Some Things Don't Make Any Sense at All
by Judith Viorst
My mom says I'm her sugarplum.
My mom says I'm her lamb.
My mom says I'm completely perfect
Just the way I am.
My mom says I'm a super-special wonderful terrific little guy.
My mom just had another baby.
Why?
by Judith Viorst
My mom says I'm her sugarplum.
My mom says I'm her lamb.
My mom says I'm completely perfect
Just the way I am.
My mom says I'm a super-special wonderful terrific little guy.
My mom just had another baby.
Why?
My son is two. He's walking (okay, running), talking, debating, and growing bigger every day. But I still call him my baby. If you ask, "Seth, where's the baby?", he'll point at his own face and grin. I love it.
So how do I tell my baby that he's not going to be the baby for much longer? That since he was born it's been Seth, Mommy & Daddy, but now it will be Seth, Mommy, Daddy, and little baby who takes all our time and attention? It's going to be a real shock. And it breaks my heart.
Yes, I am excited for our new little one. Yes, I think Seth will be an awesome big brother once he realizes that the baby isn't leaving. But this is my son who cries and clings to my leg if I hold anyone else's baby. He loves babies, until I pick them up. Then you should see the look of betrayal in his eyes...
So how do I tell my baby that he's not going to be the baby for much longer? That since he was born it's been Seth, Mommy & Daddy, but now it will be Seth, Mommy, Daddy, and little baby who takes all our time and attention? It's going to be a real shock. And it breaks my heart.
Yes, I am excited for our new little one. Yes, I think Seth will be an awesome big brother once he realizes that the baby isn't leaving. But this is my son who cries and clings to my leg if I hold anyone else's baby. He loves babies, until I pick them up. Then you should see the look of betrayal in his eyes...
How do I tell my baby about my baby?
4 comments:
You LOVED being a 'big girl' and a 'big sister' until I tried to put Kenna into YOUR baby swing or YOUR crib :) Just slowly transition into Seth being a 'big boy' now - after all you have started potty training. "Mommy's growing a baby in her tummy" was always an exciting announcement. Remember the "big sister" presents from the new baby - not sure that was too successful, but maybe new baby can bribe Seth with a few hot wheels...
I remember having a lot of those feelings when I found out I was pregnant with Nathan. I had so so much guilt. It will be hard initially when the baby is born, and it'll be hard on Seth, but I guarantee that he will love this new baby, and he'll be so happy to have a little playmate.
I don't know if any of my tactics worked, but I did do a couple of things. Charlie was slightly traumatized by Felicity coming home, but he was back to normal within a month, so I have to say it felt mostly successful. There wasn't NO reaction, but it just wasn't too bad.
Things I did:
- books about being a big brother.
- baby doll for him to hold and play with (he doesn't use it that often, but he does occasionally.)
- showing him babies around town when we were out, and having friends with babies over to visit.
Again, he didn't have zero reaction; the first two weeks were quite hard, but he did normalize by 4ish weeks. By 2 months I think I could honestly say he loved his sister. I don't think there is anything you can do to stop the "trauma" all together, but I just tried to minimize it.
PS, I did the present from the baby thing too, but I don't know if he really noticed. But there is no harm in it.
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