Preparing Big Brother for a New Baby

Our whole family is thrilled to welcome a baby girl this summer! This "big brother" unit study includes 5 activities that help in preparing big brother for a new baby. These activities can be used for a big sister too!

Playdates with Younger Children and Babies

Bring your child on a playdate with younger children and babies. Whenever we go to visit our friends, Little Bee always asks to hold their baby girl. I love watching him gently hold this sweet baby girl. He examines her little hands and looks intently into her face. When she starts to cry, he gets very concerned. So we talked about the various reasons babies cry: hunger, dirty pants, or sometimes they just want to be with their mommy.

Practice Care Taking with a Baby Doll

Little Bee loves to practice caring for a baby by diapering, feeding, and bathing his baby dolls. He has two baby dolls that he adores. One is a girl doll that can go in the tub with him and the other is a lifelike doll that is weighted, so it feels heavy like a real baby. Little Bee likes to tuck his baby dolls into bed and take them on walks around the neighborhood in a doll stroller.

Montessori Pregnancy 3-Part Cards

Little Bee and I enjoyed looking at these Montessori pregnancy 3-part cards. (Note: I bought these cards second-hand and I do not know the source. Here is a link to 3-part cards that are very similar.)

As an activity for Little Bee, I held a card up to my belly to show him how his little sister looks in my womb. She is head down already, so I explained to him that little sister is upside down in a bag of water. I read him the words on each card and explained how the baby is fed via the umbilical cord. Little Bee really loved the word "placenta" and kept saying it over and over again. He is also very interested in the birth canal and how a baby is born.

Hearing the Heartbeat and Feeling the Movements

Little Bee comes with me to all my midwife appointments and the midwife uses a doppler to listen to the baby's heartbeat. This brought on the discussion of what a heartbeat is and that we all have a heart. Since I am a nurse, I took out my stethoscope at home. I showed Little Bee how to listen to his own heart, my heart, and also the heartbeat of his little sister. This was fascinating to him!

We also enjoy special moments in the evening when I am laying down on my bed and little sister is moving all around. Little Bee loves to put his hands on my belly and feel her "kick" him. We think little sister is going to be a soccer player because she gives some strong kicks!

Reading Big Brother Books

We have two books that we have been reading with Little Bee about becoming a "Big Brother." One book is "I'm a Big Brother" by Joanna Cole and the other book is "I'm a Big Brother!" by Ronne Randall and Kristina Stephenson. Little Bee listens to these books with rapt attention and wants them to be read over and over again. These books also have a "Big Sister" version to enjoy.

I hope you found these preparing big brother for a new baby ideas helpful! Leave a comment and let me know what activities you have found helpful to prepare your child for a new baby. Thanks!