I can't believe the time has come that we are putting together a big sister gift for Kenzie. Holy cow! We decided that when Will arrives we will leave her with a new shirt that she will open with Grandma and Grandaddy (who will be watching her while that whole delivery thing is taking place) that says she is a Big Sister! She already has one shirt but we wanted to get her something new from us to wear to the hospital when she comes to meet Will.
I have read a lot online about introducing children to their new sibling. I know, I know... reading about it online isn't the same as living it, but any advice I can get is very appreciated. I think what we have decided is to go with the focus on the older sibling, introduce new sibling, then focus on the older sibling again route. This means that when Grandma, Grandaddy and the new big sis arrive at the hospital we will have Will brought to the nursery for just a bit. It is already going to be a weird experience for Kenzie to be in the hospital with all the machines and me being in a weird room so we want to make it as "normal" as possible for her. We will spend some time with just her and then have the nurses bring Will back in to the room so she can meet him. After we all spend some family time together (and get some pictures of our family of 4... eek!) we will have the nurses bring Will back to the nursery for just a few minutes while I say bye to Kenzie. It will likely be weird since I won't be leaving with her and she is a fairly attached child with a routine. We want some of the time to be just about her. After Kenzie is gone, Will can be brought back in to the room. Now, all of this is dependent on me not freaking out about having him in the nursery without Daddy or me. What it might come down to is Daddy meeting her in the hallway to say hi and then him walking out with Will while I spend a bit of time with just her before bringing him back in or having him go with Will to the nursery for the few minutes that I spend alone with Kenzie when she first gets there and then again before she leaves. It would likely be just as easy to have him walk him up and down the halls and then Grandma and Grandaddy can either walk with Will and Daddy or join Kenzie and me in the room. We will be rooming in at the hospital, of course, and I remember I didn't want Kenzie out of my sight most of the time when she was born. I did let them take her at night if the docs were in to the their rounds at that point but I was super specific about NO bottles, pacifiers, etc. I'm just weird. Anyway, that is the plan for their meeting. I shall let you know how it goes after we cross that bridge.
Back to the matter at hand though... Kenzie's big sis gift. Our other plan is to have Will give Kenzie a big sis gift. I wanted to share what we decided would be good things for her in case any of our friends are looking for ideas. This is what works for us and Kenzie but I know I looked at some ideas online to decide what we wanted to include for Kenzie.
To start, we made her a new bag. Our child is bag/purse obsessed! So, what's better than a Big Sis bag from her new little brother? Super simple. Iron on transfer, canvas bag, and some puffy paint. Done. You might notice that there is a bit of weirdness going on with the "BIG" and heart. It was a weird thing with the transfer. It pulled some of the backing with it when I removed it. If anyone has any tips for removing that stickiness, please share. =)
In her bag we included some items that will let me interact with her in the hospital and let her know that I am still there to spend time with just her and pay attention to just her. I figure while Grandma and Grandaddy visit their newest grandchild, Kenzie and I can play. Plus, I want to make sure we have some things to keep her busy while we visit. Our kid is super active and requires a lot of stimulation. We decided on a coloring book and twistable crayons. I think she will like those. She often asks to color during the day so a new coloring book and colors are right up her alley. We also got her a new puzzle. She has a few now and she could literally spend hours putting them together every day. There is a book for us to read together and counting blocks. She loves to read and count. We also threw in a few snacks. What toddler doesn't want snack foods? Finally, we splurged (sort of) on a new water bottle. Kenzie drinks water like it is going out of style and I know that I will have my fancy water thing that the hospital gives me (seriously... best water jug out there... don't know why. I just love it.) so she will have a cute one of her own to drink water out of. I pre-washed it so that it will be ready to go in the hospital and we can fill it there.
You will notice that all of her new big sis items are interactive (with the exception of the food and water bottle). As I said, that is on purpose. I know some people choose to give their children new DVDs or electronic type games and based on their age, maybe that works. For Kenzie though, we wanted to purposely have interactive type toys or activities. We want to make this addition to our family as much about her as it is the rest of us. We are changing her life more than any other it seems. We have no idea how she is going to take the new addition, but we are hoping to make the transition as smooth as possible. We are prepared for potty training regressions, difficult sleeping, or whatever might come with adding in a new baby to the family, but we don't know how she will actually react until we are there. We just want to make sure she feels loved and as special as she actually is.
Wish us luck!
Have you created a big sis/bro gift? What types of things did you decide to include and how did everything work out for you?
I have read a lot online about introducing children to their new sibling. I know, I know... reading about it online isn't the same as living it, but any advice I can get is very appreciated. I think what we have decided is to go with the focus on the older sibling, introduce new sibling, then focus on the older sibling again route. This means that when Grandma, Grandaddy and the new big sis arrive at the hospital we will have Will brought to the nursery for just a bit. It is already going to be a weird experience for Kenzie to be in the hospital with all the machines and me being in a weird room so we want to make it as "normal" as possible for her. We will spend some time with just her and then have the nurses bring Will back in to the room so she can meet him. After we all spend some family time together (and get some pictures of our family of 4... eek!) we will have the nurses bring Will back to the nursery for just a few minutes while I say bye to Kenzie. It will likely be weird since I won't be leaving with her and she is a fairly attached child with a routine. We want some of the time to be just about her. After Kenzie is gone, Will can be brought back in to the room. Now, all of this is dependent on me not freaking out about having him in the nursery without Daddy or me. What it might come down to is Daddy meeting her in the hallway to say hi and then him walking out with Will while I spend a bit of time with just her before bringing him back in or having him go with Will to the nursery for the few minutes that I spend alone with Kenzie when she first gets there and then again before she leaves. It would likely be just as easy to have him walk him up and down the halls and then Grandma and Grandaddy can either walk with Will and Daddy or join Kenzie and me in the room. We will be rooming in at the hospital, of course, and I remember I didn't want Kenzie out of my sight most of the time when she was born. I did let them take her at night if the docs were in to the their rounds at that point but I was super specific about NO bottles, pacifiers, etc. I'm just weird. Anyway, that is the plan for their meeting. I shall let you know how it goes after we cross that bridge.
Back to the matter at hand though... Kenzie's big sis gift. Our other plan is to have Will give Kenzie a big sis gift. I wanted to share what we decided would be good things for her in case any of our friends are looking for ideas. This is what works for us and Kenzie but I know I looked at some ideas online to decide what we wanted to include for Kenzie.
To start, we made her a new bag. Our child is bag/purse obsessed! So, what's better than a Big Sis bag from her new little brother? Super simple. Iron on transfer, canvas bag, and some puffy paint. Done. You might notice that there is a bit of weirdness going on with the "BIG" and heart. It was a weird thing with the transfer. It pulled some of the backing with it when I removed it. If anyone has any tips for removing that stickiness, please share. =)
In her bag we included some items that will let me interact with her in the hospital and let her know that I am still there to spend time with just her and pay attention to just her. I figure while Grandma and Grandaddy visit their newest grandchild, Kenzie and I can play. Plus, I want to make sure we have some things to keep her busy while we visit. Our kid is super active and requires a lot of stimulation. We decided on a coloring book and twistable crayons. I think she will like those. She often asks to color during the day so a new coloring book and colors are right up her alley. We also got her a new puzzle. She has a few now and she could literally spend hours putting them together every day. There is a book for us to read together and counting blocks. She loves to read and count. We also threw in a few snacks. What toddler doesn't want snack foods? Finally, we splurged (sort of) on a new water bottle. Kenzie drinks water like it is going out of style and I know that I will have my fancy water thing that the hospital gives me (seriously... best water jug out there... don't know why. I just love it.) so she will have a cute one of her own to drink water out of. I pre-washed it so that it will be ready to go in the hospital and we can fill it there.
You will notice that all of her new big sis items are interactive (with the exception of the food and water bottle). As I said, that is on purpose. I know some people choose to give their children new DVDs or electronic type games and based on their age, maybe that works. For Kenzie though, we wanted to purposely have interactive type toys or activities. We want to make this addition to our family as much about her as it is the rest of us. We are changing her life more than any other it seems. We have no idea how she is going to take the new addition, but we are hoping to make the transition as smooth as possible. We are prepared for potty training regressions, difficult sleeping, or whatever might come with adding in a new baby to the family, but we don't know how she will actually react until we are there. We just want to make sure she feels loved and as special as she actually is.
Wish us luck!
Have you created a big sis/bro gift? What types of things did you decide to include and how did everything work out for you?
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