Preparing Sisters For A New Baby

I’ve entered the third trimester, and really can’t believe how fast this pregnancy is going. In the past few weeks, Alex started sleeping in her “big girl bed” in Maggie’s room and stopped wearing diapers. Both girls seem to have grown a lot this summer, and now it’s time for them to get ready to be “big sisters” to a new little baby this fall. When Alex was born, and Maggie became a big sister for the first time, there wasn’t a lot I could do to prepare her. She was barely 18months the summer leading up to Alex’s arrival, and despite reading books and talking about a new baby, she really didn’t understand. It was an easy transition for her, and she didn’t notice her baby sister a whole lot until she started trying to grab her toys!

This time, both girls are very excited and aware that a new baby is joining our family. We’ve been talking about it a lot and they sure have a lot of questions! They both really want to “practice” taking care of babies and want to help get the baby’s room ready. Here are a few ways we are preparing Maggie and Alex for their new sibling:

1. New baby dolls: Maggie got a new baby doll when Alex was born and loved to carry it around while I carried Alex. This time the girls are very interested in how to put on diapers, give a bottle, dress a baby etc. We’ve been practicing a lot with dolls. More on that below.

2. Talk about names: Maggie and Alex constantly come up with name ideas for the new baby. I’ve actually started writing them down. They come up with boy and girl names that range from Taco to Elsa. It’s fun to talk to the older siblings about names, including how you came up with their names.

3. Go through their baby books: Awaiting the arrival of a new baby is a great time to pull out the older siblings baby books or photos. This has been one of Maggie and Alex’s favorite activities so far!

4. Tell baby stories: My girls are always asking “will the baby do” this, or that and questions about what the baby will eat, where they will sleep etc. It’s fun to tell them stories about what they liked to do when they were first born.

5. Draw Pictures: I always think a great way for kids to prepare for change and new things is being able to picture it ahead of time. Reading books is a great way to do this, but we also like drawing our own pictures. Maggie was asking what the new baby will look like, so I asked her to draw what she thought the new baby might look like. She had fun drawing things like our whole family with the baby, her pushing the baby in a stroller, etc.

I thought it would be special for each of my girls to get a new doll to practice taking care of. I was so excited when Nenuco sent us this adorable doll set Nenuco and Her Little Sister. The set comes with 2 dolls wearing matching outfits. My girls immediately said “look they are sisters”! You can find the set at Toys R Us and it includes both dolls for $26.99. The Nenuco brand hails from parent company Famosa, a Spanish toy company that has crafted high-quality dolls with engaging & unique features for the past 50 years. Be sure to follow along with Nunuco on Facebook for updates!

Another way we are preparing the girls for the new baby is reading lots of books about babies. Below are 10 great books for preparing siblings for a new baby. Some are more geared towards very little ones: I read them to Maggie was she was 18months and we were awaiting Alex’s arrival. Some are books we read now. Many of the “big sister” books on the list also come in a “big brother. version.