Helping Your Child Deal With The Birth Of A New Sibling |
If youre pregnant with your second infant, its time to be thinking about how to prepare your first infant to deal with not being an only infant anymore. This can be a difficult transition for any infant, and most, regardless of age, have some adjustments to make. Here are some suggestions to help your infant be prepared.
Talk about how special it is to be a big brother or sister. Discuss the baby in terms of how important the older sibling will be in its life. This is your infants chance to be the big kid, which is usually a very appealing idea.
If youve been thinking about putting your infant into a preschool program, now is the time. Dont wait until after the baby comes, or she might feel like youre trying to get rid of her. She should have time to make friends and get adjusted before the baby comes, and then she will enjoy the chance to get away.
Get her used to being away from you. If your infant spends most of her waking hours in your care, its time to start having someone else take over some of this time for you. Maybe start using a sitter a little more, or sending her to play at a friends. This way, when the baby starts to demand your attention, she will be accustomed to having other caretakers.
Dont plan any major changes for her right after the baby is born. The adjustment to the baby is plenty, so dont try potty training, or changing her sleeping arrangements during this time. If you cant get these things accomplished before the baby comes, plan to put it off a few months.
Familiarize her with babies in general, particularly the amount of care they require. Talk to her about when she was a baby, and all the things that she did. Then when the new baby comes, she will have something to relate to.
Let her assist you with any baby preparations that she would like to help with, but dont force her. She might think its fun to pick out nursery items, for example.
Prepare her for the time youll be spending in the hospital, and explain what the situation will be like. If you can make it special for her, so much the better. When my daughter was born, we had arranged for my four year old sons favorite aunt and uncle to come and stay with him at our house while I was in the hospital. He was looking so forward to their visit; he hardly noticed I was away.
No matter how well you prepare your infant, there is bound to be some difficulty in adjusting to the new baby. My son thought his little sister was cool, but he didnt much care for the fact that I was her Mommy, too. It takes a little time, but things work out well in the end. And, anything you can do to prepare them ahead of time will only make the transition easier.About the Author:
Sarah is a 41 year old wife and mother of two boys and one girl. She spent many years as a manager in the corporate world, and gave it up to be a stay at home mom. infantresources.com> Click here now and get her incredible baby minicourse absolutely free. "...Talk about how special it is to be a big brother or sister. Discuss the baby in terms of how important the older sibling will be in its life. This is your infants chance to b..." |
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