Seeking New Baby Books for a Sibling

God Gave Us You

God Gave Us Two

Lisa Tawn Bregren

Take advantage of your local library, it's a resource I found reliable and hey - we pay for it with our tax dollars - why spend money on books that are read, put on the shelf and then forgotten? The libraries also have wonderful "reading circles" for children.
Engage your oldest with the care of the newborn. There is naturally "sibling jealousy"; but having her get the diaper, wipes, change of clothing, get you a cup of water while nursing, so many things for her to do with you, as well as the precious photos you will stage for her holding her new baby brother...these and other ideas you come up with will lessen the stress of a new addition.
Blessings, and best wishes for a quick birth and healthy newborn, S.

Hi M.,

I'm going to offer my honest opinion here. Save your money on books. Your daughter is 19 months old? There isn't a book that will better explain to a 19 month child any better than you are already doing. The best thing you can do is to keep explaining to your daughter that a baby is inside of your tummy and encourage her to touch your tummy, especially when the baby is moving. There is no way to fully prepare your daughter for what life will be like when the baby gets here. Jealousy issues will not surface right away, so be prepared to never allow your daughter to be alone with the baby EVER. When I had my second daughter, my first daughter was 2 1/2 years old. I left my husband to care for our daughters for maybe 30 minutes tops. He put the baby in her playpen so he could use the bathroom and he left both girls alone for the time it took for him to pee. When he came out, he discovered that our first born attacked the baby by biting her arm. Yes, she drew blood and left deep bite marks. Needless to say, I was upset with my husband for not taking the baby with him into the bathroom with him. How could I be angry with my daughter? She was just a baby herself. Parents underestimate what a child of any age is capable of doing. Jealousy will show in many forms, ranging from physical attacks on the baby to not so obvious forms like whining, tantrums, wanting to be the center of YOUR attention anytime your attention is not on the first child. This is what I did when I went to the hospital to have my second child: I bought a special gift, wrapped it and told my first born it was from the baby. It was a soft stuffed animal of a baby seal, which my daughter had seen in a store and she wanted it very badly. She was very excited and happy when she unwrapped her gift from the baby and she wondered how her new baby sister knew she wanted THAT toy. I told her that her new sister loves her very much and knew that the toy would make her happy. It's important to show your first born lots of love and whenever you can, allow your first born to help take care of the new baby...things like helping to burp the baby, or getting a book to read to the baby. The idea is to make her feel that whatever she is doing is important so she doesn't feel left out. That is not to say she will never feel left out, because she will but you can help the situation by understanding that your daughter is a baby herself still and she doesn't understand the feelings she feels towards her new baby brother. Love, kisses, cuddles, but never ever leave the two alone together. Even older children can be jealous and hurt a baby. It's not worth the risk so take your baby everywhere you go, even to the bathroom. Many blessings to you.

Hi there! "Look Who's Going to be a Big Sister", by Renee Raab Whitcombe, is a great book--its more like a photo album/scrapbook that your daughter will keep forever. It is something you do with her and it prepares her for the change, and has places in the back to fill out after the baby comes where you can put pictures of her with the new baby etc.
I sell it at my shop in Gainesville, Miracles Maternity Boutique, and its been a huge seller for several years.

We love 'Julius, the Baby of the World' because it shows all of the emotions that the older sister may be feeling.

It was just $7 from Amazon in hardcover: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0688143881?ie=UTF8&t...

Great site about questions you can ask, too:
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=25

My sister used the phrase 'OUR baby' with my niece to let her know that she wasn't being replaced by the new sibling. That seemed to work for her. My nephew is 17 months younger...

Best of luck, and congratulations!

We read the Berenstein Bears one about Mama having a new baby. Can't recall the exact name, but it was pretty good. Reads just like any other Berenstein Bears story does. My son came first (opposite of your two) and was a little bit older, but we also let him watch Franklin and the Green Knight. It's a 90 minute movie of the Canadian TV show "Franklin" (animated turtle and other woodland characters) where Franklin goes on a quest b/c he isn't happy about all that is going on with his mother's pregnancy... It is WONDERFUL. Our kids are very close. When we came home from the hospital, he pulled a carnation from one of the bouquets and "gave" it to his little sister when we came in the door....
Just be positive, and be sure that you don't tell her she "can't" something "because of the baby"... Find ANY other way to word things and they should be fine!
Congrats on the new addition..

Try to watch your daughter with a play baby. I think that gives clues into how much she will be with the new baby. You might want to read some books on how to keep jealousy at bay - if you haven't already. That happens alot with new members of the family since they are needing more of your attention. Luckily, my son was not. I just made sure that I did the things that he wanted to do like the park or paint. Maybe it's partly personality maybe he didn't feel jealous. Either way, it can happen and that's something you need to prepare for.

Good luck!

Did someone really advise you to save your money on books?? Books are always money well spent! Good luck!

M.,

It has been so long now, but I went to Barnes and Noble and Borders and went to the kids section of the store. I unfortunately do not remember the names of the books, however they have several there. I found them very helpful. Barnes and Noble had a wider variety and selection to choose from. We purchased books on where the baby came from, what it means to be a big brother and things of that nature. And they of course have them for little girls as well. He was a little older than your daughter and it really helped him to understand that there was a new baby coming and he enjoyed listening to me read about how he was going to be a big brother and what it meant because in the book it explained it in kid terms, not adult terms. Sorry I can't remember the names of the books, I have packed them away in memory boxes. As I said go to the kid section, they have an area just for that and you will be able to find the right one and take your daughter with you.

Good luck and congrats.

S.
36 y/o SAHM of 3 boys
14, 6 and 4

"I'm a Big Brother" by Ronnie Randall and Kristina Stephenson. I have 4 children but they were all spaced 5 or more years apart EXCEPT the last 2, they are 2 yrs 1 day apart!! I was very concerned about my then almost 2 yr old (he is now almost 4 and his lil sis is almost 2) This book is great cause is goes through the fact they cant play with the baby when tiny cause all the baby seem to wanna do is eat and sleep, and how the older sibling cant wait for baby to hurry up and grow and how before they know it baby is ready to play. Also I got my son a small baby doll, that we would love and kiss and I would say this is what sissy will look like when she comes. He was never allowed to carry the baby doll or be mean in any way.. He could kiss it, play peeka boo, help when we pretended to feed it and change diapers. I would lay it in my daughters bounce seat. It helped him adjust to how he needed to interact with her, in a safe enviroment. And from the second she was born, he adored her. She said Bubba before Mommy!! They are amazingly close and I love to watch them together. I have always kept him involved, letting him get diapers, wipes, help give bottles, pick out her outfits sometimes, he is a wonderful helper and to see the delight on his face when she throws her little arms around him makes my heart sing with joy!! If you handle the transition with love and patience, she will be great with her little brother. You are laying the groundwork for a life long unbreakable bond!

One more thing, my older 2 adore thier sister too, I tried hard not to leave them out in any way, because although they were 8 and 15 at the time there were still potential jealousy issues. I never treated them like thier intent was to hurt the baby, I just gently showed them a softer way to hold her, reminded them to wash up before playing with her, ect! I wish you many blessings as you embark on this exciting and rewarding adventure!

"baby on the way" by dr. sears and "the new baby" by fred rogers have both been good conversation starters with my 20 month old who is about to be a big brother. we don't actually read the words, just talk about all the pictures and what's going on in the families (esp like these ones as they show older siblings having a role).
good luck-;)H.(: