

    It was pretty easy for us to get our son ready since he was the one begging for a baby brother or sister.  I think he is the one who got us ready!  Even though he is super excited that we finally have granted his wish to have a sibling, we are still involving him in preparations for the baby.  When we go to the grocery store we stop by the baby aisle and he picks something out like socks or a bib.  We have also done a lot of praising about what a great big brother he is going to be.  I think just keeping him involved is going to make this a fairly smooth transition from a family of three to a family of four :)

     

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  • ANA6ANA6
    DD is to young still trying to figure that out.
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