We are trying to do a few things to prep Burkley for big brotherhood. I know we can't ever fully prepare him, just as we ourselves can never be fully prepared for having two children, but I know he's getting a small handle on the fact that things are going to be different around here soon.
Much less carrying and much more walking
Not only is it difficult physically for me to carry Burkley, we are trying to get him used to holding our hand and walking more often, especially to and from the car. Generally I prefer to carry him because it gets us in and out much faster, but I know that won't really be feasible when toting a baby around.
Climbing into his carseat on his own
We've started having him climb into the car and sit in his carseat on his own rather than one of us carry him and put him in. Another skill he'll have to do on his own more often once baby is here.
"Big Brother" lingo
Many times people in our lives ask Burkley if he's going to be a "big brother" or if he thinks he's having a "brother or a sister." He really does not understand these words as we have not really used them much. In the past week or so we've really been talking a lot about how boys are brothers and girls are sisters and soon he is going to be a big brother, but we don't know yet if our baby is going to be a sister or a brother. I don't know how much of it he's "getting," but we are working on familiarizing him with the lingo at least.
Prep for birth
It occurred to me yesterday that while Burkley understands that I go to my midwife for checkups on myself and the baby frequently, we have never talked about me going to the hospital to have the baby. So, we took a look at some pictures of Burkley's birth and talked a lot about going to the "doctor" to have the baby and how many people will come and visit. We talked about how Mommy and Daddy will go to the "doctor" (I tried to use the word "hospital" too, but he has no idea what that is) and that our midwife "Mrs. ____" will be helping us have the baby. We talked about how the baby will be very tiny and that all of our family members will come visit and hold the baby just like they did when he was born. This really excited him. Later that night he was snuggling my belly (as he does before bed) and sternly yelled at it, "Get out, baby, get out!!!"
Baby "stuff" around the house
My bestie (and doula) suggested we start to get some baby "stuff" out around the house for the sake of conversation with Burkley. He's seen me get out and wash the carseat, get some clothes ready, and I showed him the blanket I made for Baby C. He also helped me pick out an amber necklace online for the baby so that they could match, which he was really excited about too.
"Milmies" and other "baby" ways
We have talked a lot (both during and since weaning) about how the baby will nurse ("have milmies"). The baby will cry. The baby will be held and snuggled. The baby will have diaper changes. We talk about how he used to do these things when he was a baby and now that he's going to be the big brother, he doesn't do them as much. I am careful to leave him the freedom to know that he can still cry, wear diapers, snuggle, etc., but I want him to know that the baby will do these things too. I try to find the balance and make it sound like a fun new responsibility rather than pressure to perform in a certain "grown-up" way.
Thankfully we have lots of babies in our life, so he understands some of this to an extent because of that. We are all getting very excited for Baby C's arrival. What kinds of things did you do to help prep older siblings for the arrival of a baby sibling?
Much less carrying and much more walking
Not only is it difficult physically for me to carry Burkley, we are trying to get him used to holding our hand and walking more often, especially to and from the car. Generally I prefer to carry him because it gets us in and out much faster, but I know that won't really be feasible when toting a baby around.
Climbing into his carseat on his own
We've started having him climb into the car and sit in his carseat on his own rather than one of us carry him and put him in. Another skill he'll have to do on his own more often once baby is here.
"Big Brother" lingo
Many times people in our lives ask Burkley if he's going to be a "big brother" or if he thinks he's having a "brother or a sister." He really does not understand these words as we have not really used them much. In the past week or so we've really been talking a lot about how boys are brothers and girls are sisters and soon he is going to be a big brother, but we don't know yet if our baby is going to be a sister or a brother. I don't know how much of it he's "getting," but we are working on familiarizing him with the lingo at least.
Prep for birth
It occurred to me yesterday that while Burkley understands that I go to my midwife for checkups on myself and the baby frequently, we have never talked about me going to the hospital to have the baby. So, we took a look at some pictures of Burkley's birth and talked a lot about going to the "doctor" to have the baby and how many people will come and visit. We talked about how Mommy and Daddy will go to the "doctor" (I tried to use the word "hospital" too, but he has no idea what that is) and that our midwife "Mrs. ____" will be helping us have the baby. We talked about how the baby will be very tiny and that all of our family members will come visit and hold the baby just like they did when he was born. This really excited him. Later that night he was snuggling my belly (as he does before bed) and sternly yelled at it, "Get out, baby, get out!!!"
Baby "stuff" around the house
My bestie (and doula) suggested we start to get some baby "stuff" out around the house for the sake of conversation with Burkley. He's seen me get out and wash the carseat, get some clothes ready, and I showed him the blanket I made for Baby C. He also helped me pick out an amber necklace online for the baby so that they could match, which he was really excited about too.
"Milmies" and other "baby" ways
We have talked a lot (both during and since weaning) about how the baby will nurse ("have milmies"). The baby will cry. The baby will be held and snuggled. The baby will have diaper changes. We talk about how he used to do these things when he was a baby and now that he's going to be the big brother, he doesn't do them as much. I am careful to leave him the freedom to know that he can still cry, wear diapers, snuggle, etc., but I want him to know that the baby will do these things too. I try to find the balance and make it sound like a fun new responsibility rather than pressure to perform in a certain "grown-up" way.
Thankfully we have lots of babies in our life, so he understands some of this to an extent because of that. We are all getting very excited for Baby C's arrival. What kinds of things did you do to help prep older siblings for the arrival of a baby sibling?
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