Ideas for Preparing 2-Year-old for New Baby

Yes! Get a doll! My son is two and he loved the doll when we first got it for him, but now that the new baby is here he pretends that the doll is his new baby. We change diapers together, he feeds it and carries it with him all over the house. Some days he doesn't care about the doll at all. It's just nice for him to have and you can complement him on what a good daddy he is.

I think getting him a doll is a great idea! Do you know the sex of the baby? If it's a boy you can get him a boy doll or vice versa.

We just had a baby almost 4 months ago and did the same for our daughter, she was 2.5 at the time. We bought her a girl doll and let her name it (Alice). We also bought her a stroller to put her baby in. We gave it to her ahead of time so she could get used to the baby. I'm kind of thinking we should have waited until our baby was born to give her the doll. That way we would have had our new baby and she would have had HER new baby. By the time our 2nd daughter was born, she had already started to lose interest in the doll. She has started picking it back up recently though. She changes her baby when I change our baby, takes her for walks, and even pretends to nurse her (through her belly button! LOL!)

It sounds like you're doing everything you can and everything that we did. Our older daughter adjusted very well and absolutely adores her little sister.

Good luck and congrats!

My son was 18 months old when his little brother arrived and getting him a doll was one of the ways that we prepared him for the arrival. It was actually a very good thing. Being a boy, he doesn't play with it much now (he will be 2 next week), but when we first brought it home he carried it around a lot. It was a good way to teach him how to be gentle and how a new baby will need to be carried, fed and loved. It was pretty cute too! :) At 18 months, I think a lot of it was over his head, and there really is no TRUE preparation, but he seemed to take the new addition in stride. I really feel like the first 3 weeks were the hardest...after that, life seemed to return to "normal". Good luck to you!!!

We, too, have a 2-year-old son who is about to be a big brother! He's had a doll since before I got pregnant and it has helped him have a little more of an understanding of the baby coming. Other things we have done to try prepare him include naming the baby early (so he can call the baby by his name) and using the name often; explaining that the baby will be living with us and showing him the baby's nursery, bed, changing table, etc.; introducing how the baby will be a daily part of our lives--he has a "place" in the car, at the dinner table, will come on walks with us, be with us at Grandma's and Grandpa's, etc.; let him help clean up the baby gear and see it out to get used to it (and let him know he can teach the baby how to use it all). We're a week from my due date, so I'm about to see how all that preparation has paid off! Best of luck to you and your growing family!

Good Morning V., The baby doll is a great idea. We bought Corbin a "I'M A Big Brother" t-shirt the day Zane was born. He had been hugging and kissing his mama's tummy every day when she went to work telling the baby bye bye Baby Zane. Every time Mama got a hug and kiss so did the baby Zane. *Laughing* He had heard his mama say she didn't sleep very well as the baby was very active some nights. So the next night at Bedtime he said Baby Zane you be a good Boy and let mama sleeeeeep

God Bless you V. and your new little One.
Quick and safe delivery!!

K. Nana of 5

While we only have one almost 3 yr old son right now and no baby on the way, he loves his doll. I took him to the toy store awhile back and told him he could pick out one toy. What he wanted was a doll and baby bottle. He would feed her, named her, "changed", and put her nightnight. I don't see a problem with a little boy having a doll at all. It encourages gentleness, compassion, and a sense of responsibility (of course he did that himself, we never told him he had to care for her).
It would be a great way to practice for your son. Then when the new baby arrives, you will have your baby and he will have his.
Although, I recently heard a story where the older child, 2, started treating the new baby like a doll, trying to pick her up and even sat on her when they weren't being watched (of course, they should always be watched!)
Good luck

A doll can only help.

I have three girls. While pregnant I clearly remember getting all the baby bathing stuff out and the 2.5 year old twins bathing their baby and swaddling it. That's when I realized that the reason my husband didn't know how to bathe a baby is because no one ever showed him when he was little.

A doll does not compare to a baby that cries and takes mom's time. But, any nurturing and life skills you can teach your son will only benefit him.

I don't know so much about the doll, I never got one for our boys and they loved the babies and helped with them some. But I would suggest that you visit the church nursery or friends that have babies and let him see, and hear, real babies, before the baby comes. They are much different from a doll that doesn't cry and need things when you don't expect it. I would do that more than a few times. Let him hold a friend's baby and watch them do things with the baby. I know most of our kids had the baby to watch when I brought it home and then when the next one came they were more prepared. Keep assuring him that this is his brother or sister to enjoy too. Should be great fun for him when the baby gets here, until it cries all night. :-)

Congrats,

My little boys are 2 yrs apart and they are the best of buddies. My parents kept our oldest while I was in the hospital so he recieved some special 1-1 time while adjusting to his little brother (love at 1st site). Jason even gave his little brother his nickname, "Dodgy."
Have you taken your son with you to your doctor's appointments, sometimes hearing the heartbeat makes it more real.

Include your son in preparing the nursery. 2 yr olds love to help.
Good luck.

The gift FROM the baby to the older sibling was a HUGE hit with my 3 year old girl, so definitely plan on that. After we were home with the baby, my sister sent her a baby doll and big sister was THRILLED with the baby for about 30 minutes, then it was abandoned and her stuffed animals returned to the objects of all her nurturing talents. We also had some new baby books that we read.

The sibling seems to want any of the new toys the baby has, so be prepared for that. We are doing it on a borrowing basis. If Big Sis wants to borrow a toy from baby, she has to leave one of hers for baby to play with. The borrowed toy needs to be returned to baby before sissy can borrow another toy. This helps us and Big Sis keep track of what really is not her toy--she'd like to conveniently forget that the toy is her baby sister's.

My husband stayed at home with our oldest the summer before our second was born. During that time, our oldest started sleeping with a Glow-Worm. My husband taught our oldest how to swaddle it, how to rock it, and how to read stories to the Glow-Worm. My family wanted to get him a baby doll, but my husband didn't like that idea. The Glow-Worm worked great!

I say 100% yes, get your son a doll. I'm sure your husband will hold and love on the new baby, so I don't see anything wrong with your boy doing the same thing. Both of my sons have dolls and they play with them from time to time, they hold them like a baby and put them down for naps and tell everyone to be quiet. Its probably not as intense of doll play as with girls, but I like to see them act out with a baby doll. When our second son was on the way we "practiced" for the new baby with his doll. We put the doll in the carseat and showed him how to hold a baby and explained things about his new baby using the doll. I thnk it was helpful.

looks like you have had some good advice! i will just add my little success story. I dont have another child on the way, and has not since my son was born 2 years ago. But i thought it was very important for him to understand how to care and be nice to children, mostly because the person that was watching him during the day was getting ready to have a little baby. We got a soft one that was like 5 bucks, he loved her, he would take one of his empty bottles and feed her. Then we just had a garage sale not too long ago and someone had given us things to put in it, and there were baby dolls, and he picked one out and wanted to keep her. he loves it, he "reads" her books and pushes her in his grocery cart, lets her ride his horse. Overall, i think it is a WONDERFUL idea to get him a doll. and he wont be less of a "boy" my son takes his trucks and runs over her as well when he is not caring for her, so i mean the boy in him is still there, if that is a concern. hope everything goes well with the new baby and congrats! good luck

With our kids we never did the present from the baby thing. We just involved the older ones in everything to do with getting ready for the new baby - picking diapers, outfits, toys you name it. I think the doll idea would be good too...Congratulations and good luck!