Preparing My Toddler For A New Sibling

With the new baby coming soon, it’s time to start preparing my toddler for her new sibling.

But where do you even begin preparing a child for a new baby?

My daughter is 2 years old, so for me, it’s actually preparing a 2-year-old for a new baby.

Obviously, when you have your first child, you don’t have to prepare anyone but yourself and the father.

But with having a second or any other children after your first, you have to account for your older children.

Because this affects them just as much as it does you.

They will have to learn that it isn’t just about them anymore and will have to learn what it means to share. Whether it’s toys or mommy’s time.

My daughter has a cousin who is just a year younger than her who she adores but struggles to share with.

But the difference with that dynamic is that her cousin gets to go home after a few hours.

Her new sibling will not and she will catch on to that pretty quickly.

Just like I have been preparing for this new baby setting up a nursery nook in our bedroom and packing my hospital bag, I think it is important that I prepare my little one too.

Here is what I have been doing to prepare my toddler for a new sibling.

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Should I Tell My Toddler About The New Baby?

Absolutely!

I know it’s easy for many people to think that they will not know what is going on because they are so young, but trust me when I say this.

They know what is going on.

I get it if you have a child that is under the age of 1 or maybe even 18 months.

They will be pretty clueless about your pregnancy and the new baby at first.

But an older child will definitely notice that something is different especially the bigger your belly gets and when they see all the baby items in a new room that they can’t really mess with yet.

Kate Marple from Baby Center suggests that once you have told your child that they will have a new sibling, you can follow your child’s lead regarding how much he wants to talk about it or be involved in preparations.

For instance, we told our daughter very early on that mommy has a baby in her tummy and that she will be getting a brother or sister later.

And she was not interested in us telling her that whatsoever at first.

She just went on about her business and acted as if nothing was different even though she could tell that something was wrong with mommy in the first trimester.

• Read More: Surviving The First Trimester With A Toddler

We just kept the discussion open with her and would mention the baby here and there.

And as my belly grew, she started showing more interest in the baby.

She started asking questions and making statements like “When will the baby come home?” or “Is there a baby in your tummy?” to which I would smile and answer her.

When she is in the mood to talk about the baby, I would ask her if she was ready for her sister or what did want to do with her sister when she came home.

Sometimes she would answer and sometimes she didn’t.

I never made her talk about it if she wasn’t in the mood.

I know it feels more real for younger children once the baby is here, but it does help to start preparing them for a new sibling by actually talking about the new sibling.

With that being said, let’s get into how I have been preparing my toddler for her new sibling.

Preparing My Toddler For A New Sibling

So my first tip was mentioned above and that was telling your toddler you are having a new baby and that they will be getting a new sibling.

But that is not the only thing that we have been doing to get her ready.

Here are some other ways we have been preparing our toddler for a new sibling.

Let Them Practice With A Baby Doll

This was easy for us to do because my daughter already loves baby dolls.

We would pretend with her that her baby doll is her baby sister and let her practice holding and changing her as if she was a real baby.

This way it wouldn’t be too shocking once baby sister actually got here and we were doing those things with her.

We would also use this time to have conservations about baby sister and ask her things like “Do you want to hold baby sister?” or “Do you want to help change her when she comes home?”

Visit A Friend/Family Member With A Baby

This tip above is obviously a more girly tip and I know some moms are not comfortable with letting their little guys play with baby dolls.

So my next tip is also one that Christin Perry suggests from The Bump and that is to visit someone with a real baby.

You can begin preparing your child for a new sibling by having them actually interact with a real baby.

I mentioned above that my sister has a younger child that my daughter has been around since he was born so she has gotten used to interacting with a younger baby.

Include Them In The Preparations

Around the time of my baby shower, my daughter started noticing all the items that were coming in from off my baby registry.

• Read More: What To Put On Your Baby Registry As A Second Time Mom

And of course, she thinks everything that is coming is for her.

But I had to explain to her that these were for her baby sister and instead of not letting her touch anything, I let her help me put things up.

I also used this as an opportunity to start talking about sharing and how she was going to have to learn to share with her baby sister.

Teaching a toddler how to share is going to be something in itself so this is my attempt at getting started early.

Have Them Pick Out Something To Gift Their New Sibling

You will see this tip mentioned across all of the blogs on preparing your toddler for a new baby.

And I thought it was a great idea as well.

You can have your child pick out a small toy or book to give once they get to meet their new sibling for the first time.

What we decided to do was have her pick out a doll that she can give her baby sister when she comes home.

I would have preferred her to give it to her at the hospital but the way my hospital policy is set up, she will have to wait until we come home to give it to her sister.

Let Them Feel The Baby Move

I thought this tip mentioned by Lauren Tamm over at The Military Wife And Mom was very interesting and she suggests letting your toddler feel the baby move.

Which does make sense.

I know for us moms and others, it feels so much more real when you feel the baby kicking.

So this would sense for your toddler as well.

By letting them feel their sibling move, they will realize that there really is something in mommy’s belly.

Which can also bring up more conversation around their new sibling.

Just like with talking about their sibling, allow your toddler to take the lead on whether or not they are comfortable with touching your belly and feeling the baby move.

My daughter was not very comfortable at first, but as I got further and further into my pregnancy, she was a lot more open to rubbing, talking, and kissing my belly.

It helped that my husband was also doing this, so she often follow his lead.

Have Them Look At Pictures Of Themselves As A Baby

And speaking of my husband, he was the one who actually initiated doing this with our daughter.

He would pull up old pictures of our daughter when she was first born and tell her that she was once a small baby and that she was in mommy’s tummy too.

He also would show her pictures of me when I was pregnant with her.

Once again, doing things like this initiates conversations around their new sibling because as I have been saying this entire blog post, they should know because this is a big change that affects them as well.

Your Turn

Well, that is everything I have been doing to prepare my daughter for the new baby. And of course, I want to hear from you all now. How did you or how have you been preparing your toddler for a new sibling? Let me know in the comments and while you are still here, check out my previous post below. Until next time!

• Read More: Creating A Nursery Nook In Your Master Bedroom For A Newborn

Love,

Just Jass