You’ve a new addition on the way and couldn’t be more excited. Your preschooler may be equally excited right now, but then reality hits. He realizes you can’t “send the new baby back,” that he has to “share” his mom and dad, and life will never quite be the same as it was.
Don’t panic- plan ahead! A new baby doll for your child that arrives precisely when their new sibling does can work wonders. (I still fondly remember Murray Grant, my son’s cabbage patch doll that he dragged everywhere when his little brother was born.)
Get a bottle, clothes, a doll bed (you and your little one can make a bed from a cardboard box for fun), and a little plastic tub where your child can bathe their “baby” while you bathe yours. Anything that will engage your child, and let them feel they are participating in all these new tasks while sharing time with you, will calm their fears of coming second.
Nurturing is a wonderful skill for both boys and girls to learn, and what better way than hands-on and by your side?