Children and Their Ages

Hi A.,

I have 5 children and they are all pretty close together in age. I have found that young children usually LOVE babies, so hopefully when your baby is born your son will be okay with you holding another baby and will want to hold the baby too. I try to give all my kids some quality time each day. It's usually not a lot of time (reading a book, answering a few questions, etc.), but enough to let them feel secure in their relationship with me. Then they run off and play with their siblings. They all get along wonderfully. They fight like all siblings will, but they also have learned how to resolve many of their issues without having to bring it to me. Having them close in age is harder in many ways, but also easier in that they always have a playmate and aren't always asking me to play with them so I get some free time here and there.

Hi there. My boys are about 2 years apart. Corbin is 3 and Gavin is 5 now, but as soon as I found out I was pregnant with baby #2 I immediately included Gavin in everything dealing with the baby. I told him that he was going to be a big brother and he would have to watch out for his little brother. He gave Corbin his first bath in the hospital after he was born. I let him hold him, feed him, help me change him so he felt included and was still getting the same amount of attention he was getting before Corbin was born. Gavin is an amazing big brother. They fight like all siblings do, but Gavin is very protective of Corbin and will do anything for him. They have a wonderful relationship.
The main thing is to continue to give your oldest the same amount of attention you did before the baby was born. Let him help you out and get him involved, that way he wont feel left out and will take an interest in being a big brother.
Hope that helps,
Good luck

M.

My children are 3-4-6. My oldest was very excited about being a big sister x 2. As long as you include them your older one will be fine. Good Luck and keep us posted.

Hi A.,
I have three kids. 5, 3 and 20 months. Honestly, it depends on how you react with your children. I thought it was going to be hard, but as long as I kept my eldest daughter involved while I was pregnant and afterward, it made the transition easy. Some pointers would be:
1. Allow Logan read to the younger one now (they like being able to do something instead of being told what to do :)
2. Talk to Logan about being a big brother and have him help fold the baby's clothes. That way he feels like he is just as important.
3. After the baby arrives, allow logan to hold the baby and explain how big he is to the baby and how important it is to be very careful. Sounds funny, but it really helped.

My children progressed very well with one another. The second one learned a lot faster because she had an older sister. There will be times that you want to pull your hair out, but those are the battles you'll have to pick. You'll do great adjusting to two...three is a little harder, but manageable!

Congratulations on your baby and I hope this helped!

All my best,
V. :)

well i don't have and 18 month old baby yet but i do have a 3 1/2 and a 5 month and they loves each other so much and my older son loves to play with him and help care for the baby.I would involve him in everything. like would you like to feed the baby or do you want to help bath him or do you want to burp him things like that. i don't have any negative about them at all just all good positive things. but i alway make time for my first son all the time, because i don't want him to feel leftout of the family so i will always make time for him. and it works great never have a problem with both my babies. hope this helps.

hi A., I worked at the child development center on Ramstein Airforce base, I work with children 12-24mons. since I have been working I had about 4 cases such as yours, although it is a blessing, some children don't respond well to change espeically in the home. The child's behavior starts to change, parents think their children don't know that there will be a new addition to the family, but they actually do. My advice to you is always talk to Logan about the baby, make him feel good about being a new big brother, have Logan touch your belly, and possibly talk to the baby, or sing with you to the baby, sing his favorite song. I hope this helps you. And congratulations on the new bundle of joy.

katherine

Hello A.. Totally normal to be feeling how you are! I have a 17mth old (Orion)and almost 6 year old (Charlie). I tell ya, i was having the hardest time potty training Charlie, and then Orion came along and he was "the big boy" and not ONE problem since then. I have found that the more you involve the oldest (Logan?) with the day to day activities, the more secure and special they feel. I would involve him in EVERYTHING..."Charlie, it's time to change Orion's diaper, can you help me out by grabbing a diaper?" or "Oh man, bath time, can you grab me a towel?" Then praise him..."Man, you are such a WONDERFUL big brother!" Another thing i did was let Charlie INTRODUCE his sibling HIMSELF! Gave him the sense of protectiveness and pride! 17 mths later, they play SO well together! They play wrestle, share toys, and yes, Charlie even speaks a little louder when Orion is getting into stuff..."Mom, Orion is getting into the...." and of course when that happens i simply come out and say "Now Orion, are you listening to your big brother, he said NO!...that means NO!" It is amazing that with the patience, they really pick it up! Make sure you make "alone time" with the oldest. For example...read a book, go to the park or even watch a favorite cartoon, JUST YOU and HIM. As long as you make him feel secure in your relationship, he'll be fine and accepting! It is also cool to give "a present from your new brother/sister" when the new baby arrives! Good luck and let me know if I can give you any more advice/insight! Jessica in Germany

A., I will tell you this, my girls are all older now but they were all born less than 16 months apart. And you know they fought when they were younger but that is as all siblings are. But now that they are older the will fight for eachother tooth and nail. They stick up for eachother. Your youngens will do fine. There is that time of getting use to a new baby but that will fade with time. You will have fun with it.