Gift for sibling when second child is born

[foltzy]

My dd was 2 when we had ds. We let her go and pick out a special blanket for her baby brother, she chose a blue one with bears and he still carries it around. We then got a pink bear from the hospital gift shop (I couldn't find one anywhere else) that had a t-shirt that said big sister and we got her a t-shirt that said big sister (She still wears the shirt and cuddles with bear every night before bed). They are now 3 and 1.

 

[jodgaff]

We have 4 kids (DD8, DS6,DD3, DD18mo) they aren't that far apart in age but each time a new sibling was born I bought white t-shirts for the kids to decorate (Welcome new sister... Your big sister loves you) with fabric markers (Crayola has fabric markers! much cleaner that fabric paint). They would draw pictures and date it. They were to wear their shirts to the hospital when they first met their new sibling. In addition I would make a onesi that said " I love Amelia, Clayton and Vivian" and the new baby had it on when all of the kids came the first time to meet her. They were so surprised and the pictures are priceless, with all the kids in their shirts.

I then took each childs' shirt and put it in their memory box along with a picture. So now they can always remember the first day they met each other.

Also, it won't always be roses, my DS and DD3 have but heads off and on since she was born

 

[erinmomof2]

The hospital will usually sell the big sister shirts, but the ones at the hospital we went to were pretty ugly and poorly made. Babies R Us always has them in stock and they're pretty well made and I think around $6 or $7.

We also did the class at the hospital for new siblings. It was a great class and my daughter really enjoyed it. It was nice for her to get a taste of what a baby would be like and what type of things she could do. As for gifts we bought her a few small things for the hospital, travel sized games and coloring books. Once we got home we gave her a couple of bigger things that we knew she would like. I also had a planned c-section and since I have complications with my pregnancies, I was in the hospital for a while. So it was really hard for her. She came to visit almost everyday and I tried to show her a lot of attention. It was hard at first, getting used to the new baby... and it did take a while... but now they play and have fun together (baby is 18 months old now). My daughter and I have "Mommy Emma Days" where we go out and do fun things together. She loves it and it''s nice to spend one on one time together. We also spend about 10-20 minutes everynight together talking while DH watches the baby.

 

[SnowBound]

A gift to the older siblem from the baby was suggested to me by a great friend, . . . and it was awesome. The older brother was 3 when his sister was born, and he lit up like a Christmas tree when we explained to him that the gift was from his sister. They are very close to this day, and always have been.

I read the other post about life isn't fair, and I agree. This is a little different, however, and there were no side effects from it.

I would agree with the poster and it would be over the top if say, you decided to give gifts to all children each time one had a birthday. I know people that have done this. Now THATS nuts!

 

[RobinFabulous]

What about a baby doll? So when you're feeding the real baby, she can feed the doll, or when little brother or sister needs his/her diaper changed she can do the same for her dolly.

Hannah got a "boy" doll when Jonah was born. She wanted a sister so bad, and didn't care for boys. We found a doll dressed in blue

 

[AinsMom]

My DD was 2 1/2 when her younger sister arrived. She was/still is a big princess fan. I had a Cinderella shirt printed that said Big Sister and a onsie made with Tinkerbell that said Little Sister. I also bought her a Belle doll that I wrapped and took to the hospital with me.

She was her little sister's first visitor (with my parents, of course.) They took her to the gift shop and let her buy a small gift for her sister. She really liked that.

My parents and several other visitors brought a small gift for her in addition to a baby gift to the hospital. I thought it was really nice and I've started to it too.

 

[kimmylaj]

hi , it is so exciting to have a new baby in the house, but i know how you feel about the big one feeling left out. my son was 3 when my daughter was born. his birthday was right before her due date, i made sure to have his party early, so i didnt have to worry.
pp was right that babies r us always has the shirts, and they are really cute,
if you have time you can also go on zazzle.com . you can find anything on there. they make shirts, mugs, tote bags, etc. it has 46 pages just of big sis tees
one of my favorite things is in party city or oriental trading, and i think acmoore has them too.... it is its a girl pencils, kinda like cigars she can hand out to her classmates to announce the news.
as far as a gift, i made the gift from the baby to my son, but for the life of me i cant remember what it was ( couldnt have been too fabulous )

anyways sorry to be so long, but i think it is sweet to put so much thought into this. congratulations and enjoy. as a matter of fact my son was not jealous when dd came home, only when she started to smile at people. i think a smiling girl in a pink bow just demanded a lot of attention and it made him a little bonkers. anyway they are 2 and 5 now and it is wonderful. so enjoy

 

[strmtroopr96]

Just wanted to add that when we bought the Build a Bears for our oldest and then the new baby...we were able to get the new baby a shirt for hers that said "It's a Girl" and for older DD, we bought a "Best Friends" shirt and then bought the shirt online that said "Big Sister". They were very cute!

We also bought DD the "I'm a Big Sister" tshirt in the hospital gift shop before heading up to labor & Delivery! LOL Hey, why miss a shopping trip just because I'm about to have a baby!!

Another thing that is cute to do is have the older child hand out something as a way of letting others know of the new baby. Like how dads used to hand out cigars. I remember that we bought pink "It's a Girl" lollipops when older DD was born in 1999 and I also remember seeing bubble gum cigars then. But when youngest DD was born in 2006, we couldn't find anything like that! I was bummed because I thought it would have been fun for Emily to do. I did buy a bag of Muppet or something lollipops instead.

 

[jensen]

Personally, I don't agree with this trend. The new baby is the gift....

And the baby's gifts? Well, life isn't fair, and I don't think you do kids any favours by always making things "fair". Everyone needs to learn that the planets don't revolve around their pretty little head, kwim?

I'm totally with you on this... "life's not fair" is practically my mantra...


BUT, I did do the gift thing and I was pleased with the results. DS got a movie from DD when she was born and he gave her some wrist rattles. We still have the rattles and keep them in a special box of mementos.

 

[RMulieri]

Personally, I don't agree with this trend. The new baby is the gift....

And the baby's gifts? Well, life isn't fair, and I don't think you do kids any favours by always making things "fair". Everyone needs to learn that the planets don't revolve around their pretty little head, kwim?

Now, I don't mean this in a mean way. Please don't take it that way. I always just praised my older kids for being my "big helpers" when a new baby came (fetching diapers etc, making bottles, and so on....), and showered them with lots of love....I bottle-fed, so maybe that made things easier, b/c someone else could feed baby while I did something with older sib....

One thing I DID do was to NOT be the one carrying/holding the baby the first time the older sibling(s) saw me and the baby....I had my arms available for them. I think that made a good "first impression" for them....Mommy still had arms/time for them, kwim?

I agree with you.My Sil did exactly this.She just would spend extra special time with my nephew each day while DH took care of baby, and vice versa.There is no substitute for a moms love and time, and 6 yrs old is old enough to understand.

 

[bkreitzel]

Congrats on the baby!! I wish you all the best, and hope your girls become very good friends

Our DD's will be 6 and almost 4 when this baby comes...most likely the week of the one turning 4's birthday

We plan on the baby giving them legos w/ some additional sets of special pieces. This is something they both like to do at school but do not have at home. In addition it is quiet, something I can do with them holding a baby, and something they can do in the hospital room.

For some reason I am most focused on her having a great birthday even w/ the newborn.

I just set up DD's birthday party today at a gymnastics center for a week after her birthday... Dad is going to take care of details that day and we are keeping it simple...I will go w/ baby if possible. But to me this was important for her to have this time with her friends to prove the baby was an addition to our family, but she will still have her time, activities and friends.

We got a note from school that DD6 will be "star student" that week too! ACK!!! birth a child, make a big deal out of a party and have daily obligations at school to make oldest be the star? I am going to need a vacation!!

 

[ksumn1]

I have to agree that the Sibling Class at the hospital is a good idea. In DD's class they picked out a baby doll, learned how to wrap (swaddle) it in a blanket, change a diaper, pick baby up, give it a bottle and also made a handrint picture for me and they each drew a picture for the new little brother or sister. I think it was 2 hours long and they got to tour the nursery (without Mom and Dad) like big girls and boys, see a patient room where Mommy would stay and also the cafeteria and gift shop. She really enjoyed it.

I made her a Big sister shirt and necklace. She was very proud of them both. She was actually excited about being a big sister but maybe it was the age. She was almost 4 and at that age, most girls love baby dolls. She also got her own baby doll for Christmas to take care of. Her gift was coloring books, crayons, a noteboo, color pencils, a little CD player/Walkman, a new kids music CD, stickers and somthing else my Mom got her.

In my situation, we didn't know if the baby was a boy or girl even after 3 sonograms so her official job was to announce Boy or girl to the family and friends in the waiting room. She practiced for weeks. About an hour before my DD was born, Big Sister went for a walk with my Mom and made a wish in the wishing well that the baby would be a girl. She was convinced that her wishing was was did the trick.

My Dr was great...he didn't announce the sex since the family was crowded outside my birthing room door, he simply gave us all a peek and winked. She was the 1st person in the room other than my Mom, Dad, and MIL who were present for the birth. She was soo happy that she tried to carry little sister out to the waitning room with her to make her announcement!!!

I think you're being very sensitive to your DD's need. It's only showing her that she is not forgotton in all the excitement. Ask the nurses if DD can help give the baby its 1st bath. The nurses at the hospital called the room to request that DD "help" them since Mom was sooo tired. It was very kind...maybe they will let her be in the nursery when they do the official weigh in and measurement. Congratulations!!!!

 

[AngieWin]

Love so many of these ideas! We are 29 weeks pg with our third and I have been thinking about gifts for our ds5 and ds3.

 

[buckler]

My 2nd DD was born 4 days before my 1st DD's 2nd birthday. We came home from the hospital on the oldest child's birthday. I purchased a baby doll for my older daughter as a gift from the baby. She has slept with "special baby" every night for 8 years! One time she asked how her sister was able to get her a gift before she was born. I had purchased it online. So I told her the baby went crazy kicking me when I went to the web page with the doll so I knew that was the one to buy. She loved that story, so that's now our official story of how "special baby" came into our lives.

 

[mommyof3rookies]

Suz, My grandmother gave both of my boys a babydoll of their own when the next baby came. That way they could look after their own "baby" while I was tending the newborn. She made sure that their babies had boy clothes, .

 

[mistypnc]

My daughter was almost 5 when my son was born and we wanted to get her something special, also. I collect Precious Moments and she knew how special they were to me, so we got her her own Precious Moments that showed a big sister holding a baby. It was called All Things Grow with Love. She was so excited to get it! I'm afraid (8 years later) that her figurine doesn't make her love her brother anymore though! It was worth a try I'm definately glad we got it for her.