Tag: siblings bond with pregnancy

Tips for Talking to Toddlers About a New Baby

When expecting a new baby, telling anyone can be daunting, let alone the toddler you already have at home. The biggest struggle with talking to toddlers about a new baby is that your little one probably won’t understand what you’re talking about. Even if they do, they’ll probably have a range of mixed emotions about it:

Confusion – “What does being a big brother/sister mean?”
Excitement – “Yay! Someone to play with!”
Anger – “I am not sharing you!”
Apprehension – “Will you love me the same?”
Apathy – “Whatever. Now, what about a snack?”

This short guide should help you when it’s time to have that conversation.

Talking to Toddlers About a New Baby
*This is a guest post and all opinions are those of the author. This post may also contain affiliate and/or paid links. Rest assured that we only work with companies and individuals that we trust. While some of those companies and individuals may work in the medical field, this post is not intended to be a substitution for medical advice. Always speak to your doctor if you have concerns about your mental or physical health.

Getting Toddlers Excited

Pretend baby. A good way of getting your toddler excited about the new baby is to have them practice what it might be like. For example, they can hold a bottle to a doll’s mouth or put them in a bassinet and show them pictures from a story.

Belly bonding. At around 16- to 18-weeks, you’ll probably be able to feel the baby starting to move. Encourage your toddler to lay their hand on your stomach so that they can feel too. At 24-weeks, your baby can hear sounds, so have your little one read or sing to them through your belly.

Discuss baby names. You don’t have to take the ideas from your toddler for a name for your new baby, but involving them in the discussion will make them feel important in the situation.

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Breaking the News

Timing is key! When talking to toddlers about a new baby, wait until the second trimester if you can. That way, you’ll know that all is well with your baby, and you’ll be starting to show signs of pregnancy. There’s no point in worrying your toddler until then unless you have bad morning sickness or fatigue earlier in the pregnancy.

Explain that it’s tough. You need to make sure that your little one knows that you’re not sick, just that growing a baby is hard work.

Keep it simple. Don’t assume that your toddler wants lots of detail. In fact, adults often over-complicate things for little ones because of that, so just tell them what they need to know. Then, of course, you should answer their questions, but keep your answers short and sweet.

Have a reassuring but honest tone. Explain how a new baby won’t mean that you and Daddy/Mommy won’t love your toddler any less, but that the baby will take up a lot of time.

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Explaining Pregnancy

Use picture books. Pictures are clearer than words for toddlers; just make sure that you choose an age-appropriate book.

Find old photos. Photos of your toddler as a baby will help them conceptualize what it’ll be like to have a new brother or sister. Pictures of Mommy during her previous pregnancy will also help so that your little one can imagine how Mommy’s body will change.

Other visual aids. Comparing a baby’s size is often good, such as showing your toddler an orange at 15-weeks gestation or a mango at 19-weeks. Another idea is to use a doll to show the baby’s appearance; you can even have your toddler help change a diaper on the dolly!

Author Bio

Brielle Albert is a writer and digital marketing professional. She earned her Bachelor of Science Degree at New York University. Brielle has professional experience in social media marketing and copywriting.

How to Bond with Your Baby During Pregnancy

It’s often assumed that bonding with a baby begins when you first hold them in your arms. However, a bond with a baby can be developed as early as when the baby bump appears. Many people would concentrate on how to bond with a baby while breastfeeding, forgetting that it can respond to different things while in the womb. The point of beginning the process earlier is to ensure that when you bring him/her into this world, they’ll already have known you and are familiar with several things about you.

How to Bond With Your Baby During Pregnancy
*This is a guest post and all opinions are those of the author. This post may also contain affiliate and/or paid links. Rest assured that I only work with companies and individuals that I trust. While some of those companies and individuals may work in the medical field, this post is not intended to be a substitution for medical advice. Always speak to your doctor if you have concerns about your mental or physical health.
How to Bond With Your Baby During Pregnancy

To get to know how to bond with your baby in the womb, it’s best if you become attentive to what the baby is saying or doing. Many expectant moms fancy the evident kicks from babies in their bumps since it is something very significant to them. However, it goes beyond that as the bonding can be affected by a lot of things that cause different reactions to the baby.

What are Babies Responsive to During Pregnancy?

To begin with, it’s of importance to know what babies respond to while in the womb. A mother can’t bond with the baby if she does not pay attention to the response of the baby and what makes them react. Some of the things that babies experience while in the womb include:

Sound

From 18 weeks in the pregnancy, a baby can notice sounds such as your heartbeat and when your stomach rumbles. It is a process of growth that indicates that the baby has particular senses. At around week 26, a baby in the womb can begin to notice noises outside the body from the neighboring surrounding. It’s when the baby begins to notice the voice of the mother and at this stage moving forward in pregnancy, the baby can be soothed by particular voices and cry when there are uncomfortable noises.

Memory

Babies become receptive to particular sounds, and at particular moments they might remember these voices either from a conversation or certain music.

Sensation

In different stages of the pregnancy, babies may react to particular things. At week 18, the baby can be made to sleep while the mother is moving around since the swaying makes them comfortable. From week 22, they can feel pain, and 26 weeks onwards they can respond to hand movements done on the baby bump.

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Language development

At week 32, a baby may be familiar with particular sounds from the conversations that you have with people which includes vowels.

Sight

Eye development begins at week 20 and from the 22 weeks, a baby can see light. However, proper development of the baby’s eyes begins from birth.

Bonding Methods to Use

There are different approaches to take when bonding with a baby. It also depends on who wants to do so since it will affect when you bond with your baby. Different bonding techniques should be used at different times of the pregnancy since the baby can only respond to particular things at particular times. So how do different individuals bond with a baby?

Mother

The mother has the upper hand in forming a strong bond with the baby since she can notice several reactions that the baby makes. It is also because the baby will learn a lot from the mother than it ever will from anyone else during pregnancy. For mothers seeking such a connection, you need to first take good care of yourself and have products such as the best alkaline water pitcher at mykitchenadvisor.com to help you with that.

Here are more tips on how to bond with baby in pregnancy:
    • Talking to and singing for your baby to make the baby familiar with your voice.
    • Massaging or gently rubbing your belly bump for the baby to know your touch.
    • Play calming or relaxing music to your baby that will be similar to your heartbeats and play as lullabies.
    • Get an ultrasound so that you can see your baby which will give you a greater connection such that when you are doing anything to get their attention you have a picture of how the baby might respond.
    • Do things such as enjoying a walk or getting a warm long bath so that you can calm yourself as you think and connect with the baby.
    • Responding to kicks is a significant way of bonding with your baby. By either massaging the point of kicks or rubbing the place smoothly can cause the baby to do multiple ones.
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Father and Siblings

Other than the mother, a father and siblings also have ways on how to bond with the baby in the first trimester. Some of the approaches that they can make to develop the bond include;

You never have to wait until you bond with a newborn since the process can begin earlier. Some of the other things to do are to also consider your health by drinking pure water which helps with preventing health issues such as preventing urinary infections, relieving indigestion and acidity issues. Bonding with your baby during pregnancy is important since when they are born you will begin from somewhere and it is also important since they will be familiar with you.

How old is your pregnancy? Are you seeking ways of bonding with your baby? What do you do towards that? Leave a comment.

Author Bio

Lora is a blogger, mother, and housewife who shares her vast experience on all the aspects of pregnancy and parenting. She writes articles on the difficulties and challenges all mothers face every day. Motherhood is her source of inspiration.