[nic188]

Hi everyone. I know this has been done before but i have a 20mth old and just want to make sure i have done all i can to prepare her the best i can for the new bubs arrival.

How did you go about it. We have the present for her, she has a new baby doll and pram etc she plays with. We include her when we talk about the baby. She likes to show my belly off and rub her hands all over the baby lol. Books etc.

Is there anything we are missing, or can you just share your experiences.

Thanks

[jules77]

I'm in the same boat - I have a 22 month old and #2 due in around 8 weeks.

We have got out the bassinet, baby toys/play pen, double pram, baby clothes, nappies so that DS has time to become familiar with these.

We talk about the baby and where it currently is (DS is convinced it sleeps all the time!)

I have just ordered a book (the house inside mummy one).

I've started buying little bits and pieces that I can use to keep DS occupied whilst I feed the baby (like stickers, little toys, new books).

[~musedmum~]

We encouraged the older sibling to talk to my tummy whilst still pregnant and talked often about where baby would sleep, what it would eat etc.
When baby arrived, we made sure that we had a gift at the hospital from the new baby to the older sibling (2yo) and the older sibling brought a birthday cake to hospital to celebrate the arrival of the new bub.

This time we have gifts for the older two and they have a gift each for baby, although they are much older this time round!

[T2Mum]

Show your DD photos of when she was a baby.

If you are birthing away from home it can also be nice to taake a photo of your DD with you and have it visible when she comes to visit so she knows that you are thinking about her.

[atua]

we're in the minority - we don't do gifts.

we have a 2 year gap between each birth - never had jealousy issues.

they came to hospital appts/ultrasounds, we talked as much as you can to a 2 year old what was going on, they knew that i would be going to hospital and would be gone a few days, we woke them when i left for nbr 4 at 2am to tell them where i was going.

i made sure that when the baby slept i dedicated that time to the existing children only - as none of our children before nbr 4 have slept past 14mths it wasn't that hard to do - had food ready for when i was feeding the baby, had a box of new stuff for them to do when i was feeding, made sure i wasn't holding the baby when they came in to visit, made sure they were the first to visit and there was no one but us present.

keeping things as routine as possible for existing children has proven the key for us.

[onehotmumma]

My situations a bit different because DD is 4 so is able to understand what's going on, especially with a few of her daycare teachers having babies over the past couple of years.

I've still been talking to her about baby and she's been talking/singing/patting the baby in my belly. She's been helping to sort out the nursery. She's been to doctors and ultrasound appointments. We've talked about what will happen when I go to hospital to have baby.

We've explained that baby won't be able to play with her for a while and that there will be times where I will be busy with baby and she might need to be patient and wait a while, but that I will help her and spend time with her as soon as I'm available. We've spoke about the crying and waking in the night.

I gave her $20 a few months ago while we were out shopping for her to choose a gift from her to the baby.

I haven't yet brought a gift from her to the baby and I'm not sure yet if I'm going to. It was her birthday recently and she got way too much such that she hasn't even looked at yet. People have suggested getting her a doll/baby that she can look after of her own, but she's a pretty smart cookie and I worry that she we sense that she is being fobbed off. I think I would be better off letting her help me with simple things like getting things for me and singing to the baby, etc, making her actually feel useful and needed. I think the doll/baby might be better for a younger child.

We've done everything we can think of to prepare her, but I think no matter what we say, it will be a shock when baby is actually here.

This post has been edited by ~KaZzY~: 26/07/2011, 06:40 PM

[nic188]

Kazzy - my MIL keeps telling me to make sure i get her to help out and get her to grab the nappies and other things that you need. She had a 4yr gap and then another 5 yr gap. I don't know that this will work with DD but she loves her doll/baby and already changes its bottom when we do hers and feeds it and takes it for walks in the pram so am glad we did that.

Thanks everyone, its nice to hear how other people are doing it and makes me feel like we are on the right track and probably can't do to much more. I'm sure she will be fine when bub comes. Guess we will find out in the next week or so hopefully lol.

[cassi8]

We have been doing the same. DS will be 3 in Sept and is a pretty cluey kid. He has seen the baby on the TV (ultrasound) and he comes to each Ob appt and hears the heart beat with the doppler and the Ob and midwife have both put the doppler on his chest so he can hear his own heart. Reading "There's a House Inside My Mummy" and talking about it, like what he would like to teach the baby and which toys he will share ect. They had news day at CC, the teacher asked what is going on at home and he told everyone about the baby in mummy's tummy. We have been telling him that baby will have a special car seat like him and asked who he would like to stay with when mummy has to go to hospital for the baby to come out ect. I do have a toy for him but more something new to keep him occupied in hospital so DH can spend time with us than anything.

He has just moved into his big boy room so will be interesting to see what happens as we fill his old room with baby things. Oh and he helped daddy put the cradle together on the weekend as well. We have been talking to him and preparing him for months..

Ok I have rambled enough!