Getting the toddler ready for the new baby

Prepping the toddler for the new arrival wasn’t something we did consciously but the steps we took seems to have helped make a smooth transition thus far. The Little Monkey was pretty much the centre of the house and she got a lot of attention and now that we were getting ready to introduce a new playmate we had to get her involved in the process as well. I had looked for cartoons depicting the arrival of a new baby but didn’t find one, Max and Ruby was one of her faves so I figured she got the concept of a sibling….someone should make a cartoon about a new baby though!!

I was quite huge during the pregnancy so obviously the Little Monkey would ask “‘what’s that?” which was the perfect segway for us to tell her that “mom has a baby in the belly”. We did this starting at about month 7 of the pregnancy for about two weeks and then gave the baby a name ‘”Malli Baba”. Malli means little brother in Sinhala and ofcourse baba is baby. This resonated with her and she’d be the happiest to point at my belly anytime anyone asked “where’s Malli Baba?”. She’d often snuggle up to the belly and give goodnight kisses to my growing belly over the next three months. For us the three months was the right amout of time, any longer and she may have had an issue with it. It gave her plenty of time to really grasp the concept and got her excited to have a new playmate.

We also started pointing things out and saying that this is for Malli Baba and she was absolutely fine in giving up her crib (in exchange for her Dora bed ofcourse!) and keeping certain bottles and toys aside for him. During the last couple of days before we headed to the hospital we told her he’ll be here soon “”yeaaaah… “” was her reply and asked if perhaps she could bring him the superman (find Baby Boy on Instagram to see what that’s about) to the hospital. Ofcourse she said yea and would have forgotten to do so which is why I took it with me and sent it to her while she was in the waiting room (patiently awaiting my c-section).

She was one of the first people to race down the hallway when she saw the hubs and I enter the recovery room and while she ignored him initially, as soon as Baby Boy was in my arms she raced up to check him out and give him the superman. She visited us often at the hospital, held him and we reminded her that she had to be gentle as he was very small.

We’ve been home for a week and a half and she’s been very good with him, rushing to greet him in the mornings and trying  her best to cuddle with him. Ofcourse at times she exerts pressure on him and we have to pretty much gently prod her off, but we’re trying our best to have her involved in the daily activities (which is a reason we haven’t packed her off to my moms for a bit, much to my mom’s dismay!). Her GrandDad did ask if we should return Malli Baba to the hospital and she told him NO! So that’s a good sign!

Everyone’s been asking us how she’s adjusting to the new arrival and I have got to admit that it is going well… so far. If anything goes askew in a couple weeks I’ll be sure to post an update! For now my advice to anyone expecting a second baby is to get your little one involved a few months prior to the arrival, slowly get them to understand that there’s someone new coming for them to play with and share their toys with. Have them come to the hospital and as scary as it is, let them touch the newborn and cuddle with them. Get that bonding session in place from the very first moment.

I always welcome any tips you may have as experienced parents – let me know if I should be on the look out for anything in the next couple of months! I know it can’t be hunkydory forever!