{"id":1238,"date":"2024-01-23T06:00:23","date_gmt":"2024-01-23T14:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/?p=1238"},"modified":"2024-11-22T13:55:56","modified_gmt":"2024-11-22T21:55:56","slug":"7-ways-to-help-siblings-warm-up-to-a-new-baby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/7-ways-to-help-siblings-warm-up-to-a-new-baby\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Ways to Help Siblings Warm Up to a New Baby"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Bringing home a sibling for your first child is an incredible gift. Most kids \u2013 about 80% \u2013 are raised with at least one brother or sister. Your kids will grow up together and have each other\u2019s support and connection for a lifetime!<span id=\"more-1238\"><\/span><\/p>\n<h3>How do you help your older child adjust to a new baby?<\/h3>\n<p>The older sibling doesn\u2019t always welcome the new addition with joy, do they? We\u2019ve all heard stories of kids who want their parents to send back the new baby!<\/p>\n<p>Here are some ideas to avoid having to return yours:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Share the general sense of excitement with the older sibling. Even though toddlers won\u2019t understand your pregnancy \u2013 or the long wait! \u2013 you can tell them when they start asking about your growing belly, clothes, or bassinet.<\/li>\n<li>Explain to the big sibling what will happen when the baby arrives. Tell them you\u2019ll go to the hospital to have the baby and stay a day or two. Tell them babies need your attention \u2013 they cry and need lots of feeding and diaper changes. Reassure your older child that none of that means you love them any less!<\/li>\n<li>Greet the older sibling with empty, open arms when they come to see you and give them a big hug! They\u2019ve missed you and need that reassurance. Then, the two of you can \u201clook for the new baby\u201d and find them nearby in someone else\u2019s arms. I\u2019ll never forget how much fun that was for my first child and his look of awe when he watched his baby sister lying in the hospital bassinet.<\/li>\n<li>Have the older sibling bring the baby a small gift they chose with you ahead of time. Socks, a hat, or a book work well! And \u2013 magically \u2013 the new baby may give their sibling a special treat too.<\/li>\n<li>Talk early and often about how lucky they are to have each other. The older sibling is indeed lucky to have a new baby and how wonderful that the new baby has a great brother or sister! This \u201cbrainwashes\u201d them from an early age to be on each other\u2019s team.<\/li>\n<li>Let the older child help care for the new baby. They can choose clothes and blankets, and bring you a diaper for a change. When the baby cries, it may upset and worry your older child. You can help by teaching them some of the reasons babies cry. Ask, \u201cWhy do you think they\u2019re crying? Are they hungry? Or wet?\u201d Your older child may benefit from having a baby doll to care for too.<\/li>\n<li>Try to spend some one-on-one time with the older child each day (even though you\u2019ll be tired). This also works to help an older sibling who\u2019s started to act out or regress in their development. It\u2019s common for the older sibling to start having trouble sleeping alone or toileting accidents. As hard as it may feel, spending extra time just with them to read, play, or go out for a little trip will often help.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And one last word \u2013 many parents worry that having a second child will change the way they feel about the first. Can they love another child? Will it somehow hurt their bond with number one? To this I urge you to believe there\u2019s room in your and your child\u2019s hearts for the new baby!<\/p>\n<h3>Resources for Parents:<\/h3>\n<p><strong>My Doctor Online:<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org\/ncal\/healthy-babies\/week\/0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Your Newborn<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org\/ncal\/mdo\/presentation\/common\/healthToolPage.jsp?path=healthtool_1263225.xml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Having Your Baby, What to Expect<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>KP Thriving Families<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/sibling-squabbles-turn-tussles-giggles\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sibling Squabbles? Turn the Tussles into Giggles<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>The American Academy of Pediatrics:<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthychildren.org\/English\/ages-stages\/prenatal\/Pages\/Preparing-Your-Family-for-a-New-Baby.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Preparing Your Family for a New Baby<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bringing home a sibling for your first child is an incredible gift. Most kids \u2013 about 80% \u2013 are raised with at least one brother or sister. Your kids will grow up together and have each other\u2019s support and connection for a lifetime!\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":1251,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,667],"tags":[259,602,634,688,258,193,192],"class_list":["post-1238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family-life","category-newborn-care","tag-having-a-second-baby","tag-newborn","tag-parenting-newborn","tag-prenatal","tag-second-baby","tag-sibling-rivalry","tag-siblings","ages-baby","ages-prenatal"],"metadata":{"_edit_lock":["1732312420:6"],"_edit_last":["6"],"slide_template":["default"],"video_format_choose":["youtube"],"_custom_body_class":[""],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["60"],"qode_animate-page-title":["no"],"qode_show-page-title-text":["no"],"qode_show-page-title-image":["no"],"qode_show-sidebar":["default"],"qode_hide-featured-image":["no"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["60"],"_thumbnail_id":["1251"],"wpfp_favorites":["388"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_ages":["287"],"_yoast_indexnow_last_ping":["1732312556"],"ase_chapter_enable_timeline":["off"],"_wpb_vc_js_status":["false"],"_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":["[]"],"_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":["[\"\"]"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["3"],"_yoast_wpseo_wordproof_timestamp":[""],"_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":["Are you bringing home a new baby? Here are 7 helpful tips to help your older child adjust to being a big sibling."],"ase_map_component_start_point":["a:2:{s:3:\"lat\";d:29.76;s:3:\"lng\";d:-95.38;}"],"ase_mapbox_style":["openstreet"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1238"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4801,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1238\/revisions\/4801"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}