Ready to welcome the second baby in your family? You prepared everything to get the second baby home. Great! Is it enough? No.
Your elder child’s reaction to welcome of a new brother or sister in the family will greatly depend upon his personality and temperament.
The elder might be over joyous about the fact or can be indifferent too. It can be a tough time for him/her to adjust with the new member. That too a little one. Indeed, all attention goes to the new member for a brief period.
Reassure on love
This is where parents must take the lead and make he/she understand that the arrival of a new member does not mean that his/her position will get replaced. Rather will be loved in the same way as before. This will prevent your elder child from getting jealous about the newborn. It also induces a feeling of care and love for the new member, be it a girl or boy.
Talk to your elder about the pregnancy
You should talk about your pregnancy to your elder kid from much before depending on his maturity level. This surely gets him keenly interested in knowing more about the new baby.
You can also show him pictures of small babies; ask him to think of some baby names; taking him with you to the gynecologist so that he understands that a small member will be joining him soon.
You can even take him to sibling birth classes that are offered by several hospitals to make the would-be brother and sister get oriented with the fact of the arrival of a new one in the family.
The child should also be allowed to visit the hospital once the baby is born.
Prepare your home
Bringing your new baby home will be a little different this time. During the first child birth, you were more concerned about taking care of the baby. Now your major concern is how to meet the needs of both of them.
In case your elder one needs to give his room to the new one, you should do so from before, even before the baby is born so that he can get time to adjust with the situation. Anything done suddenly can affect him emotionally.
Involve the elder in the baby activities
You can also involve him as much as possible in daily activities so that the kid does not feel left out. Give him more chances of interacting with the new baby by allowing him to take care of the new member in a positive way.
However, it depends on the age of the elder one wherein they can involve themselves by pushing the carriage, making a diaper change or help in dressing up the baby.
Balance and spend time together
You should also balance the time between your elder kid and the newborn. Try to spend as much time as possible when the smaller one is sleeping.
Talk to the elder and understand the perception
Try to know what your elder kid feels about the arrival of the new baby. When you are involved with the smaller kid, let your partner be with the elder one so that it does not bring in a sense of anger or resentment towards his younger brother or sister.
These are the various methods, if adopted, can make the transition easier for you. You should make your child understand that everything will be just like before and also any bad behavior from him must be taken care of in a firm but fair way.
