How to prepare your kids for a new sibling?

One of the most beautiful things are about to happen in your life. You are gifting your child or children with their forever best friend, a new sibling. Whether you are having a baby yourself or adopting a child, bringing them home to meet their brothers and sisters is such a special moment.

Depending on your child's or children's ages you can take a few different approaches. However, they all have one thing in common and that is you and your husband are giving them the news with love, excitement, and preparation. The great thing is, is that you have months to prepare them before bringing home their new best friend.

For us, we prepared with not only our words but also different things to make out child feel important and excited for being a big to our little. Here are somethings we used:

1. We bought some books that talks about being a big brother and the importance that they play with a new baby.

both of these books do a really nice job not only with words illustrating how to be a big, but also with the drawings on each page as well. So if your child isn't old enough to read, the pictures really do a great job helping them understand what each page is talking about.

2. Another thing we decided to do is get our big a baby doll. Boy or girl it is a good way to teach them how to be "gentle" and "safe" with the baby. Now it does not have to be a legit baby doll, it can be a new stuffed animal.

With a baby doll or stuffed animal it definitely prepares them. It helps with direction with your big and also understanding what is to come. They can pretend to feed the baby, change, the baby, or even get you the stuff you need to change and feed the baby. With us, our 1st was just turning 1 year old when we were about to have our 2nd, and our big learned where the wipes were and diapers and our big would run and grab us a wipe and diaper to practice. Let me tell you, that saved momma so much energy and time having a second pair of hands when our little came home. So yes your big can help you at any age, you just need to put the energy and time in to help them understand and help you with tiny tasks. It also helps them build confidence and the feeling of accomplishments when they help you even grabbing or putting back the wipes.

3. The third thing we did, was teach our big where his sibling was living... in momma's tummy. We taught him how to kiss momma's belly, babble to the belly so their little hears their voice, and hug momma's belly. This not only forms a bigger bond between you and your big, but also between your little and their big sibling.

4. The forth thing we did was get matching outfits. This is a cute idea and is more for you mom and dad than the sibling. However, it is super cute to have matching outfits and is a memory in the making.

5. Lastly, once we brought the newest member of our family home, we introduced the baby to our big by letting them come to the baby instead of bringing the baby to them. This allows your big to see your little on their terms and in their space and time. We then dressed them up in their matching outfits and took their very first photo together the first day we were in our home the very first time they met. It makes for a beautiful memory for both us and our babies.

I hope these ideas and tips help you when bringing home your newest addition to your family. Things will be great and it all will work out perfectly. Just remember things take time and this is a huge change in everyone's lives including the little baby. Just be patient and loving everyone including yourself through this new and amazing time in your families lives!

<3 S