Introducing baby to siblings

bravoandprosecco · December 2017

Hello ladies, I have a 2 year old and am wondering how introducing him to the new baby will be, I figured it might be a helpful thread to start. Any tips on things to make the transition, or share your stories if you've already done this?

Gingermom15 · December 2017

Our 2 year old is super into baby dolls. He has several and he loves to take care of them, change them and put them to bed. We tell him there’s a baby in my belly and we call her “his baby”. He doesn’t understand now, but I’m sure he will once she is here. We treat his babies like real babies. They get naps and bedtime, bottles and diapers. We are quiet when they’re “sleeping”. He is very serious about this, believe it or not, and shushes us until they wake up

slr1229 · December 2017

I’ve bought two books that are about getting a baby. She likes reading them and we always kiss baby goodnight.

justkeeptrying · December 2017

STM here, so obviously I haven't experienced it myself yet. DS will be 2 months shy of 3 years old when this baby arrives. We talk about the baby a lot, and are getting him used to the idea of baby being here. Although I'm sure he won't understand until it actually happens. We have a couple of smaller babies in our family/group of friends, so I try to talk about them and explain the baby will be like them. This weekend we transitioned DS into his big boy room so that he has a few months to adjust before baby arrives. I wanted to do this ahead of time so that he doesn't feel too much like "the baby is here and now my world is changing in every aspect". Poor kid is a bit confused though because now he thinks the baby is coming NOW.

We've also been talking a lot about how the baby will spend a lot of time sleeping, eating, and crying for the first while. He loves saying "When baby cries, we say shhhhh". I want him to be mentally prepared for a crying baby (as much as you can prepare a toddler anyway) because I know it will likely upset him (he's pretty sensitive) if he hears a lot of crying.

Things I plan on doing:
1) I'd like to get DS a doll closer to baby arriving so he has one to take care of when I'm caring for baby. But DH isn't on board with this yet (eye roll).
2) We will be going to Build A Bear with DS for him to make a bear for the baby. We will get him to bring it to the hospital when my parents bring him to meet the baby.
3) We will also be buying a gift for him "from the baby". I'm hoping to find something that will be special to him, but also something that will occupy his time and can be something special he uses when I'm busy with baby.

mdfarmchick · December 2017

@justkeeptrying let me know when you figure out what you are giving DS from the baby. I want to do that too but I’m not sure what to get yet. Ha.

chasingroygbiv · December 2017

We talked about DD a LOT with DS (and are now doing the same this time). We tell them how they’ll make such great helpers, how they can help, what the baby will/won’t do (will cry, eat, sleep a lot, will not play, talk, walk, etc). We read lots of big sibling/new baby books and also talk about others who have siblings. We have babies with diapers, stroller, blankets. Obviously you’ll have to break that all down a little differently for a 2 year old, but it gives you an idea! Before baby’s arrival it’s nice to have some pre-made snacks and activities ready to go for when you’re tied up otherwise. Stickers (lots of them), sensory bins are fun, new (never seen before) coloring books, etc.

justkeeptrying · December 2017

@mdfarmchick, right now I'm thinking either a busy book, or one of those Melissa & Doug toys with all the different locks on it. Basically something that will hold his attention and keep him occupied for a while? Lol. It's not super personal. But I don't think he'll care at this age. He'll just be excited to get something!

amylonghorn · December 2017

Following. DD is 2 and has no idea what is going on...she knows the words "baby" and "belly," but when I tell her there's a baby in Mommy's belly she just laughs. Really appreciate everyone's input here!!

justkeeptrying · December 2017

Every day DS (2.5) asks if the baby is coming today. He's so excited. So this morning we sat on the floor flipping through a calendar and reviewing special dates (Christmas, different birthdays) and then when the baby is going to come. I don't think he understood at all. But he had fun going through the calendar and asked me to keep going. So we did all of 2018 lol

Mass-girl-at-heart · December 2017

My first was 22 months when I had my second. We had gotten her a babydoll before and told her all about the baby. When it was time for them to meet she was so freaked out by the hospital that she didn’t really care much about the baby.

As for the initial meeting, if you are doing it at the hospital, I would suggest changing into your own clothes and sitting in a chair not the bed if at all possible. For me it was my first night away from my first so it was pretty traumatic in that respect for her. I wasn’t holding the baby when she came in and I made sure to ask her about her night without me before even talking about the baby. Then she met the baby, pat her on the head and we gave her a book about how cool it is to be a big sister.

Mass-girl-at-heart · December 2017

(Posted too soon)
This time they are older so I’ve assured them that they will be the first people other than DH and me to meet him and that is cool for them. I am just keeping them as involved as possible. They are still pretty pissed about having a baby so brought them to an OB appointment and they helped measure my belly and find heartbeat and that seemed to help.

SoFlaMommie1128 · December 2017

Thank you for starting this thread! It’s definitely been on my mind. My DS is 2 years old, and we are planning to get him a book about becoming a big brother, and a gift from the baby, so appreciate everyone’s suggestions! I’ll chime back in when we decide what to get!

mmom3 · December 2017

DD was 4 when DS was born. We read books, talked about baby brother, and she helped shopped/prepare for baby. I also had a big sister gift for her from DS, which was a big sister shirt and a big sister stuffed animal (she’s an avid collector). She did pretty good with the translation.

Now, DS will be a young 3 when baby is born. We talk about baby and read books. I’m very worried because he is “the baby” currently and is very attached to me.

kbiala · December 2017

@justkeeptrying you are super helpful! Love the Build a Bear idea & gift from the baby. We are also thinking about transitioning our 2 year old DS to a big boy bed soon. I’m nervous about it, but it will probably be better to do it now so he doesn’t feel like the baby “took” his crib.

runsoncoffee · December 2017

This is the thing I am MOST nervous about... and the transition to two altogether. We got a baby doll and book we have been showing DS1. He's only 17 months though and doesn't talk much yet either so he has no clue. I got him a slumberkin (look them up!! So soft and snuggly!) that we'll give him in the hospital from baby brother and I like the idea of something to stay busy but not sure what. We'll be transitioning him to his big boy room (still in a crib though) in the next couple weeks.

livingthedream-3 · December 2017

My oldest was 2y3m when #2 was born. We talked about baby a lot and she would kiss my belly and say baby. It was strange though because as much as we thought she got it, when she went to the hospital to meet her sister it was like a light bulb went off and she was like "oh, like actual baby". I cried on the way to the hospital for #2 because I thought I was crushing #1 and her whole world, but it wasn't like that at all. She was a bit hesitant but has been he best big sister and loves helping out.

LaurenAnn0405 · December 2017

Joining this late:

When DS was born DD was 3.5 at the time. We had her pick out a gift for the baby (little stuffed dog he still sleeps with and an outfit) and then we bought a gift from the baby to her which we took to the hospital with us (it was a puzzle and she was super into paw patrol at the time so there was a paw patrol character and car in there too). The afternoon before we went in, we baked cupcakes and she took them with her to my parents so they could celebrate the baby's birthday with cupcakes on the actual day he was born. She loved coming into the "big city" (we live in a suburb) and riding the elevator to meet her new baby brother. He was in his bassinette when she came in and the nurse let her listen to his heartbeat with the stethoscope. We had also talked before about mommy needing some extra help around the house with the baby so I might need her to play on her own for a little or grab something for mommy so we talked about her being "mommy's big helper" which she really got into.

This time DD is an "old pro" and is already excited about going to the city and riding the elevator in the hospital (she's going to be 6 in 2 weeks) DS is going to be a little trickier because he loves being the baby and has actually been super clingy lately (literally and figuratively!) but I'm planning on doing the same thing with him and DD that we did last time when he was born. He and DD are going to be sharing a room in bunk beds so he's going to be transitioning from his room to her room and from the crib to a 'big boy bed". We're going to keep his room set up as a nursery for now because it's just easier and when this new little one is ready to sleep in a big kid bed she will go to share the room with DD and DS will go back to his own room. We're transitioning him as soon as the holiday season is over so that he doesn't feel that the baby is stealing his room because the baby will be in our room for the first few months anyway and we want to put as much time between him moving rooms and the baby sleeping in the crib so he doesn't associate the two together. I'm not worried about DD but I honestly have no clue how DS will act so I'm going to try and plan some special time with just the two of us after the baby is born so he'll know that he's still my favorite little boy

Introducing baby to siblings

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