Becoming an older sibling can be a huge transition for toddlers. To make the process a bit easier, you can start preparing before the new baby is even born. I’m sharing 5 of the ways we helped prepare our little boy to be a new big sibling before his sister was born. If your baby is already here be sure to check out these tips to help your toddler adjust after the new baby is already here. This post contains affiliate links.
Photo credit: www.annaangenend.com – this post has affiliate links
When Little Man was 21 months old he became a big brother. Since he was so young when our daughter was born, we did as much as we could to prepare him before she was born. It was so neat to watch his comprehension of what was going on increase as we did what we could to get him ready to be a big brother. Today, I’m sharing the top 5 things that we did to prepare him before the baby was born.
1. Practice with a Baby Doll – When I was around 4 months pregnant I bought Little Man a baby doll. I realized that he needed to learn words like “soft” and “gentle” before she was born and we decided a baby doll would be a great way to practice. We purchased a $10 doll from target. He never played with her a whole lot, but it was really useful for him to learn how to be calm and gentle with one of his toys. We made a big deal about not throwing the doll and never being rough around her. It was a really great tool for his level of understanding at the time (he was about 15 months old).
2. Read Books about the Transition – This is one of the absolute best ways to prepare a toddler for what’s to come. We used several different books, so he was seeing and hearing about the transition from multiple angles. He loved the stories about the new baby and still enjoys them to this day! Some other books we enjoyed were: The New baby, Arthur and the Baby: A Classic Arthur Adventure
Help your toddler feel special by creating a customized book for the new big brother and big sister.
3. Sleepovers – I have my babies in the hospital, so there is always at least one overnight stay if not two. We did a “practice” sleep over with him at his grandparent’s house, so that his first time wouldn’t be when I was in the hospital. He did great and loved sleeping at their house. It was good to get him used to waking up and going to bed with them instead of only mommy. He loved every minute of it and it really helped put my mind at ease, knowing how well he would do sleeping away from home while I was in the hospital with the baby.
4. The Special Box – I prepared a little box of gifts for Little Man and hid it in my closet for my MIL to give to him while I was in the hospital. Little things to let him know that I loved him and to help his grandma entertain him in case he was having a hard day! The box included two things. The first item in box was the I’m a Big Brother
5. Build a Bear – This is one of my favorite things that we did for Little Man! A few weeks before baby was due, I took him to the mall to the Build a Bear company. We made a stuffed dog together and I was able to insert a recording of my own voice saying “Elias I love you” into the dog’s paw. This way he could hear my voice and know how much I love him even when I was in the hospital and not at home with him. My MIL said he pushed the button non-stop for a long time, with a huge grin on his face. Little Man still sleeps with his little stuffed dog and I often hear him pushing the button as he falls asleep at night. It cost $8 for the recording and $10 for the dog, so it was pretty affordable for the amount of love the little animal gets! It was the perfect keepsake for our little man, and seemed to provide lots of comfort for him, when he wasn’t understanding why mommy couldn’t be home with him.
These are the 5 main things we did to prepare our son for his sister before she was born. I have also shared 8 ways to help your toddler adjust to the new baby (after the birth) in a previous post. It’s a huge transition for every one involved, but it’s an exciting journey all the same!
Big sibling interview
This is the CUTEST activity to do with the big sibling to be!!! Download this free interview to do with the new big sibling. There’s one for new big brothers and one for new big sisters. It’s a fun activity and turns into an adorable keepsake. (Or see more about the big sibling interview here)
Lastly, consider getting a fun gift for the big sibling to show off how excited they are for the new baby to come. You can get one of these fun coloring shirts they can decorate themselves!
There’s one coloring shirt for big bro and one coloring shirt for big sis. They can color the shirts with washable markers to design them again and again OR use permanent markers to keep their original design forever! Kids LOVE decorating their own shirts and these are too cute!!!
These shirts are perfect for helping your older child announce your pregnancy too! They can do it in style with an adorable shirt they have designed themselves!
See more ideas about how to announce your pregnancy here…
Do you have any tips for preparing a young child to be a sibling? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
See more of our favorite tools to help with the trasition here:
Click the image below to read some fun gift ideas for the new big sibling on the day the baby is born!
For even MORE tips about preparing your toddler to be a new sibling, and helping them transition once the baby arrives, check out my book on the topic! I know that every one is busy, so it’s a quick read that can be read in small snippets while the toddler is sleeping or while you feed the baby! Check out the book by clicking the image below.
Photo credit www.annaangenend.com Facebook, twitter, pinterest, instagram
Melinda--Marshmallow Mudpie says
Thanks so much for this article! I’m going to pin it so I don’t forget about all those great books! :)
Ashley Ditto says
I am so glad you wrote about this, because its such a hard transition. My oldest was so shocked and she felt so out of place, and it was a huge adjustment. But I will know for future use these amazing tips, thank you Paula!!!
Kristen @ Smithspirations says
Very sweet ideas! We used the doll idea the most in our home. My mom, who comes to stay with us while we have our homebirths, also takes our children to a local store to pick out special things for the new baby. They delight in doing that!
Elisha says
Great Tips and Ideas when bringing a new baby in!
Casey says
The books always worked well for us too! Good news is that after the first one there is little adjusting to do for additional toddlers when siblings arrive. You still have the same fears though! Love your blog. I’m here from the Mommy Moments Linkup. :-)
Bonnie Way says
I love these ideas! We also read books to our girls and had them practice with their baby dolls. It was easier to explain to my second daughter, because she was 34 months when her little sister was born, while my first daughter was 27 months when I had my second. The age does help as they can understand more! And our girls went for a sleepover while I had the baby too, and they LOVED it – they went to a friend of mine whom they see regularly. :)
Annie says
Great advice! Our boy will be here soon and my daughter will be 22 months so she has no clue what’s going on!
Kelly says
We are 8 weeks from my due date and I have an almost 3yr old boy struggling with this whole thing. Thanks so much for the tips!
jamie says
I started crying when it got to the part about your son pushing the dogs paw to hear your voice.
My two year old is gonna be a big brother to a sister and he already does not like the idea of me being pregnant but he recently just told my husband and I that he liked a new name so since he had a big reaction to the name I am deciding to name the baby it. Your article helped me so much and helped me think of ideas before our little miss is born in September. I hope to have a good reaction from him.
God bless you and the family <3
A Little R & R says
These are great ideas! My little man (now big man) was 21 months as well when I had baby #2. It was not exactly an easy transition. Son #1 loves interaction and attention, so he felt somewhat displaced. But he got over it rather quick and now they are really great friends. I love hearing them play together in their room!
Brittany says
All such great ideas! My husband and I are thinking of trying for #2 and these tips would be great for our now two-year-old. Thanks for sharing such wonderful and sweet ideas!
Amber says
Thanks for the great tips! My son just turned 2 in April and we are expecting our second in September. I love the Build a Bear idea. I’ll have to check around here and see if we have one that we can visit!
Melanie says
I love the build a bear idea ;) I’m going to go this weekend probably. I have been so worried about her staying the night without mama for the first time.
Catherine Fuller says
This is all great advice and we have found the “special box” is good for more than one transition. Our brain loves to put things in boxes and take them out, lol. Great post!
Elizabeth {Real Inspired} says
Paula, thanks you so much for this post! I’m 17 weeks along with our second and our first is only 19 months right now. I have been wondering how to explain a new baby to him, or if he was too young to even understand. Thanks for sharing your tips! I’ll definitely be looking into some books!
Erin @ The Grass Skirt says
I absolutely love this post! I am going to bookmark because I have a feeling that I will be needing it soon. ;)
Found you through the Ladies Only Link Party!
Cindy Eikenberg says
Paula, thanks for sharing these great (and helpful!) tips and joining us at Best of the Weekend! Pinning to our party board! Hope you are having happy week and see you on Friday night!
Kathy Penney @ Sparkles And A Stove says
This is such a helpful post! It really is an adjustment for them. It wasn’t too long ago we added our little girl and we did several on your list to prepare our toddler boy. Thanks for sharing at All Things Pretty!
Cathy says
Thank you for sharing at our TGIF Link Party at A Peek Into My Paradise. I hope you will be back to link up another awesome post this week!
Cathy @ http://apeekintomyparadise.blogspot.com/
Betsy @ BPhotoArt.com says
Thanks for sharing. I may use some of these ideas for my toddler to help him adjust. :)
Julie says
What a lot of sensible, practical advice. My daughter was 19 months when her brother was born then he was 21 months when I had our youngest. There was no build a bear then (they are all teenagers now) but we did most of the other things you talk about. Lots of talking about what it was going to be like, what would be different, what would be the same. It went ok, they never actually injured each other!
Once the baby arrived I also made sure they were allowed to hold them (supervised, on the sofa with lots of cushions) pretty much whenever they wanted. That really helped the older one feel it was “their” baby, even if it wasn’t always that convenient for me. I expect you’ve covered that in your “when baby arrives” post!
They can argue a bit now generally they get on pretty well. Our daughter is away at Uni now and the boys are surprised how much they miss her which is kind of sweet.
Jacoline says
I’m going to bookmark this article for when I’m expecting baby number two! Thank you for the great advice :-)
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Julie says
Great advice. Another great book for the older sibling (aged 3-10) is ‘Making Me: The Pregnancy Activity Book for My Big Brother or Sister” – it involves the sibling every day of the pregnancy with a special activity or thought. https://www.amazon.com/Making-Me-Pregnancy-Activity-Brother/dp/0967142849/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1522863779&sr=8-1&keywords=making+me+pregnancy