Preparing a 2.5 year old for sibling

[slgt]

DD will be about 2.5 when her sibling is born, and boy oh boy is this little girl the apple of her mama's & dada's eyes! Looking for advice on preparing her a much as we can.

My instinct is to just start talking about little babies in general, what they do, etc. Just trying to make her more aware of the difference between her (big girl!) and little babies.
And then to start telling her that a baby is growing inside of me, and that she'll have a sibling, when I'm maybe 6 months?

Your advice/experiences?

ps--I've already weaned her, just b/c I don't have the physical energy/calories to keeping nursing her and grow this baby while vomiting several times a day - I'm already losing weight! But she still talks about "c-c's" - nursing - frequently. If I'm topless, she tries to dive in. So advice on this front - new baby nursing - welcome as well!

[melodyka]

i copied this from a similar post in my ddc...

i don't have any experience with actually having the 2nd baby yet, but we have been talking about being a "big sister" for months now and my daughter is truly psyched! the other night, she talked to my belly and said " little sister when are you going to come out? I want to hug you and kiss you".

here are some things i am planning-

-we bought a gift from her baby sister for when they first meet- a kid's digital camera

-grandparents are also getting her a "big sister" gift- a personalized diaper bag & beco like carrier for her baby

-we have been doing roll playing with her doll house figurines- the mom, dad, big sister and baby

-we have been talking about how the baby will need to drink mommy's milk and she has a little boppy that she has been using to feed her baby doll

-we have a few friends that have recently had babies (and some of her friends have become big sisters or brothers) so that has been a great opening for conversations with her

-we are going to a "sibling prep" class at our birth center with her tomorrow & I keep telling her how we are all going to a special class for her and she will meet other kids who are about to become big sisters or big brothers (I will update with anything useful we learn there)

-we have been reading a book about being a big sister- I love this book because it focuses on all the great points of being older- all the stuff big kids can do that babies cannot do

-we made a book of photos of her throughout her babyhood so we can look through it together and say this was when you had your first bath, this is when you met the dogs, etc.

[jenfl]

We have a 2.5 year old DD and a DS due in March/April. DD figured out a little one was on the way very early by listening to DH and I -- around 6 weeks? I'm glad she figured it out so early because it's given her a lot of time to process. At first she didn't want a baby at all, then she wanted a sister but not a brother (too bad!), and now she's nothing but excited.

We've kept her very in the loop about the pregnancy. I don't think she's felt DS move yet (she's not patient enough to hang out and wait), but I let her know when he kicks her when she's on my lap. She "helps" at midwife appointments. She and DH talk to my belly. We have books about pregnancy. When I was really sick, she would rub my back as I puked and offer to bring me "fizzy water and crackers" (from a book).

We're doing a homebirth that she'd like to be around for. So we watch birth videos on YouTube and read more books. She hollers at my belly, "Sprout! You want a waterbirth!"

We talk a lot about what things will be like when Sprout is here. She helps with preparations for his arrival, like sorting clothes and cleaning his room. She knows he'll nurse and has seen pictures of her nursing. We point out babies that we see when we're out and about.

So I don't know how things will go once he's here, but so far she's doing well with the whole thing. I'd love to hear how things have gone with other families.

[tarasattva]

sglt - Just wanted to say hi - I'm in your DDC also and DD will also be 2.5 when this little one arrives. (Also noticed you're in New England - we're in NH).

I'll be watching here for advice as well.

As of right now DD is (maybe) vaguely aware that she is going to be a big sister, but we haven't started talking a lot about it (waiting until we got through the first tri - TODAY!!).

[Artichokie]

I saw this book at the book store the other day:
https://www.askdrsears.com/store/detail.asp?pid=7

If we have another LO we'll buy it for my DD for sure.

[jenfl]

Originally Posted by MoreThanApplesauce

I saw this book at the book store the other day:
https://www.askdrsears.com/store/detail.asp?pid=7

If we have another LO we'll buy it for my DD for sure.

We have this and really enjoy it. It focuses a lot more on the pregnancy than the birth or afterward, though. But it really helped DD understand why I was tired/sick/etc.

I think there's another one about actually having the baby around the house.

[Artichokie]

Originally Posted by jenfl

We have this and really enjoy it. It focuses a lot more on the pregnancy than the birth or afterward, though. But it really helped DD understand why I was tired/sick/etc.

I think there's another one about actually having the baby around the house.

This one! https://www.askdrsears.com/store/detail.asp?pid=6

[woodchick]

We didn't do too much prep work when we were expecting DD2. Maybe it was DD1's personality- she knew there would be a baby, but she didn't seem to care too much

One thing that I think eased the transition a bit was that DD1 got TONS of Papa time both leading up to and after the birth of DD2. It was a huge help to me to get a break from a VERY ACTIVE two year old and me a chance to babymoon with DD2.

As for nursing- did you see the Mothering Article called "Unweaning Georgia" (I think)? Have you given any thought to letting your little girl nurse again once the baby is here? I am still nursing DD1 (at 3.5) and I really think that tandom nursing (not both at the exact same time) smoothed out many molehills that could have become mountains.

[JBaxter]

Ds 1 & 2 were 35 months apart.

I talked alot about the baby, Left him feel the baby moving , talked to the baby, I got him a baby doll and we put diapers on it rocked it patted it etc. We left the doll in the baby bed etc. When the baby was born we had a nice gift from baby brother to big brother and he got to unwrap all the presents.

Also after the baby came home I kept a basket of small items wrapped and when he was feeling like his brothe was getting more attention I would hide a present ( I did small match box cars for him but any little thing wold work).. I would say... Whats under the chair. He would go look and get all suprised and say... ITS A PRESENT. It made him feel special being a big boy who could open a present while the baby was nursing.