brothers-457234_1920

Preparing for a New Sibling

Preparing for the birth of your first child is eventful. You don’t know what it’s going to be like, there are so many things you need to plan for, and everyone has advice about how you can bet the best parent. And when preparing for the second child, while you have some of the basics figured out, it’s a whole new ballgame in terms of figuring out how to blend your new family and make sure that your first child is not lost. We asked our #RealityMoms what steps they took when preparing for the arrival of a new sibling.


We told our son he was going to have a little sister and involved him in picking everything from her name to her “lovie” – he gave it to her at the hospital when he was just two. We also tried to give him the words to let us know if he needed to be heard.  Joy ~ Evil Joy Speaks 

Back in the day, our local hospital actually had a one day course for the sibling, explaining the arrival of a new baby, practicing helping mom or dad change diapers. At the end, they received a package with various things, plus a big sister/brother t-shirt. Catherine ~ Always a Redhead

We let our oldest pick out a few things for the baby’s room and a few things for him (coloring books, Look’n’Find books, Legos, etc.) so he would have something new and fun to do while Mommy was feeding the baby. Dana ~ 39ishLife

We had him make his own shirt announcing he was going to be a big brother. Everyone who saw it congratulated him, and it made him feel like this was a big deal for him too. Heather ~ HM Jones Writer

Some of the things we did included reading books about becoming a sibling (love Peter’s Chair especially), talking about him when he was a baby, and involving him in picking out gear for the baby. Shannon ~ We’ll Eat You Up, We Love You So

Our babies always bring a gift to their older siblings upon their birth which created anticipation and made the older sibling feel special. I also involved the big kids in getting ready for the baby and focusing on the excitement of “our baby’s” arrival. Amy ~ Hiding in the Closet with Coffee

Share It!