Search Results for: blog inviting siblings to share in the new baby

How Much Should Siblings Have to Share?

Sharing is one of those early life lessons and we parents seem to put a lot of value on our children learning to share. We worry that if we are raising an only child, he or she won’t learn the lessons of sharing and when an older sibling welcomes a new baby—we immediately start to worry about whether or not she will be able to share toys, time, attention, and love. In reality, however, how much sharing should be expected and when it comes to siblings, should they really be expected to share everything and anything? As many of you … Continue reading →

Closely Spaced Siblings? 10 Tips to Survive the First Few Months

I once heard someone say that having children closely spaced together was just like having twins. I have children spaced closely together–all of my kids are about two years apart. I have twins. I can assure you beyond a shadow of a doubt that the challenges are definitely not the same. That’s not to say though, that having children spaced closely together is easy. But once you make it past the first few months, it does get easier. Here are a few tips to make it past those early days! #1. Plan ahead and cook a little extra the six … Continue reading →

Family Home Evening: Welcoming a New Baby

One idea for a family home evening is to plan a special lesson when you are expecting a new baby. This is a great way to help your other children understand the changes that are going to take place. It is also a chance to celebrate the times that they came to be part of your family. You can vary this lesson according to your family’s needs and circumstances. If you have very young children you will want to keep it much simpler. You can open the lesson by reading part of “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” You … Continue reading →

Have a New Baby on the Way?

A year is a long time for a child whether they are 2, 4 or 6 years old. My daughter is always asking when we will give her a baby brother or a baby sister. When my sister-in-law was pregnant, my daughter would ask every day when would the baby get out of her tummy and we told her that the baby comes when the baby is ready. When you have an older child or children and you are expecting a new arrival, they cannot truly understand how a new baby will affect their lives. How can they? For most … Continue reading →

The Baby Blog Week in Review – Tally for the End of November

We’ve been a little crazed here in the Baby Blog and we’ve been short on articles and for that you have my apologies. We’ll be picking the slack back up this month, but in the meanwhile, I wanted to give you a rundown of the last few days to cover some of the articles that you may have missed. In What if I Don’t Get a Baby Shower? we offered some suggestions in how to hostess your own or let your family and friends participate in getting you what you need for your new baby if you don’t get a … Continue reading →

Inviting Siblings to Share in the New Baby

Welcoming a new baby to your home and looking for ways to ease the transition for your older children. A year ago, my sister-in-law gave birth to her youngest son and my older nephew had just turned six. It was important for all of us to make him feel very much a part of the birth of this new baby and to encourage him to bond with his new little brother. The desire to do this came from all the same reasons all families have – to make sure the older sibling does not feel neglected or excluded and at … Continue reading →

Brother and Sister

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When my husband and I decided to try for another baby part of our motivation was to give our son a sibling. He had (and has) a great temperament and loves “babies” (which is any child regardless of his or her age). We felt like our family was ready for another baby too. Even though I knew that our son would be a great big brother, I did have concerns about how they would get along. On his side of things, he has always had genuine love and concern for her well being from the moment he first held her … Continue reading →

Positive Sibling Relationships in Adoption

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My last blog discussed difficulties siblings may have when a new child is adopted into their home. This blog will focus on the positive things siblings may experience. My daughter arrived just before her first birthday. My son was almost three. He helped give his sister her first bottle at home. I believe he was actually the first person that she bonded with. She called him “ah-gee”, meaning baby, because the one other child in her foster home had been a younger baby. A great advantage I found to having another child in the home was that it normalized things … Continue reading →

Pregnancy Family Fun

Your tummy is expanding and your toddlers, along with the other kids already ruling the roost, are excited to meet the brand new addition to the family. Consider getting your kids involved early on in, and throughout, your forty-week journey into motherhood. Doing so will enhance your experience as you share your pregnancy with the kids already in your life. Start by showing them their own ultrasound images and reading to them from the pregnancy journal or baby book/album that you kept for them. Then, take your children along with you to an ultrasound (if you have several kids, maybe … Continue reading →