Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Preparing for a Baby Sister

Sugar and spice and everything nice. Is that what little girls are made of? We'll find out soon enough. We're having a girl!!

Who will she look like? Who will she act like? Will she enjoy music like Matthew does? What foods will she like? So many questions, wondering about our little girl whom we look forward to getting to know.

How do I prepare Matthew for his little sister? Someone suggested talking about things related to having a baby around the house. For example, "Here's baby's clothes", "Here's baby's bottle", and so on. I guess the idea is to talk about a baby sister in more concrete terms, especially for Matthew, who is a visual learner and does not grasp abstract concepts very well at his age. I'm considering getting a baby doll to simulate how life around the house would be for Matthew with a little sister.

Researching books about being a big brother, I found a few on Amazon.com that look good:
I'm a Big Brother by Joanna Cole and Rosalinda Kightley
Waiting for Baby by Harriet Ziefert and Emily Bolam
What a Good Big Brother (Picture Book) by Diane Wright Landolf, Steve Johnson, and Lou Fancher
Hello Baby! by Lizzy Rockwell
Big Brother Dustin by Alden R. Carter (This book might be out of print because a new book is over $60. But it's the only book I have found that features an older brother who has Down syndrome.)

Your turn
How did you prepare your little ones for a new baby?

22 comments:

Adrienne said...

OMGoodness!! Girls are so much fun!! Congrats!!

Rochelle said...

Oh we love girls too. She will be so much fun and Matthew will be a great big brother for her.

Beverly said...

Congrats! so happy for you all. What a sweet blessing!

Beth said...

Oh Ria! Congratulations! The two of them will have a great time together!

My two oldest are 25 months apart and when I was pregnant with #2 we spent lots of time around other babies. I wanted Kate to be well aware of the sounds and messiness that come with babies! We practiced with a doll whether or not it was good to pat the baby on the head, or poke in the eye, or tickle toes gently. We worked hard on "gentle touch". We didn't jump in right away with all the talk about babies; we waited until a couple months before the baby was due to start in. It takes way too much time for a baby to come out, and little ones don't understand how times passes.

Matthew will be a great big brother!

To Love Endlessly said...

woot, woot for a girl! I think having a baby doll around is a FANTASTIC idea for getting Matthew ready for being a big brother.

RK said...

Yay for a girl! I'm partial, of course, but girls are awfully fun. And mom-of-the-year that I am, we didn't do much at all to prepare Braska. We talked about Kinlee by name, taught her to say it, but that is about it. There's no way at almost 2 she was ready to grasp any kind of intangible, no matter what tools we used. It turned out fine, in that she just ignored her for a couple days then warmed up and the rest is history. They're best buddies now.

So I wouldn't stress. You're way smart with parenting things, so you'll handle it just fine by instinct, I'm sure! :o) He'll adore his little sister, and vice versa. Can't wait to meet her!

ch said...

Congratulations! A matched set! LC and Matthew will have to compare notes on adjusting to life with a kid who has opposite plumbing.

Can't wait to meet her!

Lisa said...

SO exciting, Ria! I don't have any words of wisdom for you... Sheridan is currently an only child. But I will learn through your experience because we plan to have more :)

Ann said...

That's so exciting! I love having a daughter! It's a special relationship. We read "I'm a Big Brother", as well as others, and used a baby doll.

KathyR said...

Congratulations! If you are looking for a copy of "Big Brother Dustin", there are 3 copies on half.com for 75 cents each. I love that book. My son, Danny, looks a lot like Dustin;-)
http://product.half.ebay.com/_W0QQcpidZ1187285QQprZ801600
Alibris.com also has several copies for under $3

Cheryl said...

Congratulations and Merry Christmas!!

miarempillo said...

wow! Congratulations! For a baby girl! It's a whole different thing with girls but its definitely fun to dress them up. :)

I do think the doll thing idea is a good one to prepare Matthew for bby 2. :) With my 5YO eldest son, We always talk about the babies and assure him of his new role that he's the big brother (the 'kuya'). :) We'll bring him to ultrasound check-up so he can see. We also showed him some his baby photos so he'll know the things he'll expect us doing for the twins. :)

Now, the twins are a week old and Isaiah has been very gentle and doesnt want to be called Baby anymore. He would always brag about his sibs and call them '...my babies'. But, in reality, he felt a bit neglected sometimes and I feel so guilty about it but he became more independent and has found ways to also settle as a big bro. We had an arrangement that hubby focus more on him while I focus more on the babies. :)

Enjoy and congrats again, Ria!

Runningmama said...

Congratulations! Now you get to by pink, pink, and more PINK!

Debbie said...

I'm soooooo excited for you!!!!

You will have so much fun shopping for her!!!

Congratulations!

Monica Crumley said...

Hurray! A little girl. Soooo happy for you and Bill. Wow, what a great surprise. Think pink for me, too! I won't know for a few weeks!

Shelley said...

Hi - this is the first time I have visited your blog - congrats - little girls are fantastic - and so are big brothers.

Rosa said...

Waooo! A a baby girl, it is so exciting. I am sure Matthew will be a good big bother. Congratulations!

Sandi said...

Congratulations Bill and Ria. A daughter is so much fun!

My first two kids are a year apart, and although I focused more on my own health and prenatal stuff than preparing the oldest sibling for their new sibling, all worked out great!

I will cautiously share that going from one child to two was more work than I expected. After that... the third and fourth were a breeze. When you are on your third or fourth kid than I will give you some helpful hints.

For now, ENJOY! Love each other with all your hearts, spouses often get less attention than our kids :) And buy lots of pink and brown, I just love that combination. I'm so glad you are online again Ria. Much love.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on your baby girl. Matthew will love playing with his lil sister :) I did the baby doll thing when we had my third child, it worked very well. We bought the girls both a doll that cried, laughed, and coo'd.

Best Wishes!!

Brandie said...

Congrats! I love having daughters :)

Goldie just became a big sister and I was really worried about how she would understand what is going on. I decided to just prepare her like I did my other kids. We looked at a lot of pictures of babies, families, and kids her age holding babies and playing with them. We made sure she had baby dolls and all the accessories to role play with. Now that her brother is here she is doing very well and really seems to understand everything. She likes to help by getting me diapers and wipes or bringing his pacifier when he is crying. If his crying upsets her I explain why he is crying and that calms her down.

Cate said...

I didn't do much prep. I figured a new baby was going to rock his world so much, how could anyone REALLY prepare?

I did buy a few books though. The Mr. Rogers one is good (and funny, because the clothes are dated.)

Cate said...

p.s. check half.com for Big Brother Dustin -- they're showing used copies for 75 cents.