We are currently playing the waiting game over here, expecting our second child literally any time now. Our first child was born at 34 weeks so I never experienced the last month.  I’m to the point where I encourage my daughter Nola roll her trains on my stomach…the itching!! The struggle’s are real. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very thankful this baby is cooking as long as possible and staying healthy, but this last month is no joke. All moms in their last month deserve pampering for sure!
As we prepare for this little bundle to join our family I wanted to share with you things we have done, are avoiding and plan on doing to try to help this BIG transition go as smoothly as possible with our toddler.
- Reading books that talk about being a big sister. We especially like this book, I’m a New Big Sister, that was given to us from our dear friends.
- Having Nola help get things ready for the baby. Nola loves helping with chores. While we get things cleaned and ready for the baby we try to have fun and talk about how great it is to have a new baby in the house. Getting out the carseat and prepping the crib with bedding I had Nola ‘help’ as much as possible and just explain ‘this is where the baby will sleep and ride in the car when it gets here.’
- Communicate and be enthusiastic about our plan when Mommy has to go to the hospital! It’s kind of amazing how much a 2.5 year old can understand and remember. We are always excited when we explain to her that she will be staying overnight at Papa and Grandma’s house when mama has to go to the hospital. Now, she literally jumps up and down and can’t wait. Of course we will see how she does when the time comes, but we want to try and communicate as much as we can for what a little 2 year old can retain.
- We are NOT going to potty train until a couple months after the baby is born. Recently Nola had a doctor’s appointment and we discussed potty training. Our doctor strongly encouraged us to wait until a couple of months after the baby is born because most likely she will regress. I’ve heard that before and we are on board with that idea, especially since she doesn’t seem very interested in it in the first place.
- Creating a detailed list for whoever plans on watching your child while you are at the hospital. As mentioned earlier my parents are watching Nola when we go to the hospital and I typed up a list that included Nola’s schedule, food suggestions for snack and meals, allergies, etc. My mom pretty much knows all this already, but just in case…
- When the toddler comes to meet baby for the first time at the hospital be ready to welcome and hold your toddler with open arms and have the baby in it’s small hospital bed. That way you can pour loving onto your toddler and introduce the baby to her so she doesn’t feel jealous right away.
- Getting a gift from the baby to give to the older sibling. It’s definitely not necessary, but I think it’s a great gesture and something fun to do. We got Nola this digital camera. She loves mimicking what we are doing and since there will be a lot of picture taking going on we are hoping she will enjoy this.  We also picked up a small jewelry kit, plastic toy animals (to add to her collection) and snacks to keep her occupied at the hospital.
- After the baby is born plan some dates that are set aside with either just mama or dada. We also plan on taking her out for some special excursions shortly after the baby is born.
We are pretty realistic and know this transition will be really hard, but the excitement to add a new member to our family outweighs all of our anxiety and we can’t wait to meet this sweet baby! I think Nola will be a great big sister and the thought of introducing the baby to her is something I can’t wait to do! I’d love to hear what you all did to help prepare your older children to the new baby?!
