Siblings

Ah.. my daughter was around that age too. I made it all about her. Haha. Rather than saying a baby was coming, I told her she was going to be a big sister. Told her that she was going to be the best elder sister.. and we explored all the things she could do with the little one, as well as the special entitlements she would have as the older child (to make it more fun for her). I always showed her pictures of the ultrasound scans, and my husband and I decided on the name early this time, and told my daughter the baby’s name. So from then on, she called the unborn baby by name, would sing to baby, rub my tummy. I let her ask me all the questions, told her what she could do to help once baby’s out.. we also decided on a gift to give to baby, and I let her plan a birthday card message for her sister (I held her hand as we wrote it together). Oh, I let her be the one to tell my parents and family about the baby (refer to picture). She wanted to put the picture into an ang pow, and then gave it to my parents, saying, “There’s a baby in Mama’s tummy. I’m going to be a big sister! The bestest one!” 😂 She was sooo excited. Importantly, during the pregnancy, although there were some physical limitations in my interactions with her, I made it a point to show her that she wasn’t being neglected because a baby was coming. She got lots of hugs.. I worked through her meltdowns with her.. we shared lots of laughs and had fun together. Today, my younger one’s almost 7 months.. and I believe in sef-fulfilling prophecies, because my elder daughter is a really amazing elder sister, and so full of love (and protective too) towards the younger sister. Hope all goes well with you, and congratulations!