Getting your little one excited to be a big brother or sister!

Brooke - posted on 07/18/2011

Thanks for posting this question as I am interested in these replies as well. I have a daughter who will be 4 on August 4th and we just found out were pregnant with twins. My daughter would rather play with her toys than talk about the baby and just shows a lack of interest in general. When I found out I was pregnant I bought her a big sister shirt to wear for daddy. The other day her babysitter asked her, "What is mommy having?" My daughter looked at her and said, "A baby!" and she said it with an attitude like duh. She has not been to an ultrasound yet, but we plan on bringing her to the next one. We've been discussing names and bringing up baby clothes and toys, but not a whole lot of interest, hopefully this changes soon.

Lynzee - posted on 07/16/2011

my son will be exactly 2 and a half when his baby sister is born in November. We are starting to think of ideas for a baby shower because we have no girl clothes or toys but we want to make sure that our toddler son doesn't feel out of place or left out. a Co worker gave me a box of Baby girl blankets and clothes and our son cried when we told him that the items were for his baby sister... we have been trying to explain to him since we first found out about the pregnancy that a new baby is in Mommy's tummy and that the baby will come to live with us in our home in a little while.. he seems to understand for the most part and pats my belly and says "baby" and he has been to all of our doctors appointments and seen the ultra sounds and heard the heart beat but I still don't know how well he will adjust to the baby being born and actually living in our home.. any one else have a similar experience and advice?

Abi - posted on 02/18/2009

Hi there,



Luckily my toddler (30 months) is very girlie and into dollies and babies so has been quite excited by a while now. However, she also loves sitting with me and looking at pregnancy/baby magazines and talking about the mummies and the bumps, the babies who are sleeping and crying, etc. It is a good opportunity to explain how big mummy will get, that new babies cry a lot for different reasons and the different ways of giving a new baby milk! We sometimes cut out and scrapbook the ictures from the magazines when I have finished with them.



She has also enjoyed looking at pictures of herself as a baby and yesterday she came with me to a midwife appt and we talked about her having been born at that hospital, and she heard the baby's heartbeat.



We have also been careful to refer to the baby as 'our' baby not mummy's baby so she feels like it is hers too, and to talk about her being a big sister and how she will be able to help mummy. Though we don't know the gender of the baby, I plan to take her with me when I go to buy newborn nappies and sleepsuits, etc and maybe a soft toy or two.



Oh yes, last thing! She was v excited about getting all her old baby things out again (moses basket, mobile, toys, etc).



Good luck! x

Kathleen - posted on 02/18/2009

My son is 28 months old and I am 34 weeks pregnant. At first we didn't say anything since we figured he was too young to understand. Once I started to show we started occassionally pointing to my tummy and saying baby. After a while he picked it up and would pat my tummy and say "Baby!" He also recognizes pictures of babies, although I'm still not sure whether he understands that there's a baby in my tummy. Recently we say "kiss the baby" and he'll kiss my tummy. Lately we also occassionally try to explain a little about what's going to happen, that he's going to be a big brother, that he's going to be my big helper, etc. It's hard to tell how much he understands, but I'm hoping he understands enough that it won't be such a shock when we bring the baby home. Hope that helps!

Faye - posted on 02/18/2009

My daughter was only 11 months when i found out i was expecting. When my bump got noticable we used to talk about as the baby and she was allowed to touch when she wanted. Even when iit came to showing people in public only a little embarasing. She used to kiss and cuddle bump and as soon as we found out we were having a boy and had picked a name we taught her to say it as well.