5 Ways to Prepare Your Toddler for the Arrival of a New Baby

by Jane on June 25th, 2014 | No Comments »

In 12 weeks, our cute little family of three will become a family of four. As the proud aunt to six adorable nieces and nephews (and a quasi-aunt to countless friends' kids), I've witnessed the addition of a new baby to a family many, many times, and have come up with these five ways to prepare my own little girl for the arrival of her baby brother.

Pictured: My little girl, at 5 days old.

5 Ways to Prepare Your Toddler for the Arrival of a New Baby

Talk excitedly and regularly about the upcoming arrival of the baby. We involve my daughter in our conversations about the baby, talk excitedly about what a good big sister she will be and always mention how fun and nice it will be to have a baby brother in our home.
Read books about babies and siblings. We love reading in our house, and as a gift to my daughter, we got her a few new books about babies, baby brothers and being a big sister. We work these board books into our regular reading rotations. This fits in perfectly to #1 above, talking about the arrival of the baby. Three books I love are Everywhere Babies, I'm a Big Sister and You're Getting A Baby Brother.
Involve your toddler in baby-related purchases. When we're out shopping and buy some new clothes for the baby, I always point out to my daughter something along the lines of, "This is for your baby brother!" and sometimes, hold up two (similar) options and ask her to choose which one she likes best for her baby brother. I go with the option she selects and make a point to tell her a few times, "What a nice X (shirt, onesie, blanket, etc.) you picked out for your baby brother! He will love it!"
Show pictures of the toddler as a newborn baby. Focus on babies, how fun they are, special to have in our house and share pictures of your toddler as a newborn baby. This could include pictures of your toddler being held by Mom and Dad, growing bigger, playing, etc.
Give your toddler a "big sister" (or brother) gift. Many of my friends have done this once the baby arrives, and they've presented it so that the big sister gift is actually coming from the new baby. How fun to have the new baby give big brother/sister a gift, to hopefully ward off some of the jealousy and encourage sibling bonding.

What tips do you have for preparing your toddler for the arrival of a new baby? I'd love to hear them!

Jane is part of the blogging duo at xo, lauren and jane, where she writes about fashion, beauty, DIY, kids, home and everything in between. She's a California native who traded in her flip flops for snow boots when she moved to Utah in 2006. Jane, her husband and daughter live in Salt Lake City and are excited to welcome baby #2 this fall.