Preparing for Baby to Come Home
Welcoming Home a New Katy Cutie
Our toddler son has been hearing all about his triplet brothers in the NICU ever since their birth nine very long weeks ago. Now that one is ready to come home in a few days, the rush to get every single last-minute thing done has swung into full-gear.
Every parent who has brought home a sibling knows that Child Number One experiences a wide range of emotions. Although our situation is a bit different than most families’, here are a few things we did to better prepare our son. In the weeks ahead, I’m sure I’ll know if they made a big difference or not.
First, we did our best to include Son Number One (SNO) in some decions regarding his brothers. My husband and I let him make the final decision on the color of paint for the boys’ room. Of course, we had already chosen three finalists from which he could choose. SNO also helped pick out special soother friends for each brother and helped load up the shopping cart at Babies ‘R’ Us–because he is such a good big brother.
Which leads to encouraging your older child to look for ways to help. Can he share toys, help Mom and Dad stock the changing table (although the stack of diapers won’t be as neat as if you diud it?), or be the last one in his carseat so that he can make sure the baby is safely buckled in by you?
Last for now is that everyone needs to remember SNO is an individual. He still needs his toddler routine–so we can’t put him to bed when the babv goes. Is there a parent or relative who can take SNO out on special “Big Sibling” trips to the mall carousel, library, or bike ride? How can we make sure he still knows he has a special role in our family?
These are some of my suggestions, but I know you can help me with more. How did you prepare your own SNOs for their little siblings?
