siblings having a hard time?

[the elyse]

i REALLY want to have some alone time with my 3 yo, but ... i can't! it makes me so sad, and she's getting everyone's attention but mine. i told her "i love you" yesterday as she was leaving to go to my mom's, she didn't respond so i repeated myself and she said "i heard you."

[NamastePlatypus]

he is doing better than me. he has been great with daddy but I feel so guilty, plus he has been sick on top of it.

[flapjack]

Here

[True Blue]

You know, at the sibling birth class we took the kids to we had a talk about this, while the kids watched a video. It's actually not as bad as you think. She explained how when the new baby comes, it's a time for the older siblings to bond more with Dad, etc while mom and new baby bond and get used to each other. After a few weeks/monts, the circle completes itself as mom is back to normal and the older kids come back to her and the baby starts bonding more with Dad. In the end, it all helps the WHOLE family bond well with each other and makes everyone's relationships stronger. It was actually quite beautiful when she explained it.

[flapjack]

Yeah, but what happens when dad isn't available either?

[Nikki Christina]

no, we are not having any trouble here

I dont understand what you mean by shes not getting your attention?

even with a newbie around i think its easy to make time for older kids...
we are stuck inside a bit more ..but thats ok

its easy to sit & paint at the table with a toddler/older kid & hold & nurse a newborn

its easy to make playdoh creations on the floor/table also

we build castles & houses & tracks on the floor with a newborn in arms on laying beside us

we do tea parties

we sit & read 1 book together each afternoon.

we drag out the dress up box & they dress up & dance around & act stuff out for me & the baby

what time does dad get home from work? im lucky that dh is home by 3:30 & since its sc.. most days its nice weather. I can hand the baby off for 30 minutes & head outside with the older ones

also. the youngest loves baths with me. we have a big tub & tons of bath toys. I hand dh the baby & we play in the tub for a bit.
the baby also likes the sound of the running water.so weve taken a few baths with her sitting in the bathroom in her bouncy

last night we all watched tarzan together..we had popcorn. we snuggled on couches

[guestmama9972]

i feel sad about the loss of time with my older girls as well. I agree that there are things you can do with the big kids while holding/wearing baby, but I find that it is hard for me to give my undivided attention to my older ones when the baby is there. Plus the sheer fatigue that accompanies having a newborn and the hormonal shifts sometimes make things seem worse than they would seem otherwise. I think things will get better as we all adjust to each other, but it is ok to mourn the loss of the exclusive relationship you had with the other children before baby arrived.