To Have or Not to Have a baby shower for your second child



 

 



I've been reading up on BabyCenter to see whether or not it is a good idea to have a baby shower for a second child.  Apparently, a lot of mom's think it isn't a good idea unless it is the opposite gender of your first child.  I'd like to say I don't agree.

Before my second child was born, a good friend of mine wanted to throw us a baby shower. I told her it wasn't necessary, but she insisted that this baby get a shower just like how our first one did.

We decided to have the shower a couple months after the baby was born. This was actually a great idea because it meant that we wouldn't have a lot of visitors right away.  I don't know about how other moms feel about this, but I remember when my first child was born, it was very overwhelming having a whole bunch of people visit right away.  I understand everyone was excited for us and they wanted to see our newest member of our family. In my own experience, it was hard to deal with having a lot of visitors while trying to heal from an emergency C-section and having massive sleep deprivation. Of course I wanted everyone to meet our little one but there had to have been a better way of going about it.

Having a baby shower a couple months after having your second child allows you to heal the way you need to and people don't feel like they need to rush to meet your baby. It gives you a chance to be with your baby without being overwhelmed with company.  And the great thing is, everyone still gets to meet your little bundle of joy when you finally have healed and have more energy.  You are able to enjoy being around everyone and not feel stressed.

And as for gifts, don't feel bad that you are putting on a shower for your second child because your friends and family are excited for you and they want to get your little one something special.

6 Steps to transitioning an only child into a loving sibling, THE EASY WAY!

We all get that fear of wondering how our first child will handle a new sibling . We often worry that the child will act out of jealousy. Luckily, there are ways to get your only child excited about becoming a sibling. Some of these steps have obviously not been invented by me, but they are ideas that I have taken from friends who have already been through the parents-of-siblings trenches. I hope this helps you as much as it helped me!

1. Give Notice.
Your belly is getting bigger, you will need to tell your child at some point. Talk about how much fun it will be once they have another sibling to play with. If you have a sibling, tell the child about how great it is. There are many children's books out there on becoming a big brother/ sister.
2. Big Sister/ Brother Day
This is the day your second child is born. Hype you first child up about it saying this is a very special day for her because it is the day she becomes a big sister. You can have a cake (or cupcake), balloons and a present waiting for your first child when she comes to visit you at the hospital. It would be a good idea to say the present was from the younger sibling.
3. Have small presents for the child when the baby gets gifts.
I'm not saying go to babies r us and buy your child a bunch of expensive toys, you can easily go to the dollar store and pick up some coloring books and small toys that she can play with. She won't get jealous of all the baby's nice new things because she received something small too.
4. Give your older child the attention she/he needs.
Spend time with her. Let her see she is a priority. Even if it is just for 15 minutes a day dedicated solely to her, she will feel loved and she will be less likely to act out.
5. Let her help you with the baby.
Diaper changes, bringing a blanket to the baby, helping with bath time, or getting her binky, she will like feeling that she has a helping role to play for her younger sibling.
6.  Let her love the baby in her own way.
If she wants to lay beside the baby on her play mat during tummy time, let her. Or if she wants to be in the crib with her for a few minutes, why not? This is her time to bond with the baby and be close with her. You could even allow her to hold the baby (obviously make sure they are both supported). Let her hold hands and give kisses.

Dealing with Monsters



For the past couple of weeks, my daughter has been scared of monsters during both day and night. She would wake up screaming at 4am saying there are monsters and dinosaurs in her room. It was starting to get out of hand when she believed they were in our backyard.

The other day we watched the 80s movie, The Last Unicorn, and she saw how a small unicorn was able to defeat a massive flaming bull. Using that idea, we decided to dedicate a small toy of hers that resembled the unicorn (it was a little pink and white Pegasus stuffed toy) and told her it would protect her from any monster by putting it to sleep.  We named him Glidicus.

She now takes him with her anytime she feels scared.  She has more confidence and now she can sleep through the night again. There are no longer monsters outside because Glidicus has put them all to sleep ;)

Baby-Got-Gas!!

A little laughter for the day:

I don't know if other parents do this, but my husband and I sure do; We normally take big name songs, change the words around so they relate to our kids, then sing it to them. Yesterday I was burping my infant and the rhythm to that "Baby-Got-Back" song got in my head for some reason, so I sung it to my baby using my own words.

Here it is:

Baby-Got-Gas
We like BIG BURPS and we cannot lie.
No other babies can deny,
When your mom picks you up to give you white stuff, you gulp it down, without a frown
We get gas!
Gotta burp it upwards
or send it downwards.
Bubbles they keep coming,
And the gas is quite alarming!
Baby Got Gas!

PS: I know it's not the whole song...but it still works :)