4 Yr. Old Becoming a Big Brother

I don't know of a specific gift, but maybe you could have the older one choose something to give the baby- a rattle or teether or something? Also- I would pick out something for the baby to give his big brother- something he likes, like a truck, or some other small toy? Hope that helps!

My son is very into Playmobil horse toys, so for his brother's birth, we told him that since his baby brother was getting so many presents, we wanted him to have one too, and we got him the stable. It was a BIG present for him (60$) but it wound up being well worth it--he played with it virtually non-stop and it allowed us a day or two to adjust to live with baby and he had something fun to do instead of just feeling neglected.

AS silly as it prob sounds I bought my son a baby when his brother was born. He changed his baby when I changed brother, gave bottle when I gave bottle.....ect seemed to really work.

We also had a boy with another boy on the way. Our 3 year old was really into Thomas the Tank Engine so we bought him the engines for his wooden train set, Donald and Douglas, who are brothers. We thought it had nice symbolism. The older brother also recieved a "Big Brother" t-shirt and a couple of big brother books. Congratulations!

My son was four when my daughter was born. We bought him several small gifts to open at the hospital and play with. These included books to read, a book of simple art projects and supplies to make them, coloring/activity books, and some Hot Wheels cars. These things were inexpensive, but he was entertained during the long hours at the hospital. Also, we gave him a t-shirt saying "I'm the big brother".

After my daughter was born, I took my son once a month to do something special - just the two of us. Sometimes we would go out for lunch and other times we spent an hour at the park. Again, we didn't spend much money, but the quality time was priceless for both of us.

Good luck to you and congratulations! It's a pretty big transition for the older sibling.

J.

When we were expecting our daughter my son was 3, my husband took him shopping to buy a present for his sister. We had brought him a new book, toy and suckers to keep him busy at the hospital. I was suprised at how many friends and family who came to visit, also brought something for my son. I have given gifts to big siblings like the book Little Sisters Are/Little Brothers Are, and Usborne First Experience book the New Baby is also a great book. Usborne also has a magnetic book that keeps kids busy and excited for lots of hands on fun. I am giving this one to a little girl who is expecting a new baby this month.

When my son was born we gave my daughter a "Big Sister" Tee shirt. She got this the first time she visited in the hospital. She thought that was the coolest thing so she showed it to everyone, the nurses, doctors, ect. She told everyone "yep I'm the big sister". Hope this helps.

When our two and a half year old boy became a big brother, we bought him a dump truck and actually brought it to the hospital (we had it in the van ahead of time) and told him that his baby sister brought it for him. He really liked it and I think it may have set the stage for a positive experience with getting a sibling. Your four year old will be a great age to help with the baby, (age appropriate of course), like bringing you a diaper for the baby, and learning how to entertain with baby toys, etc. Good luck but don't worry if he is less than thrilled with getting a sibling, it will pass.

I was you two years ago! I think any gift you get him would be great. I also wanted to share with you what I did/ do with my boys. After the little one was born I took the 4 year old on special "dates" with Mommy once a month. It was only us and he could pick what to do, this continued to make him feel special and our transition was easy. The age span between the boys will be awesome. Only one in diapers and the older one can be very helpful, getting bottles grabbing stuff while you are nursing, etc. And now that mine are 2 and almost 6 they play together wonderfully. Good luck, two little boys are such a treat!

I didn't really get my daughter anything when her baby sister was born, she was 6 weeks early and things got crazy but I will say everyone who brought the baby something brought her something it was really neat how noone would let her feel left out. She got a sweatshirt that had embroiderd BIG SISTER and little stuff from nearly everyone. We let her help us pick out the baby stuff through out the pregnancy so she'd feel included.

When my second was born *he* (not the parents) gave the gift to his older brother. The elder child still notes that fact. We went bigger with two trucks that the older child wanted -- a cement mixer and a tow truck. He would have been fine with one, frankly. Each was about $40 on amazon (by Bruder). I think the important part that it be from the new child and big big enough to make an impact (ie not a happy meal toy). It worked really well for us and for our friends who suggested it.

A.,

There's a good book called "I'm a Big Brother" by Joanna Cole and Maxie Chambliss. There's a sister version, too. We have both and our kids really liked these. We also have a small present waiting for older siblings when they come to meet the new baby at the hospital. It's usually something like a new action figure or toy car that will occupy their time while mom is preoccupied with baby and will help them not feel so left out when baby gets all these new presents.

Congrats,
S.

My son was 2 1/2 when my daughter was born, and transitioned to the big boy bed, and his own room. We completely redecorated it in a sports theme. We painted the walls, put all of his toys and books in there, and he got a new bed with Sports sheets and comforter. It was 'his space', and he loved it! I don't know what kind of space you have, or if you want to do something that big, but it would be good for him to have something that's just his. So much attention (and so many gifts!)will be given to the new baby when he comes, and that might be a hard adjustment.
Good luck with everything! My little girl is a July baby!

My son was 4 when my daughter was born. We bought him a shirt that said Im the big Brother. We also had him pick out a gift for the baby and had a gift for him from the baby (I dont remember what, but it was something he had wanted)
Congratulations!!!

We gave my son his own baby book to fill out with the baby's developement. It is called "MY new baby and me"

I would recommend something that makes your son feel like he is participating in the care of your newborn. When my son was born, our 3 year old daughter picked out a present to give him and baby brother gave her a new doll. The doll came with its own bath tub, hooded towel, bathrobe and bath supplies. Then, every time we gave our son a bath, our daughter would give her baby a bath too. It really helped her to feel involved and helped to ease some of that new sibling jealousy.

When our youngest was born she had wrapped gifts for her big brother and sister at the hospital for them to open. There were big sibling books, a wooden toy for them to play with when visiting at the hospital, but the best gift were these amazing Pluto sibling shirts (the same one Violet Affleck was wearing when she met her little sister when Jennifer Garner had her second). You can find more on them here: http://uggamugga.blogspot.com/2008/05/pluto-sibling-shirt.... My kids get compliments on them every time they wear them! I've yet to find a cuter sibling shirt!!!

When our second was born, we picked out a toy (My Little Pony) for her as a gift FROM the new baby. We wrote out a card "from" the baby saying how glad she was to have her big sister and that mommy and daddy told her she (big sister) liked My Little Pony. The older one thought it was so cool that her baby sister got her a present. It was a big hit when she came to visit us in the hospital. Good Luck and Congrats!

Just before my daughter was born, we took our son to 'big sibling' classes that the local hospital offered. We had to get him his own baby doll, which he took to class and they taught him how to help care for the new baby, how to hold them, etc. When she was born, he would sit or stand next to me and take care of his baby while I took care of sister and it worked great! Also, the big brother t-shirt, a few toy cars and other (less expensive) toys that he enjoyed playing with in case someone forgot to bring him a gift when visiting his sister. When they visited, he was happy to show off his baby and how well he could take care of it too! Once the baby is born, be sure to spend quality one on one time with him doing things such as playing with him, going on walks, or reading stories to him, any of which can be done while baby is sleeping. For walks it's best for dad to watch baby so he can get one on one time with the new one, and be sure to have dad spend one on one time with big brother too!